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Resilience and coping with a long-term crisis: the cases of Cypriot and Greek micro and small firms

Nikolaos Sakellarios (Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, City Campus, Liverpool, UK)
Abel Duarte Alonso (School of Business and Management, RMIT International University, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Seng Kiat Kok (School of Business and Management, RMIT International University, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Seamus O’Brien (School of Entrepreneurhip, Falmouth University, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK)
Ian Fillis (Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, City Campus, Liverpool, UK)
Oanh Thi Kim Vu (School of Business and Management, RMIT International University, Hanoi, Vietnam)

European Business Review

ISSN: 0955-534X

Article publication date: 15 April 2022

Issue publication date: 9 August 2022

330

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to ascertain factors that enable micro- and small firms (MSFs) to cope with the effects of a long-term crisis and develop a model which guides conceptual understanding. This study’s setting is represented by the global financial crisis and by Cyprus and Greece, two nations severely affected.

Design/methodology/approach

On-site, unstructured, face-to-face interviews were conducted among 135 MSF leaders.

Findings

Sixteen different coping factors were identified as central to participants, resulting in the emergence of four key dimensions. Three dimensions, self-initiative, financial acumen and human attributes, are associated with entrepreneurs’ skills, initiatives, passion and networks, whereas one dimension, individual-firm advantage, considers firms’ and individuals’ valuable assets and resources, namely, image/reputation, quality or location. Almost two-thirds of participants recognised a lack of collaboration beyond their suppliers within their industry. Several intergroup differences were revealed, including Cypriot participants’ higher optimism concerning their firms’ future.

Originality/value

This study responds to calls for research that illuminates the understanding of firms’ ability to overcome inadequacies imposed by the socio-economic environment in which they operate. To this end, a theoretical framework emphasising the vital significance of four dimensions is proposed. Apart from their conceptual insightfulness, the dimensions identify clear associations with resilience and coping and can therefore be of practical value to micro–small-sized firms and their respective industry.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the reviewers for their insightful feedback. No conflict of interest and not funding are reported in this study.

Citation

Sakellarios, N., Duarte Alonso, A., Kok, S.K., O’Brien, S., Fillis, I. and Vu, O.T.K. (2022), "Resilience and coping with a long-term crisis: the cases of Cypriot and Greek micro and small firms", European Business Review, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 605-623. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-05-2021-0108

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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