Abstract
Pandemic the COVID-19 is a global threat to rural entrepreneurial businesses with an uncertain ending. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a paradigm model to reduce the negative effects of this crisis, increase the resilience of rural entrepreneurial businesses or even turn this threat into an opportunity for the development of rural entrepreneurial businesses in the long run. This study, using a qualitative approach, investigated the resilience of rural entrepreneurial businesses in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis in Kermanshah province using a paradigm model. Using purposeful and theoretical sampling, 26 cases were selected. The tools used for data collection were open questionnaires (unstructured), individual depth interviews, and taking notes. The results provide a relatively comprehensive model that consists of six basic parts: causal conditions (included economic management, health factors, human resources management, and adaptation factors), the phenomenon (included low resilience of rural entrepreneurial businesses in the face of the COVID-19 crisis), contextual conditions (including social factors; cultural factors and psychological factors), interventing conditions (included business management and legal supports), action strategies (included Planned resilient actions and Unplanned resilient actions), finally, the consequences (included adapting to crisis conditions and increasing resilience in the long run, and also lack of adaptation to crisis conditions and lack of continuity of business survival in the long run). In general, rural entrepreneurial businesses in the face of crisis must, through planned resilience measures, both increase their business resilience in the short term, as well as develop the business and gain a competitive advantage in the long run. Finally, based on the findings and in order to developing resilience in rural entrepreneurial businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, some recommendations were presented.
Highlights
Rural areas are considered as the center of production in developing countries, including Iran, and play a key role in ensuring the independence of each country, especially in the field of food security (1)
The purpose of this study is to develop a paradigm model for resilience of rural entrepreneurial businesses in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis with application of grounded theory
The outbreak of COVID-19 led to disruption to businesses, especially rural entrepreneurial businesses
Summary
Rural areas are considered as the center of production in developing countries, including Iran, and play a key role in ensuring the independence of each country, especially in the field of food security (1). Rurals have many economic potentials and entrepreneurial opportunities that, if properly planned, can create a dynamic and diverse economy in these areas by flourishing and exploiting them (2). Rural entrepreneurial businesses are one of the most important elements of rural economy that through exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas cause job creation and reduce unemployment, increase income and increase productivity and achieve sustainable rural development (4). Throughout history, natural and man-made disasters and crises on various scales have had adverse effects on businesses (7). In this regard, one of the crises that has recently threatened the survival of businesses and has had an unprecedented impact on them is the COVID-19 pandemic (8). The disease, caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2), was discovered in late 2019 in Wuhan, China (9, 10) and on March 21, 2020 by The World Health Organization was introduced to the world as a pandemic (11)
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