Essential competencies of entrepreneurs during the new normal in the province of abra, Philippines

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a wide range of implications, including business closures and bankruptcies, to name a few. Entrepreneurs rely on a number of important entrepreneurial capabilities to survive a pandemic, and the study intended to solve this issue by investigating these competencies. An exploratory qualitative-narrative research design was employed in this study, along with a phenomenological approach, and included one focus group discussion with 12 participants and in-depth interviews with ten micro-enterprise owners in Bangued, Abra, the Philippines. According to the study's findings, experienced entrepreneurs' lived experiences highlighted how their entrepreneurial capabilities impacted their lives. In order to ensure the survival of their businesses, they believed in the effectiveness of goal setting, systematic planning and monitoring, independence and self-confidence, opportunity seeking, risk-taking, information seeking, the demand for efficiency and quality, adherence to work contracts, persuasion and networking, and perseverance. One of the study's implications is its impact on business sustainability, defense mechanisms, entrepreneurial competencies, creativity, back to the basics, and business practices, all of which resulted in the discharge of competencies deemed necessary weapons for pandemic survival of the entrepreneurss. In order to further confirm entrepreneurs' methods and lived experiences in Abra province, other researchers may investigate entrepreneurial initiatives in the manufacturing, service, and retail sectors, among others.