Business Survival Research Articles

The Success of Transition Process: Founder vs. Successor Perspective – Case of Croatia

Family business is the most common form of business worldwide. Despite the acknowledged importance of family business in the Croatian economy, there are still no formal and reliable statistics on the national level available regarding the prevalence and impact of this ownership structure. However, it is assumed that family businesses in Croatia employ over half of the total workforce and that the majority of small companies are family-owned. Most of the family-owned companies are still first-generation family firms, owned and managed by the founders but transition processes are taking root. Since the very survival of a family business, continuity, and success depend on the transition process, a substantial body of literature focuses on the transition process and factors that will facilitate a successful transition. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the existing body of literature by providing a deeper understanding of the transition process specificities in Croatian family-owned companies. In this paper, we analyze differences in the perception of factors relevant to the success of the transition process on the convenience sample of Croatian family-owned companies. The sample included first-generation and second-generation owners and a questionnaire was used as the primary data collection instrument. The results of the statistical analysis show that there are significant differences in the perception of factors relevant to the success of the transition process from the founders' and successors' point of view.

The Influence of Firm Characteristics and Macroeconomic Factors on Financial Performance: Evidence from the Portuguese Hotel Industry

This study examines the determinants of the financial performance of the Portuguese hotel industry. Despite the economic relevance of the hotel industry and financial performance as an indicator of business survival, academic research on the factors that influence it in the context of this industry, particularly in Portugal, is not extensive. This study encompassed a sample of 738 hotel companies from 2016 to 2021, using data from the Orbis database. This research was based on the assumption that a company’s size, liquidity, the tangibility of its assets, and debt level influence financial performance in the hotel industry, as well as the assumption that gross domestic product and consumer sentiment also affect the business success of hotel companies. By applying a panel data methodology, the findings indicate that all variables showed significant influence on financial performance, except liquidity. The analysis also reveals that smaller companies were more negatively affected by the demand decline induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. To improve the financial performance of the Portuguese hotel industry, the findings suggest that policymakers must work towards ensuring diversified sources of financing for the hotel business, such as investment subsidies, so that companies can minimize debt, especially during periods of slow economic growth. Additionally, companies must promote management strategies that enhance self-financing. Both measures could help companies increase their size, taking advantage of good business opportunities to explore economies of scale.

Incremental and Radical Innovations that Contribute to the Survival of Small Businesses in Environments of Crisis

This paper examines the influence of incremental and radical innovations on the survival capacity of micro and small companies (MSE) in contexts of economic crisis.State of the art on innovation points to a lack of a specific methodology to segregate incremental and radical innovation in MSEs. Identifying such a method allows for action to promote innovation in such more assertive companies, contributing to the survival of companies in the most adverse moments, such as crises.In this sense, a methodology was developed to identify the type and degree of innovation based on the level of innovation in the sector of activity and was applied to a sample of 60 companies in the textile retail sector. The dependent variable was business survival, measured by the continuity or cessation of activity in 2020. The estimate of the probability of survival was carried out using a binary logistic regression model.The dimensions of incremental innovation, which are the most common in the business environment, did not significantly affect survival. The dimensions of radical innovation, which imply deeper and more disruptive changes in the business model, had a positive impact. significant impact on survival in all cases. The most complex actions in the Solutions dimension increased the chances of survival by 42%; improving Processes by 39%; and innovation in the Square by 38%. These findings suggest that small businesses that adopt radical innovations have greater adaptability and resilience to adverse situations.

“Kingsway leads the way to modern living”: British Profit-seeking and Modernism in Ghana and Nigeria 1920–1970

Abstract This article examines the operative uses of modernist design by the Kingsway Stores, an elite department store chain active across West Africa. Kingsway responded to independence by instrumentalizing a particularly modernist domesticity through a series of didactic marketing efforts and the construction of boldly modernist new stores. While it was responding to African demands, this instrumentalization of modernist design was planned and executed as a business survival strategy: modernism is here revealed as complexly imbricated with colonial and neocolonial profit-seeking.

Entrepreneurial Skills Required for Self-Employment among Electrical Installation Students in Technical Colleges in Adamawa State: A Focus on Managerial, Accounting, and Marketing Competencies

This study investigates the entrepreneurial skills required by Electrical Installation and Maintenance Works (EIMW) trade students in Government Science and Technical Colleges in Adamawa State for successful self-employment. Utilizing a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from a sample of 217 respondents, including administrators, teachers, and students, using a structured questionnaire. The findings reveal that students need a total of 20 managerial skills, with particular emphasis on effective planning and resource control. Additionally, the study identifies 22 essential accounting skills, such as determining profit and loss and knowledge of costing, which are crucial for business survival. In terms of marketing, students require 16 key skills, highlighting the importance of customer loyalty retention and effective communication. These findings emphasize the necessity for educational institutions to enhance their curricula by integrating practical entrepreneurial training. The study also recommends collaboration with local businesses to provide students with real-world experiences and continuous professional development for educators to ensure they are equipped to teach relevant skills.

Building Digital Trust and Rapport in the Tourism Industry: A Bibliometric Analysis and Detailed Overview

In the rapidly changing environment of the tourism business, building digital trust and rapport has appeared as a critical factor for sustaining profitable customer relationships and confirming long-term business survival. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the research landscape with respect to digital trust and rapport establishment within the tourism context using techniques for bibliometric analysis in conjunction with visualization. This research paper explores publication trends, identifies key journals and authors, and determines the most productive countries, academic institutions, and primary research keywords. It involves analyzing publications from the Scopus database focusing on the duration between 2014 and 2023. The findings show that the digital trust and rapport-building literature expands its importance within the tourism industry due to factors such as competition pressure; customers’ high expectations; the incorporation of technology; and, most recently, the occurrence of pandemics like the COVID-19 pandemic. The US, in particular, can be identified as the most productive country in this research area. The International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and the International Journal of Hospitality Management appear to be popular scientific publications on this topic. They present the following main research themes: customer engagement, employee conduct, and technology in the construction of trust. This study also underscores the practical role of the findings in successful endeavors within the field, detailing how cultural sensitivity, technological incorporation, and accessibility in service provision would contribute to building digital trust with international customers. Potential future research directions are proposed to advance the understanding of culture, technology, the effects of crises, and the application of other research methods.

Overcoming the pitfalls of economies-of-scale in shared accommodation: How can effective multi-listing management enhance the sustainability of homestay businesses?

Economies-of-scale have always been a significant concern, but previous theoretical studies have primarily focused on the traditional manufacturing industry. Consequently, their findings are not directly applicable to the tertiary sector, particularly the hospitality service industry. The hospitality service operates in a high-risk environment and is susceptible to market exits. Therefore, it becomes even more crucial to effectively leverage economies of scale for improving survival rates and long-term operations. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of economies of scale theory in the hospitality industry by examining how sharing accommodation’s economies-of-scale impact personalized and professionalized homestay businesses’ survival. To achieve this objective, we analyze a panel dataset comprising 551,605 properties located in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin using panel survival analysis techniques such as the Cox model and the exponential model. The findings indicate that economies-of-scale can confer short-term survival advantages to professional homestay businesses in comparison with personalized ones. However, in the long run, the social benefits of personalized homestay businesses surpass the impacts of economies-of-scale, thereby enabling them to achieve better sustainability than professional homestay businesses. The likelihood of survival for professional homestay businesses increases with a greater number of listings in operation, referred to as the advantage of economies-of-scale on professionalization; conversely, this is not true for personalized homestay businesses. Moreover, effective host–guest communication both facilitates the attainment of benefits for personalized businesses and amplifies its impact on professionalized enterprises; high-quality products offered by personalized hosts can derive more advantages from scales compared to low-quality products, while superhost-certified professionalized hosts experience less business benefit than uncertificated hosts. This study is one of the pioneering efforts to investigate how economies-of-scale can contribute to the professionalization and personalization of homestay properties, thereby enhancing their business survival. It significantly contributes to the existing literature on hospitality business survival and expands upon the economies-of-scale theory by elucidating its advantages and potential pitfalls in relation to homestay businesses.

Understanding the survival strategies: organization resilience and innovative capabilities in post-pandemic East Asia

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly and globally impacted and even disrupted corporate operations to a considerable extent, compelling businesses to confront changing supply chain environments, unstable market demands and internal contradictions. We argue that East Asian enterprises that have survived the pandemic have learned from their experiences, transforming these into key strategic capabilities in innovation, operational efficiency, customer relationships and employee management to ensure resilience in volatile and hostile environments. One universal lesson learned is that the survival of businesses integrates resilience, sustainability and a people-oriented perspective. This special issue focuses on the business organizations and innovation capabilities in the post-pandemic East Asian region, compiling the core viewpoints and hypotheses from the collection on topics such as strategic innovation and adaptive changes, diverse teams and leadership and stakeholder relationship management. These findings enrich our understanding of East Asian enterprises’ comprehensive capability enhancement and business model transformation, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of startup subsidies on survival, growth, and stakeholder value

ABSTRACT Although the effects of subsidies on the survival, financial performance, and behavioral changes of startups have been extensively studied, their influence on economic value creation and distribution to stakeholders remains underexplored. To address this gap and mitigate publication bias, we examined the entire number of subsidies received by all Spanish startups at founding (51,495) over a decade, analyzing their outcomes 5 years after inception. We employed statistical matching methods controlling for the startups’ founding conditions. The study revealed that subsidies have a positive impact on startups’ growth and provide a significantly higher likelihood of survival; however, no significant effect on profitability was observed. Receiving a subsidy should be considered alongside other factors in explanatory models of business survival. Subsidies are associated with increased economic value creation and distribution to employees but not to the government through taxes. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the long-term consequences of subsidies on stakeholders.

Impact of Chatbots on Satisfaction and Loyalty in Lima's Telecom Sector

The migration towards digital environments has transformed the expectations of consumers, who now not only look for quality products and services, but also convenience, personalization and efficiency in each interaction with the brand. This change presents significant challenges for companies, as they need to constantly adapt to meet their needs and thus maintain loyalty in a highly competitive market. The pressure to offer added value and maintain customer preference is intensified by the ease with which consumers switch to competitors. which drives companies to innovate and adapt AI such as chatbots, which could be the answer to this challenge. The objective of this research work is to know if the use of chatbots positively influences the satisfaction and perceived loyalty of consumers of telephone services, since in this case the speed, quality of the service and the customer's need for understanding. They are critical and represent a greater challenge to differentiate. The methodology used for this research maintains a quantitative, correlational, non-experimental approach. The type of sampling was non-probabilistic, and the strategy was snowball. The instrument used was a questionnaire with a sample of around 130 consumers in the city of Metropolitan Lima in Peru. The findings suggest that chatbots are not only innovative tools, but also strategic ones for telephone companies seeking to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. The implementation of appropriate chatbots can transform the customer experience, providing a more agile, personalized and effective service, thus seeing a close relationship between the dimensions of the chatbot with the satisfaction and loyalty perceived in consumers. In a world where these variables are key to business survival, chatbots represent an opportunity to create exceptional experiences. Uncover how cutting-edge AI chatbots are revolutionising customer satisfaction and loyalty in the competitive telephone service industry, offering transformative, personalised, and efficient interactions.

Business continuity as self-efficacy: Augmenting existing business continuity practice

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings of traditional business continuity principles. As much of the novel response to COVID-19 involved a curtailment or cessation of in-person commercial activity, businesses and communities were at unprecedented financial risk. Traditional methods of ensuring business continuity were likely insufficient; thus, an improved understanding of business continuity through disaster is needed for both business and community well-being. Canonically, academic studies examining business survival post-disaster have emphasized vulnerability characteristics and focused on factors outside the businesses’ locus of control. Recently, studies have found that business survival is related to features of self-efficacy that are not easily developed through succinct templates: creativity, flexibility, and improvisation. By critically examining ninety-three publicly available business continuity guides in a content analysis approach, we point to the need for further research on business preparedness as the building of self-efficacy and the effectiveness of converting these scientific findings into useful formats for business operators.

Drug providers’ perspectives on antibiotic misuse practices in eastern Ethiopia: a qualitative study

ObjectiveAntibiotic misuse includes using them to treat colds and influenza, obtaining them without a prescription, not finishing the prescribed course and sharing them with others. Although drug providers are well...

A STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THROUGH ADVANCED MARKETING TOOLS

The article is devoted to the study of consumer behavior using modern marketing tools. The author proves that in today's dynamic digital world, where competition is fierce and market trends are constantly changing, it is crucial for business survival to have a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and be able to effectively manage it. This is due to fierce competition and constant changes in market trends. The purpose of this article is to substantiate the peculiarities of researching consumer behavior using modern marketing tools. This study explores the complex relationship between the use of innovative marketing strategies in the digital sphere and the regulation of consumer behavior. In an attempt to find out how businesses can effectively overcome the obstacles associated with the digital ecosystem, the research article uses both empirical data and theoretical foundations. Using the results of surveys, the author identifies the main marketing tools. The research results suggest that modern marketing tools have a significant impact on managing consumer behavior in the digital age.

Measuring Quality in the Christian Religious Context: Development and Validation of the Push–Pull Religious Quality (P-P-RelQual) Scale

ABSTRACT Given the implications of quality for the survival and performance of business and non-business organizations, research on its operationalization and measurement especially as it relates to services have continued to increase over the years. There is, however, a glaring dearth of research on the measurement of service quality in the non-business context, especially in the religious setting though it is a thriving segment of the market for services. Building on the Push–Pull–Mooring framework and following a multistage procedure involving both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA), this paper described the procedure employed in developing and validating the P-P-Relqual scale for measuring the quality of services offered by Christian religious service providers in the Nigerian context. The final version of the validated scale is made up of 11 items, measured on a five-point Likert scale, which were categorized into four dimensions (Conflict, Appeal of pastor, Appeal of Church, and Opportunity for Development). Based on the result obtained, the paper concluded that adherents will perceive the religious service they receive as being of a high quality, if their providers can strategize to effectively minimize intra-church “conflict” while enhancing “Appeal of pastor,” “Appeal of Church,” and “Opportunity for Development.”

The non-linear impact of risk tolerance on entrepreneurial profit and business survival

AbstractEntrepreneurs tend to be risk tolerant but is higher risk tolerance always better? In a sample of about 2100 small businesses, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between risk tolerance and profitability. This relationship holds in a simple bilateral regression, and even after controlling for a large set of individual and business characteristics. Apparently, one major transmission goes from risk tolerance via investments to profits. This is quite robust as it applies for both past and planned investments. Considering business survival, we show, first, that less profitable businesses leave the market while moderately risk tolerant entrepreneurs survive more often. Second, the high risk-low profit part of the U-shaped relation seems to disappear among businesses being 4 years and older, indicating that such inferior risk-profit combinations disappear over time. These findings are important for the concept of business readiness trainings as the motivation (and ability) to take risks should potentially be accompanied by some warning that taking too much risk can be detrimental to long-term business success.

A Systematic Review on the Business Survival and Resilient Strategies for Hotel Owners during Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has had critical impacts on the hotel and tourism industry. There are unclear insights on the business survival strategies in the hotel industry during the crisis. This paper aims to scrutinize the implications of the Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) on the hotel industry and identify survival strategies based on reviewing several publications from 2019 till now. This study could assist the regulators in governing the policy for business owners to face any crises in the future with the right strategies.

Ensuring Business Continuity through Succession Planning: A Case Study of Zimbabwean Businesses

Introduction Succession planning is a critical aspect of business continuity, as it ensures the continued survival and growth of businesses. Zimbabwean businesses face unique challenges, including political and economic instability, which can impact their ability to ensure business continuity. This study aimed to investigate the role of succession planning in ensuring business continuity in Zimbabwean businesses.  Methodology The study used a case study approach, with a focus on Zimbabwean businesses. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with top management and HR professionals from selected Zimbabwean businesses. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis, with the aid of NVivo software.  Findings The study found that succession planning is a key aspect of business continuity in Zimbabwean businesses. The study identified several themes, including the importance of succession planning, the challenges of implementing succession planning, and the benefits of succession planning.  Results Analysis The study's results show a significant positive relationship between succession planning and business continuity. The results also show that succession planning is a significant predictor of business continuity. The study's findings support the importance of succession planning in ensuring the continued survival and growth of Zimbabwean businesses.  Conclusion The study concludes that succession planning is a critical aspect of business continuity in Zimbabwean businesses. The study's findings highlight the need for Zimbabwean businesses to prioritize succession planning as a key aspect of their business strategy. The study's results also underscore the importance of developing a comprehensive succession planning program that includes identifying and developing future leaders, creating a talent pipeline, establishing a timeline for transition, communicating the succession plan to stakeholders, and reviewing and updating the plan regularly.

Research on the Impact of Business Model Innovation on Firm Performance under the Background of Digital Transformation

In today's rapidly changing market environment, digital transformation has become an important driving force for business survival and development. With the continuous progress of technology, enterprises are facing the pressure of transformation, but also ushered in the opportunity of business model innovation. Through literature review, case studies and empirical research, this paper will analyze the innovative business models adopted by enterprises in implementing digital transformation, and explore how these models affect various dimensions of enterprise performance. It is found that business model innovation not only improves the operational efficiency of enterprises, but also improves the customer experience, thus significantly improving the market competitiveness of enterprises. Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions for enterprises to implement business model innovation in the process of digital transformation, in order to provide reference for practice.

Survival Probability of Tourist Accommodation Establishments in Romania in Relation to the Action of Some Relevant Factors

The units with tourist functions in Romania have a variable duration of activity resulting from the actions of different factors, but which can be analysed mathematically through survival analysis models. The number of establishments offering accommodation for tourism purposes in Romania exceeds 22,000, and the data indicated by the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism on the companies that manage them are the inputs of the study. These allowed for the creation of a statistical database showing the total operating time from establishment to the present or to the cessation of activity. Grouping was carried out according to the type of establishment, the location of the companies in rural or urban areas, their belonging to a geographical region of Romania and classification according to the comfort category. The drawing up of evolution curves describing the probability of survival of the establishments, distinctly for the groups mentioned, and the statistical analysis to establish the significance of the differences between the groups provide information that allows for determining and understanding how certain factors influence the chances of survival of the tourist establishment. The type of accommodation unit, the region of development in which the unit is located and the category of comfort are the factors that have a statistically significant influence on the probability of survival of these units. The location of tourism units in rural or urban areas is not a relevant factor. Knowledge of the actions of these factors allows for optimising the measures taken at the start of an activity in the tourism industry. These can result in improving the survivability of tourism. Sustainable tourism involves developing and supporting different forms of tourism by implementing activity management at both the accommodation unit level and at the locality, regional or whole tourist area level. The survival and continuity of the tourism business on the market and, at the same time, respect for the natural, social and economic integrity of the environment can ensure the rational exploitation of natural and cultural resources for future generations.

Survival Analysis of Small Business during COVID-19 Pandemic, a Brazilian Case Study

The impact of COVID-19 on the economy was devastating. Small businesses typically have few resources to fight against such adversity. Many businesses remained closed for some time during the pandemic period, resulting in significant consequences for people in terms of jobs, income and life. The objective of this research is to identify the factors that contributed to increasing company failures during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study aims to verify whether the size of the companies, the sectors of economic activity in which they operate and their geographic location influence enterprise failure. This article analyzes the survival of 8931 small businesses from 2017 to 2023, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study applied a survival analysis using the Kaplan–Meier procedure, complemented with the Cox procedure, to determine the effects of the size of companies, sector activity and location on the survival time. The results indicate that survival is much higher in small companies with large revenues that are located in the Campaign and West Frontier regions, as well as in the Northeast, North, Production, South, Taquari, and Rio Pardo Valleys regions, whereas the survival rates were extremely lower in the commercial sector and in financial intermediation activities. In the second analysis restricted to the commerce sector, the data highlighted the retail activities, accommodation and food activities sectors as the most affected in terms of overall survival. The results indicated that the survival of small business remained relatively strong during the COVID-19 pandemic, signaling the pertinent support from the government. The smallest business with revenues under USD 15,576 (BRL 81,000) per year were the most affected, with only 39% survival after 7 years. Some activities and some regions suffered more than others, emphasizing the need for special attention from authorities in future catastrophes.