Ashiru Folajimi, Nakpodia Franklin, You Jacqueline J
School of Strategy and Leadership, Coventry University, Coventry, UK.
Accounting Department, Durham University Business School, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Ann Oper Res. 2022 Nov 23:1-29. doi: 10.1007/s10479-022-05049-9.
Drawing on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory, this study explores how emerging digital communication technologies (EDCT) affected SMEs' resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We employed an inductive and qualitative approach to investigate 42 SME operators in a weak institutional developing country-Nigeria. Our findings show that EDCT played a critical role in activating SMEs' resilience during the crisis through four drivers: facilitating connections and bonding with staff, clients, and suppliers; enabling collaborations; activating process diversification; and enhancing supply chain flexibility. Furthermore, we highlight the distinct ability of Nigerian SMEs to buffer themselves against misinformation arising from the use of EDCT. This study sheds light on an EDCT Diffusion Model for resilience.
本研究借鉴创新扩散理论，探讨新兴数字通信技术（EDCT）在新冠疫情期间如何影响中小企业的恢复力。我们采用归纳和定性方法，对一个制度薄弱的发展中国家——尼日利亚的42位中小企业经营者进行了调查。我们的研究结果表明，EDCT在危机期间通过四个驱动因素在激活中小企业恢复力方面发挥了关键作用：促进与员工、客户和供应商的联系与联结；促成合作；激活流程多样化；增强供应链灵活性。此外，我们强调了尼日利亚中小企业在缓冲因使用EDCT而产生的错误信息方面的独特能力。本研究揭示了一个用于恢复力的EDCT扩散模型。
