Emerging entrepreneurial innovations in the pandemic: a study of small and medium enterprises in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Any of the organizations operating today‘s dynamic world faces enormous changes and it needs to know how to manage changes wisely. The business firms are the one of the major sectors within the competitive environment that the pace of change has considerably increased. The ability towards the adaptation of change efficiently is more vital and value creation activity for the any of the business. The Covid-19 pandemic is known as the black sawn event in the economy that has the severe influenced on the survival of the business. Yet the innovative ideas used by the entrepreneurs in managing pandemic are not that much inadequate. This paper explores the entrepreneurial innovations that were used to ensure the survival during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Sri Lanka with special consideration of manufacturing, service and agricultural sectors in economy. The opportunities for the entrepreneurs are to be innovative in the market place of SMEs in the pandemic. Thus, the paper is based on the theoretical triangulation of identifying emerging trends of the entrepreneurial innovation used for the survival of organizations. The main aim of the study is to evaluate on how the firms could survive during the pandemic and develop a conceptual framework. A comprehensive literature review facilitated to develop the conceptual framework. An empirical part of the study will be conducted using qualitative methodologies.