Original title: Startups in Times of Crisis – A Rapid Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The researchers look at how lockdown affected startups and how entrepreneurs responded. They use interviews with people in a startup ecosystem, alongside analysis of policy measures reported in the international press. Entrepreneurs used the resources already available to them to cope; this approach is called bricolageCoping by making use of the resources already at hand.. The researchers say that may help at first, but does not remove the risk to startups’ future growth and innovation.
Imagine a family trying to make dinner after the shops suddenly close. They can use what is already in the cupboards, but some meals are still out of reach and the pantry will not refill itself. In this paper, the cupboards stand for the resources startups already have, while the closed shops stand for the crisis; quick help can ease the immediate shortage, but longer-term support is needed for recovery.
Lockdowns threatened the survival of innovative startups, which can lose not only money but also their capacity to grow and innovate. The research points policymakers toward both immediate cash-flow help and longer-term support involving the wider startup ecosystem.
The abstract describes a rapid-response study based on interviews from an entrepreneurial ecosystem and analysis of policy measures reported in the international press. It does not establish how well particular policies work, or whether the findings apply to every startup or crisis.
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Startups in Times of Crisis – A Rapid Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic — Andreas Kuckertz, Leif Brändle, Anja Gaudig et al. — Journal of Business Venturing Insights — doi:10.1016/j.jbvi.2020.e00169
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.