A Study on Entrepreneurial Resilience and Coping Mechanisms: Spotlight on Online Food Service MSME Owners on Metro Manila During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Date

1-2021

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jewel Joanna S. Cabardo

Committee Member

Jewel Joanna S. Cabardo, Renen Szilardo C. De Guzman, Remund D. Labios

Abstract

Among the most affected industries were food service MSMEs when the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) started during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown made it difficult for the food service industry to adapt with the situation as dining out and social gatherings were strictly prohibited due to the increasing cases of the coronavirus. This circumstance called for the need of food businesses’ transition and development into online platforms. E-commerce made it possible for them to continue attracting and serving customers despite the lockdown. Fortunately, some economic activities and establishments were slowly being allowed to operate for dining-in as the quarantine measures have been eased. While large food chains found the situation challenging, this study also claims that it has been for the micro, small, and medium enterprises.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how adversities may happen quickly and unexpectedly; and that having a contingency plan and emergency funds alone are not enough to sustain a business when faced with crisis. During these trying times, entrepreneurs are more challenged with both personal and business problems that determine their resilience.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how some food service entrepreneurs were able to their continue operations and remain profitable amidst the pandemic. Specifically, it aimed to: (a) present the profile of the entrepreneurs’ and their online food service enterprises; (b) describe the business operations of the online food service enterprises before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; (c) identify the problems and challenges encountered by the online food service enterprises before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; (d) determine the coping mechanisms and actions taken by these food service as a response to the business challenges set by the pandemic; and (e) evaluate the entrepreneurial resilience of the online food service owners in the conduct of their business operations during the pandemic.

Online surveys were used to acquire data from n=31 online food service MSME entrepreneurs in Metro Manila. Respondents were obtained through a purposive non- probability sampling method. Probing questions were done via Facebook Messenger and email. A descriptive research design was used to fulfill the objectives of this study. The relationship between and among entrepreneurial resilience and other important variables such as socio-demographic profile, business profile, and problems encountered, and e-commerce activities during the ECQ were established using the Entrepreneurial Resilience Scale.

Through the conceptual framework, this study tackled the aspects of psychological, cognitive, and active factors that contribute to the area of entrepreneurial resilience. Based on the results, most of the respondents are represented by the youngest age group of 18-24 years old. Majority of them are females, single, and employed. This study revealed that entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and natures of businesses have a high variation of resilience scores.

Most of the businesses fall under the classification of a micro-enterprise (84%) and owned by sole-proprietors (84%). Many of which have been operating for 10-12 months by the time data gathering began on October 2020/ The most common nature of business among the respondents are bake shops, followed by home-cooked meals and fast food/ casual dining. Only a few (19%) of them are considered as part of the informal sector; as they are not registered under any government regulatory body. Majority of the respondents cater to individuals and groups such as office workers, students, and couples/friends.

Results showed that the respondents equally faced both personal and business problems during the pandemic. The personal problems that the entrepreneurs faced include COVID 19 cases within the family, financial issues, family issues, and employment issues among others. On the other hand, the business problems they faced include mobility issues, layoffs, significant losses, low social media engagements, low foot traffic, and lack of working capital.

In terms of coping mechanisms among the entrepreneurs, the spearman correlation suggested a very weak correlation between the entrepreneurial resilience scores and the degree of coping exemplified both for emotion and problem based coping mechanisms.

In terms of e-commerce activities, the frequently used websites for their digital marketing efforts are Facebook and Instagram; while Lalamove and GrabFood are the top choice delivery apps. Almost all respondents said that they operate online for a long time during the pandemic as dining in has been strictly regulated by the government. A rise in the use of financial technology apps such as GCash, Paymaya, and mobile banking has also been observed among the online food businesses to ensure cashless and convenient transactions.

Language

English

LC Subject

Entrepreneurship

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2021 M17 L37

Document Type

Thesis

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