Adaptation Strategies and Entrepreneurial Resilience Amid the Pandemic: The Case of Micro-and-Small Scale Agri-Enterprises of UPLB Alumni

Date

1-2023

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Development Communication (CDC)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Dinah Pura T. Depositario

Committee Member

Melodee Marciana E. De Castro, Maria Noriza Q. Herrera, Mar B. Cruz

Restrictions

Restricted: Not available to the general public. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser and only to those bound by the confidentiality agreement.

Abstract

Agriculture was one of the industries in the Philippines that was severely impacted by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's effects. As a result, farmers, certain micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, and agricultural entrepreneurs were all affected. The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) an academic institution is known to produce graduates that are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and experiences to utilize opportunities in the agribusiness arena. UPLB is a potential hub for agricultural entrepreneurship due to the awareness of its residents and graduates regarding the significance of innovation, sustainability, and eco-friendly practices. Thus, this study aims to identify the adaptation strategies and entrepreneurial resilience among the UPLB alumni-established agri-enterprises amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted specifically to 1) Present the profile of the UPLB alumni agripreneurs and their

enterprises; 2) Describe the business operations of the UPLB alumni-established agri- enterprises before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; 3) Identify the problems and

challenges faced by the UPLB alumni-established agri-enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic; 4) Analyze the adaptation strategies utilized by the UPLB alumni-established agri-enterprises to respond to the challenges brought about in response to the adversity; 5) Evaluate the degree of resiliency of the UPLB alumni-established agri-enterprises during the pandemic in the course of their business operations as well as the factors (anticipation, cultural & behavioral, relational, technological, and entrepreneurial capabilities) that contributed to these enterprises’ resilience, and; 6) Recommend adaptation strategies that may be considered in times of adversity to other current and aspiring agripreneurs locally.

A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire in a survey was used to collect the primary data. Online platforms was used to achieve a contactless interview to guarantee both parties’ safety and physical distancing amidst the pandemic. Secondary data were acquired from publications including books, journals, and trusted websites. The study tackled micro and small-sized enterprises that were categorized under the agribusiness subsystems. The Entrepreneurial Resilience Measurement Scale (EMRS), developed by Nor Aishah Buang (2012), will be used to determine the degree of entrepreneurial resilience the UPLB alumni agripreneurs. Additionally, the Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) will be used to observe patterns of their key characteristics that they possess with regards to their resilience scores. This study used a qualitative research approach to explore the background and profile of the agripreneurs. The resilience capabilities, PEC scores, the mean average of the resilience scores, and the adaptation strategies implemented were interpreted using descriptive analysis.

Based on the findings, some agripreneurs were forced to change their business operations when the pandemic hit. This disruption encouraged innovation, as a slew of digital enterprises arose to satisfy changing requirements and market possibilities. Those who had previously sold their products and services online had little to no changes in their business setup and offers due to being accustomed to it. They did not believe that changing the setup or the services was significant or necessary. Majority of the respondents found the pandemic to have a somewhat positive impact on their businesses due to the challenge it had brought that compelled the agripreneurs to treat this as an opportunity for growth. Contrastingly, the minority considered the pandemic to have a very negative impact as this had affected their sales as well as their acquisition of raw materials due to the travel restrictions that the lockdowns had brought last 2020. The adaptation strategies utilized during the pandemic were categorized into two – survival and sustaining strategies. The presence of both were found to be related to greater resilience. Based on the effects of the pandemic mentioned, the overall adaptation strategies that were equally the most effective and had favorable effects on the agri-enterprises were as follows: cost reduction, utilization of digital platforms, and market diversification. The first two classifying as survival strategies (short-term solutions), while the latter as sustaining (long term fix). Next the respondents were found to be resilient, the difference would only be on the varying degree of resiliency. Agri-enterprises that were less resilient were found to have coinciding PEC scores. Thus, if an agripreneur aims to improve their degree of resiliency, enhancing their PECs is suggested to be prioritized.

Four resilience capabilities were tackled in this study (anticipation, cultural and behavioral, relational, and technical capabilities). All agri-enterprises were able to demonstrate at least one of the four capabilities especially on the onset of the pandemic. Furthermore, the presence of more resilience capabilities (out of the four) was linked towards greater resilience. The manifestation of these capabilities mostly depended on the agri-enterprise’s situation, degree of disruption, capacity, and available resources. This means that there are no standard or fixed capability in which an average entrepreneur might have, however, these resilience capabilities can be developed through willingness and ability.

The PECs were also classified into three clusters: clusters one (achieving behaviors), two (planning behaviors), and three (power behaviors). Improving resilience was found to be linked to having higher scores in clusters one and three. Agri-enterprises that had higher scores under these clusters were discovered to be highly resilient. Two agri-enterprises had lower PEC scores and fell under the weak category. However, one of these two was still considered as highly resilient. It was found that an agri-enterprise may still have a high degree of resiliency despite the relatively lower PEC scores for as long as the agri-enterprise does not completely and indefinitely halt their operations until recovery. No patterns were observed for the moderate scorers as their individual PEC scores were varied and inconsistent. These agri-enterprises were strong in some individual PEC scores, while weak in others.

Overall, the factors that may lead towards greater resiliency would be if (1) an agri-enterprise is able to exhibit four out of four resilience capabilities in an agri-enterprise, (2) an agripreneur develop their individual PEC scores, prioritizing PECs under cluster one (achieving behaviors) and three (power behaviors), and (3) an agri-enterprise considers utilizing both survival and sustaining strategies in the face of adversity. Recommendations leaned on improving the four resilience capabilities through constant reassessment of the enterprise, increasing exposure and enhancing knowledge on relevant digital platforms, maintaining existing and forming new connections, considering both survival and sustaining strategies during the times of disruption, being open to modifications in business operations, and focusing on improving the PECs towards greater resiliency.

Language

English

LC Subject

Agricultural industries--Philippines, Entrepreneurship--Research, COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020--Economic aspects--Philippines--Miscellanea

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2023 M17 P47

Document Type

Thesis

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS