Entrepreneurial responses to uncertainties during the COVID-19 recovery: A longitudinal study of B&Bs in Zhangjiajie, China

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sweeping changes to global tourism alongside large-scale travel restrictions, posing complex challenges to entrepreneurs and firms seeking to find their footing in a turbulent climate. This study presents a theoretical framework linking uncertainty, capital, and inn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tourism management (1982) 2022-08, Vol.91, p.104525-104525, Article 104525
Main Authors: Zhang, Weizheng, Williams, Allan M., Li, Gang, Liu, Anyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bed and breakfast
Capital
Crisis management
Innovation
Longitudinal study
Small and medium-sized enterprises
Uncertainty
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sweeping changes to global tourism alongside large-scale travel restrictions, posing complex challenges to entrepreneurs and firms seeking to find their footing in a turbulent climate. This study presents a theoretical framework linking uncertainty, capital, and innovation to analyse how bed-and-breakfast small and medium-sized enterprises have innovatively responded to unprecedented obstacles during COVID-19 recovery. Three-stage longitudinal interviews were conducted with more than 30 entrepreneurs between April and November 2020 to unpack their ongoing responses to the pandemic. The recovery process was found to be non-linear due to the shifting nature of sources of uncertainty and changes in entrepreneurs' capital. These alterations shaped interviewees’ responses, especially in terms of product and marketing innovations, which ultimately generated new uncertainty.
ISSN:0261-5177
1879-3193
DOI:10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104525