Hind Shafeeq Nimr Al-Maliki, Mahdi Salehi, Behzad Kardan
Purpose–The prevalence of Covid-19 in the world has brought about considerable problems and affected small and medium-size firms' resilience. We can refer to employment, flexibility, innovation, and activity change. The present study attempts to assess the effect of the Covid-19 on the resilience of small and medium-sized firms. In other words, this paper aims to figure out whether or not the Iraqi SME firms can tolerate the emerging epidemic of the Covid19.
Design/Methodology/Approach– For the study, a questionnaire is designed with 28 questions (3 questions about covid-19 and 25 questions from Conner and Davidson’s questionnaire on resilience). Using simple random sampling, the questionnaire is distributed among 151 subjects from small and medium-size firms’ staff and managers. After analyzing the questionnaire's reliability and validity, the hypothesis is assessed using the structural equation method.
Findings– The obtained results from hypothesis testing show the positive and significant effect of the Covid-19 virus on small and medium-size firms' resilience.
Originality/value– Since it is the first study in Iraq on the effect of covid-19 on SME firms' resilience, it can contribute to the development of science and knowledge in this field.