The Role of Strategic Flexibility on Business Survival

Abstrak

The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe consequences across various aspects
of life, significantly impacting the culinary sector, which is a crucial part of the
tourism industry. Restrictions on dine-in services compelled businesses to
adapt to take-out options, resulting in significant repercussions. To navigate
these challenging times and ensure the survival and growth of the culinary
industry, entrepreneurs and restaurant managers had to adopt innovative
strategies. Income reductions affected nearly 43% of culinary businesses
during this period. To investigate the dynamics further, the research conducted
a PLS-SEM analysis, surveying 163 MSME owners or restaurant managers
operating in the Surabaya city region, who had received government support
and continued their business operations amidst the pandemic. The analysis
revealed that strategic flexibility played a pivotal role in influencing marketing
innovation and process innovation. However, the impact of marketing
innovation on business survival was not direct, while process innovation
significantly influenced business survival. Interestingly, the study observed
that government support did not alter the relationships between marketing
innovation, process innovation, and business survival.