Survivability Scenario of SMEs in Facing COVID-19 Crisis Based on the Social Commerce Framework
18 Pages Posted: 18 Dec 2021 Publication Status: Preprint
Abstract
Government regulations that limit social and community activities to reduce the COVID-19 Pandemic have a very negative impact on the economy. This negative impact has a more profound effect on SMEs because this business model is highly dependent on sales flow. Falling demand will significantly threaten the survival of SMEs. To overcome this impact, SMEs need to consider digital technology to better market their products. Social commerce, a new e-commerce business model, is becoming an online sales platform that helps businesses connect with customers and gain a competitive edge. This study aims to develop scenarios for the ability of SMEs to survive the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We create scenarios based on a social commerce framework with four components: customer, platform, merchant, and context. These components are mapped in ITIL 4 to obtain scenarios of practical and well-documented actions by SMEs affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. This study uses canonical action research to apply scenarios to affected SMEs and then evaluates how those scenarios can help SMEs survive based on their financial performance. This study proposes applicable social commerce scenarios to encourage the ability of SMEs to withstand the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Keywords: Social Commerce, Survivability SME, COVID-19 Pandemic
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