Guest editorial: COVID-19, entrepreneurship and public policy

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought abrupt and significant changes to the global economy. Entrepreneurs have had to step up to the plate and bring new ideas in order to solve problems caused by the pandemic. To do this collaboration has been required between public and private entities in order to help alleviate suffering. This has been a substantial undertaking given the magnitude of the crisis and the required coordinated efforts of those involved. The aim of this special journal issue is to discuss the linkages between the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurship and public policy. Before discussing the articles included in this special journal issue, I would like to thank the Editor Nikolai Wenzel for his ongoing help and guidance with this special journal issue. I thank him for his support on this very relevant topic.

The first paper titled “Risk categorization in Portuguese organizations in times of the COVID-19 pandemic – an exploratory statistical analysis” is by Fernando Tavares, Eulalia Santos and Vasco Tavares. The authors discuss the role risk plays in a pandemic and how policy makers need to weigh up positive as well as negative effects of change. The second paper titled “All for one? The Paycheck Protection Program distribution disparity” is by Colleen Robb, Jill Kickul, Mark Griffiths and Lisa Gundry. This paper analyses fiscal and monetary policies provided during the pandemic. The third paper titled “Resilient companies in the time of Covid-19 pandemic: a case study approach” is by Chiara Acciarini, Paolo Boccardelli and Mario Vitale. The paper analyses how resilience companies can become during times of crisis. The fourth paper titled “Sustainability project partnerships in times of crisis: conceptual framework and implications for stakeholder integration” is by Guido Grunwald, Juergen Schwill and Anne-Marie Sassenberg. This paper provides a useful analysis of the way sustainability can be a by-product as well as an intentional effect of public policy. The fifth paper titled “We versus me: Indirect conditional effects of collectivism on COVID-19 public policy hypocrisy” is by Stephen Bok, James Shum, Jason Harvie and Maria Lee. This paper discusses the hypocrite within public policy due to the COVID-19 conditions. The sixth paper titled “The net effect of the travel restriction policy on tourism demand: evidence from Greece” is by Panagiotis Dimitropoulos, Lazaros Ntasis and Konstantinos Koronios. The paper analyses the tourism industry, which has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The seventh paper titled “Unboxing organisational complexity: How does it affect business performance during the COVID-19 pandemic?” by Jorgina Pereira, Vitor Braga, Aldina Correia and Aidin Salamzadeh focuses on the complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic. The eighth paper titled “COVID-19 and public policy and entrepreneurship: future research directions” is by Vanessa Ratten. This paper provides some interesting future research suggestions about COVID-19, public policy and entrepreneurship. Thereby providing a good way to complete the special journal issue.