GCRF_NF106 Entrepreneurial resilience & recovery during and after covid-19 crisis: firm- & community-level responses in Wuhan, Malaysia, and Thailand

Moscarini and Postel-Viney (American Economic Review, 2012) showed that entrepreneurs are central for economic resilience during an economic crisis and for kickstarting recovery as the crisis attenuates. However, we know little about how this potential can be best harnessed during a covid-19 -style economic emergency, which not only causes a sharp demand shock, but also, requires businesses to radically reconfigure their operations to comply with social distancing. This knowledge gap is particularly acute for low- and middle-income economies, as most studies of entrepreneurial resilience have been conducted in high-income countries. In harnessing entrepreneurs for economic resilience and recovery during a crisis, governments have to deter a 'race to the bottom' response and encourage a 'community pulling together' response. The first is a 'dog-eat-dog' race to secure as many of the dwindling resources for oneself as possible. In the second, the community pulls together to buffer its members against the shock. We currently know little about how to promote sustainable responses and discourage unsustainable ones. We address the above knowledge gaps. Collaborating with Wuhan University, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia (Bangkok), Asia School of Business (Kuala Lumpur) and Asian Development Bank (Manila) we study entrepreneurial firm- and community-level responses and business model practices for resilient adjustment to covid- 19 crisis and for robust post-crisis recovery. We will conduct 20-25 longitudinal case studies to induct firm- and community -level process models of entrepreneurial resilience and recovery to inform policy and entrepreneurial practice in lower and upper middle income economies in Asia.