Determining the Impact of the COVID 19 Epidemic on Commercial Activities in Istanbul and Offering Solution Suggestions

It is aimed to determine the problems caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in companies of different scales and business lines in Istanbul and to offer solutions. As a result of the study, it was aimed to determine the first effects (problems) of the epidemic on companies, to rank these problems in order of importance and to create policy recommendations for companies of different scales and fields of activity. By conducting a survey for the companies operating in Istanbul, the first effects of the problems caused by the epidemic for all companies, separately according to their scales and fields of activity, were revealed. The impact levels of these problems on companies were determined using the Analytical Hierarchy Process approach. Then, the solution proposals of the companies were compiled according to each scale and field of activity. In addition, a roundtable meeting was organized with academicians who are experts in the study and people from the business world, and in this meeting, preliminary findings regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on commercial activities in Istanbul were evaluated. Finally, in the light of secondary data, policy solutions related to macro-economic indicators were presented to the problems revealed as a result of the analysis and evaluation. It has been determined that the main problems affecting companies during the epidemic process are exchange rate, cost increase, demand contraction and financing problem. In the light of the findings obtained, solutions to these problems were presented for policy makers and decision makers with the information obtained from the business world. As a result of the study, it was determined that the most important problems for companies operating in Istanbul during the epidemic period were exchange rate uncertainty, cost increase, demand contraction and financing problems, and the following solutions were presented for each problem. He stated that the volatility of the business world on the subject of "exchange rate" should decrease and it should be predictable. Inflation was prominent in the macroeconomic indicators it is related to. "Cost increase" has been among the main problems and when its relationship with macroeconomic variables is examined, it is observed that the most observed period is inflation and inflation expectations are the highest. "Demand Contraction" is the most frequently mentioned problem in open-ended questions. Unemployment and exchange rate indicators, the relationship of which was determined as a result of the analysis, were evaluated as indicators that should be improved.