Business Continuity Tactics of the Japanese Small Business under the COVID-19 Pandemic : Two hypothetical models proposed by the KJ method

ＣＯＶＩＤ１９　パンデミックカ　ニ　オケル　二ホン　ノ　ショウキボ　ジギョウシャ　ラ　ノ　ジギョウ　ケイゾク　センジュツ　ＫＪ　ホウ　ニヨル　フタツ　ノ　カセツ　モデル　ノ　テイアン

ダイモン, ヒロアキ

Daimon, Hiroaki

松原, 悠

マツバラ, ユウ

Matsubara, Yu

サイガイ　ト　キョウセイ　ケンキュウカイ

事業継続

小規模事業者

COVID-19 pandemic

business continuity

small business

This study aims to determine the business continuity tactics employed by Japanese small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online from July to September 2021 with 28 small businesses on 14 items related to business suspension/resumption and business challenges during the pandemic. The audio data were analyzed using the KJ method (affinity diagram), and 38 concepts were extracted, including three categories (business continuity, internal change, and external adaptation) and nine subcategories. Based on these results, two hypothetical models of adaptation by small businesses were constructed: 1) the "Reflective Adaptation Process" model, organized by a navigation process using external responses (e.g., government restrictions, community norms) and internal adaptations (e.g., funding, remote work) from the pre– and post–pandemic time frame, and 2) the "Visioning Conflict Seesaw" model, reflected by visioning conflict and difficulty such as whether to continue the business or comply with business restrictions imposed by the social system of infection prevention. Small businesses typically did not have an advance plan (e.g., business continuity plan), but they were able to continue their business through a reflective adaptation process that utilized trial–and–error experience and a conflict process that included on–the–fly decisions, which supports a new model of business continuity, not based on advance planning.

松原, 悠