Author(s): Samson Nambei Asoba and Nteboheng Patricia Mefi
Crisis situations are often unforeseeable and they have the capacity to cause the collapse of small businesses or disrupt their general operations. As a result it is essential to consider the functional strategies that can be pursued by small business to ensure their viability and continuity. This study employed the case study approach to explore the functional strategies that can be available to ensure the survival, sustainability and continuity of small businesses. The study considered the crisis situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic and relied on it to select a case study of a small business that endured the pandemic and continued in operation despite many other small businesses having closed. A telephone interview conducted with the small business entrepreneur as well as observations of the nature of operations conducted by the small business entrepreneur to remain operational were the main data collection methods adopted. The results of the study indicated that crisis-fit functional strategies that could be adopted by small business entrepreneurs include repurposing operations, collaborating with relevant stakeholders, remodeling traditional operations as well as adopting customer centric approaches. The study recommended that small business entrepreneurs should always have a generalized crisis response plan to enhance their capacity to handle disruptive situations