The Impact of Covid-19 on Profitability of Ict Small and Medium Scale Enterprise in Kaduna North Local Government Area
CHAPTER ONE
Purpose of study
The purpose of this study is to;
- To explore how ICT small and medium scale businesses are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,
- To identify how their value chains are being affected
- To identify how the SMEs are dealing with Covid 19.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Overview of Coronavirus Disease
Coronavirus Disease is a contagious disease that first emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019. It was later coded “COVID-19” by the W.H.O which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019. The Coronavirus outbreak remains one of the worst global pandemics for decades. The mortality rate soared and the easy of spread was upsetting. Research shows that older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer were more likely to develop serious illnesses from coronavirus (W.H.O, 2020). Some of the symptoms of Coronavirus include; Sore throat, runny nose, constant coughing/sneezing, breathing difficulty and fatigue.
Image 1: Illustration of the Morphology of Coronaviruses; the club-shaped viral spike pelomers, coloured red, create the look of a corona surrounding the virion when observed with an electron (Wikipedia,2020a-SARS- CoV-2 without background.png).
As at the time of this study, there were no reliable treatments for Coronavirus, but a series of researches were in the pipeline across the world towards finding a clinical vaccine for the contagion. However, recent events shows that behavioural change can help contain the spread of coronavirus. Some of the suggested measures to halt the coronavirus pandemic include; improved individual habits such as personal hygiene, including constant washing of hands with alcohol-based sanitizers, good respiratory attitude (close coughing and sneezing), and other personal protection practices like wearing of face mask, social distancing, avoiding touching of the face, and reducing contacts with people through self-isolation at home or avoiding nonessential travels or gatherings. Coronavirus is a global problem that requires more action coordination and global cooperation to successfully contain the outbreak and to deal with its aftermath effects. Consequently, the United Nations appealed for 2 billion dollars to support global response efforts towards tackling the coronavirus pandemic. The consequences of COVID-19 could be more severe; if people do not comply or adhere strictly to public health regulations and advice.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The study used descriptive research design. A descriptive study involves collecting data that test the validity of the hypotheses regarding the present status of the subjects of the study. In this study, the design was used to determine the effects of Covid 19 pandemic which was the independent variable on ICT SMEs which was the dependent variable in this study in Kaduna North L.G.A.
SECTION FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Demographic Data of respondents
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND CONCLUSION
Discussion
Three of the respondents stated that they have not been too negatively affected by Covid-19 and have therefore not made any major changes in their business operations and the business environment is almost the same as before. Digitalization is a key factor as to why some of these companies are not being too affected and Buer et al. (2018), explains that digitalization is a core element for creating an effective plan and control in a company. The authors argue that digitalization allows these 3 companies to have all the resources they need to operate as normal as possible during these times, and it allows the employees in the firms to have less human contact but still being able to work, as they can do it through digital channels. These companies being e-commerce further allows them to operate as usual and still have customers during a pandemic, as they don´t have to think about closing the store or adjust their opening times like physical stores have been forced to during the pandemic and this also relates to Wigand (2006), who stated that electronic commerce has shifted the definition of a company due to the abilities they have. The interaction between a company and customer no longer needs to be physical and they can instead interact trough digital channels.
Conclusions
The Covid-19 situation can impact e-commerce firms differently, depending on what kind of firm they are, which sector, and where in the world they have production and manufacturing facilities. Covid-19 has also shown signs of positive impacts for some of the e-commerce firms from the empirical findings in this research. The outcomes of the situation, and how it will further impact them in the future, is however unclear. The current information that there is about e-commerce and Covid-19, points to the fact that e-commerce is growing and making even more profits than before, due to the situation. The growth is mainly caused by people not wanting to go out and expose themselves to the virus, and therefore shops from e-commerce rather than physical stores during this period. Most e-commerce firms have experienced increased sales, which affects their business operations to some extent, however, some e- commerce firms are responding differently and are being affected in other ways than most, and others are almost not impacted at all. The purpose of this research is to answer the following main research question (RQ): How are ICT small scale enterprises affected by the Covid- 19 outbreak? To be able to answer this question more explicitly, first, the following sub- questions needs to be answered: (1) Which parts of their value chains are being impacted by Covid-19? and (2) How are they dealing with the Covid-19 situation?
Recommendations
The findings of this research show that e-commerce firms have been affected and the analysis can be useful for other e-commerce manager as instruments to compare the actions with other firms in order to make better decisions. These findings can provide another point of view for managers to understand processes from other responses. From the conclusion, e-commerce firms have been affected dependent on their current digital business environment. Due to certain experiences, the data revealed that some firms have made changes and efforts than others. The findings can contribute to other similar industries as sources of effects on e- commerce firms. By obtaining an understanding of this situation, e-commerce firms can have issues to operate as usual during the Covid-19. However, due to social distancing firms have realized that they can keep their business operations ongoing through digital platforms.
Reference
- Adams J., Hafiz TA. and Raeside, R. (2014). Research Methods for Business and Social Science Students, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
- Bernard, H.R. (2002). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative method 3rd Ed., Walnut Creek, California: Altamira Press.
- Birchler, U. and Bütler, M. (1999). Information economics, Routledge.
- Boeije, H. (2010). Analysis in Qualitative Research Ltd.1st Ed., Sage publications.
- Brinkmann, S. and Kvale, S. (2015). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing 3, Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
- Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods Fifth, Oxford University Press. Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods 3rd Ed., Oxford University Press.
- Bryman, A. and Burgess, B. (Eds.). (1994). Analyzing Qualitative Data, London: Routledge.
- Buckley, J.W and Chiang C.H. (1976). Research methodology and business decisions, Canada, National Association of Accountants.
- Choi, S.Y., Stahl, D.O. and Whinston, A.B. (1997). The economics of electronic commerce, Indianapolis: Macmillan Technical Publishing.
- Clifford, N., Cope, M., Gillespie, T. and French, S. (Eds.). (2016). Key methods in geography, Sage.
- Creswell, J.W. and Poth, C.N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches, Sage publications.
