Abstract:
The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to small- and medium-sized agrifood
enterprises (SMAEs) in developing countries. However, research investigating what risks
Covid-19 posed to these firms, how they responded, and what business opportunities emerged to
SMAEs from the pandemic remains scanty. Drawing on a sample of 166 specialist SMAEs in
Egypt, this study addressed these entwined questions by using multiple indicators and multiple
causes (MIMIC) and mediation analysis. Our results point out that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed
Egyptian SMAEs to complex and multidimensional risks, and caused profound effects on
both upstream and downstream stages of their supply chains. In general, Egyptian SMAEs
adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to cope with such Covid-19 risks and impacts, which was attributed
to their lack of sufficient financial resources to develop risk management strategies and
formalize structures to deal with unexpected events. Interestingly, the results showed that several
business opportunities emerged from pandemic; but SMAEs' resource disadvantages constrained
their capacity to seize and exploit these opportunities. Moreover, we found that mitigation strategies
adopted by SMAEs present a mediating factor between perceived Covid-19 risks and perceived
business opportunities. Overall, our findings call for a paradigm shift in relation to enterprise
risk management in developing countries' SMAEs toward more holistic frameworks to enhance
their preparedness to future shocks, make mature operational and strategic management
decisions, and exploit strategic opportunities.
