The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the New Zealand hospitality industry, within the context of business longevity theory using an on-line qualitative survey of 11 senior industry executives representing 105 restaurant, café and take-away outlets. The findings reveal that despite financial loss, COVID-19 provided an opportunity to engage in strategic innovation through two basic approaches; one mediated by technology, the other by direct personal contact. This internal innovation, flexibility and responsiveness is consistent with the RBV theory of the firm and the inertia and change perspective of organizational Population Ecology theory. The practical implications relate to business longevity and the financial impact across the industry, however, COVID-19 also provided an opportunity for strategic innovation through technology and direct personal customer contact. Innovations were mediated by two government COVID-19 related initiatives - the wage subsidy scheme, and government business loans. The social implications are significant and include a renewed sense of ‘self’ reflecting the need for business survival. Renewal has invigorated participants to differentiate the hospitality industry and its contribution to the national economy from that of tourism. That renewal and vibrancy provides the perfect scenario for the wider sociocultural embrace of a return to normal life and regular business in Aotearoa New Zealand. The limitations of this study include the focus on restaurants, cafes and take-aways - a wider hospitality industry study would provide a more industry representative perspective. The study is also focused on New Zealand as a unique case study; this would not necessarily be representative of the global industry. The qualitative approach and small sample is a strength in terms of depth of analysis, but could be supplemented through a wider quantitative study.

本文的目的是在商业寿命理论的背景下，对代表105家餐厅，咖啡厅和餐馆的11名高级行业高管进行在线定性调查，以探讨COVID-19大流行对新西兰酒店业的影响。远离网点。调查结果表明，尽管出现了财务损失，COVID-19还是通过两种基本方法提供了参与战略创新的机会。一种是由技术调解，另一种是通过直接的个人联系进行调解。这种内部创新，灵活性和响应能力与企业的RBV理论以及组织人口生态学理论的惯性和变化观点相一致。实际的含义与业务寿命和整个行业的财务影响有关，但是，COVID-19还通过技术和直接的个人客户联系为战略创新提供了机会。创新是通过两项与政府COVID-19相关的举措进行调解的-工资补贴计划和政府商业贷款。社会影响是重大的，并且包括一种新的“自我”感，反映了企业生存的需要。复兴使参与者们与众不同，使酒店业及其对国民经济的贡献与旅游业有所区别。更新和充满活力为新西兰Aotearoa回归正常生活和正常业务提供了完美的场景，为更广泛的社会文化拥抱提供了条件。这项研究的局限性包括对餐厅的关注，咖啡馆和外卖店-更广泛的酒店业研究将提供更具有行业代表性的观点。这项研究还把新西兰作为一个独特的案例研究。这不一定代表全球行业。定性方法和小样本是分析深度的优势，但可以通过更广泛的定量研究加以补充。