Purpose

The sustainable skills that informal manufacturers use in volatile times remain poorly understood. This study explored the skills that the informal manufacturers used to navigate the uncertain business environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 27 telephone interviews were conducted with informal entrepreneurs who were manufacturers of agricultural machinery at Mbare Magaba and Gaza home industry in Harare, Zimbabwe. Purposive and snow ball sampling were used to identify information rich sources. The authors used thematic analysis in identifying recurrent themes from this study.

Findings

The study results show that business agility motivated most informal manufacturers to restructure their business to sustain their operations. With the closure of formal companies, the informal manufacturers adopted slowing and narrowing loops through purchasing broken down agricultural machines for repairs or remanufacturing of durable machines for their low-income customer base. Most young and formally trained manufacturers adopted a prospector strategic behaviour as they used digital platforms to network with business associates for supplies, gathering market intelligence, making and receiving electronic payments and establishing virtual distant markets whilst the older manufacturers resorted mostly to a defender strategic behaviour of engaging their usual customers for repair jobs and a few referrals.

Originality/value

This study offers unique insights with respect to skills required for the sustainable and strategic management of small and medium enterprises during times of crisis.

中文翻译：

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利用绿色技能应对 COVID-19 危机：津巴布韦哈拉雷中小企业案例研究

目的

非正式制造商在动荡时期使用的可持续技能仍然知之甚少。本研究探讨了非正式制造商在 COVID-19 大流行期间用于应对不确定的商业环境的技能。

设计/方法/方法

共对津巴布韦哈拉雷的 Mbare Magaba 和 Gaza 家庭工业的农业机械制造商非正式企业家进行了 27 次电话采访。有目的的和雪球抽样被用来识别信息丰富的来源。作者使用主题分析来确定本研究中反复出现的主题。

发现

研究结果表明，业务敏捷性促使大多数非正规制造商重组其业务以维持其运营。随着正规公司的关闭，非正规制造商通过购买损坏的农业机械进行维修或为低收入客户群重新制造耐用机械，采用了缓慢和缩小的循环。大多数年轻且受过正规培训的制造商采用探矿者战略行为，因为他们使用数字平台与业务伙伴联系以获取供应、收集市场情报、制作和接收电子支付以及建立虚拟远程市场，而较老的制造商则大多采取防御者战略行为吸引他们的老客户进行维修工作和一些推荐。

原创性/价值

这项研究提供了有关危机时期中小企业可持续和战略管理所需技能的独特见解。