Investigating the Operational Resilience of Small Business in Dublin, Ireland Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Disruption

Titilayo Enitan, Balogun (2024) Investigating the Operational Resilience of Small Business in Dublin, Ireland Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Disruption. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term effect has had an intense impact on businesses globally, especially on small businesses that frequently lack the means and resilience of big firms, they face unique challenges during disruptions due to the inability to rapidly adapt or recover from irregularities (Gorjian Khanzad and Goyabadi, 2021). This research aims to examine the operational resilience of small businesses in Dublin, Ireland, in the post-COVID-19 era. It seeks to explore the strategies implemented by these businesses to recover from disruptions, assess their effectiveness and evaluating the lessons learned for future resilience. A literature review conducted in this research highlights the importance of operational resilience, especially for small businesses, and discusses existing frameworks and methodologies for assessing resilience strategies in line with the Central Bank of Ireland's operational resilience framework.

The methodology involves analysing primary data gathered from seven small business owners in Dublin Ireland through semi- structured open-end interviews through a qualitative approach to draw insights from the experiences and perspectives of business owners.

Findings reveal that small businesses faced various challenges post-COVID-19, such as supply chain disruptions and changes in customer behaviour, financial strain, working pattern challenges. Many adopted digital transformation strategies, flexible working patterns, and new customer engagement methods. However, gaps in operational resilience exist, including the lack of continuous monitoring and evaluation of implemented strategies were identified.

Overall, the research contributes valuable insights into the existing literature of operational resilience of small businesses post-pandemic, offering practical recommendations for businesses to strengthen their continuity plans and enhance their ability to withstand future disruptions.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Supervisors:	Name Email Cleary-Gaffney, Michael UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	R Medicine > Diseases > Outbreaks of disease > Epidemics > COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > Ireland > Dublin H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory > Entrepreneurship H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Small Business Sector
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Entrepreneurship
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	06 Jun 2025 09:19
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2025 09:19
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/7775

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