Title: A study on the impact of COVID-19 on the business operations of MSMEs

Authors: Naseem Twaissi; Jehad Saleh Aldehayyat; Moid U. Ahmad

Addresses: College of Business and Economics, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Jordan ' College of Business and Economics, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Jordan ' Scholeio Education, Ghaziabad, NCR, India

Abstract: COVID-19 has brought in a lot of uncertainty in global businesses, particularly small businesses and startups. The primary objective of the research is to understand more about the impact of COVID-19 and the government's support for the business operations for small businesses in the context of four firm level moderating variables. The study is based on a sample (342 responses) of entrepreneurs/managers from the service oriented small business sector in Jordan. The research found a mismatch between the government's economic relief and the expectations of the small business sector. Another significant finding of the research is that number of owners in a firm and the flexibility in business model of firms are the two variables which moderate the impact of government support on MSME operations.

Keywords: COVID-19; MSME; Jordan; moderation analysis; firm operations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2025.149756

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2025 Vol.37 No.2, pp.224 - 236

Received: 06 Oct 2021
Accepted: 06 Nov 2021
Published online: 12 Nov 2025 *

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