Title: Causal analysis of company performance and technology mediation in small and medium enterprises during COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in companies and affected the operational capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide, pushing them further towards technology adoption and innovation. However, the extent to which the impact of use of e-commerce, technology, and digitalization on companies’ sales, operations, customer satisfaction, and their overall performance during COVID-19 has not been investigated. The aim of this study is to conduct a path analysis assessment of performance and technology mediation in SMEs during the pandemic. The path analysis suggests existence of statistically significant partial mediation by the mediator variables (SMEs’ digitalization, use of technology, and use of e-Commerce during COVID-19) between independent variables (SMEs’ operation, sales, and customer satisfaction) and the dependent variable (SMEs’ performance). Operation, sales, and customer satisfaction directly affected SMEs’ performance during COVID-19. There was also an acceleration in the SMEs’ technology transformation during this period.

Biography

Ashraf Mishrif is the founding director and research chair of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Research Chair for Economic Studies, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Prior to that he was Associate Professor at King’s College London and taught at various universities including Qatar University, Ahmed bin Mohammed Military College Qatar, Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge, and the University of Greenwich, London, UK. He assumed several executive posts including Cultural Advisor for the Egyptian Embassy Cultural Bureau in London, Managing Director of the London-based consulting firm EU-Med International, and International Advisor and member of the Academic Board of Directors, Boston Business Management School, Singapore. He is an expert in economic development and the political economy of the Middle East, with a special focus on the Gulf region. He established and led several research clusters, masters and doctoral programs in political economy, foreign direct investment, international trade, economic diversification, and Euro-Arab economic relations. He provides advisory services to international organizations and governments including UNCTAD, UK Trade and Investment, Islamic Development Bank (Saudi Arabia), and Social Fund for Development (Egypt), Chambers of Commerce, Authority of Development of SMEs, Authority of Industrial Estates, and Special Economic Zones (Oman). He manages several strategic research projects and regional development programs, with a research budget of US$1.2 million and 32 research staff. He is Fellow of International Society for Development and Sustainability (Japan) and the Book Series Editor of Palgrave Macmillan Political Economy of the Middle East. He authored and edited several books, book chapters and peer-reviewed papers, including two volumes on economic diversification and nationalization of the labour market in the GCC.