The project involves conducting a study titled "The Resilience of Small and Very Small Businesses in Greece," which includes:
A. Documentation of the theoretical framework for resilience, particularly regarding small and very small businesses in the Greek business environment.** This focuses primarily on the sectors and nature of businesses represented by GSEVEE.
Key areas of examination include:
- Existing theoretical approaches to resilience and their scholarly trends.
- Resilience over time (current, proactive resilience).
- Resilience as viewed through the lens of adaptability/change/transformation and as a strategic choice.
- Business resilience with an emphasis on small and very small enterprises.
- Characteristics and capabilities of SMEs, along with the role of the entrepreneur/business leader.
- The Greek business environment, taking into account recent crises (economic, health, energy, inflation) and the domestic development model. This will help identify types of adversities/risks faced by small-scale Greek businesses and prioritize them.
- Presentation and analysis of factors, and ranking of risks, that affect a business’s resilience level, divided (if necessary) into distinct categories.
B. The study focuses on measuring resilience in two stages:**
1. Theoretical Review:
This will examine, but is not limited to:
- Existing resilience measurement models (distinguishing between the business and the entrepreneur) and methodologies, criteria, and indicators for measuring resilience at both organizational and individual levels.
- Application of these models within the Greek business landscape for small and very small enterprises, with a focus on the sectors, professions, and types of businesses represented by GSEVEE.
2. Development of a methodology and practical tool for measuring resilience at the business level:** This tool will be designed for businesses represented by GSEVEE and will examine the top 5 risk factors identified for Greek businesses in the study’s theoretical section. The tool will include a questionnaire, a scoring system for the responses, and a final resilience score for assessing resilience against selected factors and risks.
C. Additionally, the contractor will be responsible for:**
- Recommending practical interventions to enhance resilience in Greek small-scale businesses (business coaching, resilience skills development for entrepreneurs, advisory services).
- Providing a documented proposal for the geographical and sectoral distribution of 100 SMEs where the tool will be applied and potential support interventions conducted.
- Conducting a pilot application of the tool in five (5) businesses, as suggested by GSEVEE’s Institute of Small Enterprises (IME GSEVEE), in collaboration with IME GSEVEE personnel to identify any weaknesses.
- Training and preparing IME GSEVEE’s staff in the practical application of the tool.
