The Management of Business Continuity in SMEs Evidence from Egypt

Hussein Esmat Hamada^1,

¹Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Graduate School of Business (AASTMT), Cairo, Egypt

Cite this paper:
Hussein Esmat Hamada. The Management of Business Continuity in SMEs Evidence from Egypt. Journal of Business and Management Sciences. 2022; 10(4):247-264. doi: 10.12691/jbms-10-4-7

Abstract

The concept of Business Continuity Management (BCM) has only recently emerged concerning small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, and few relevant studies have been conducted; therefore, the present study aims to generate a better understanding of current practices for adopting Business Continuity Management System by Egypt SMEs and to shed light on their requirements. Design/methodology/approach: The research will study the relationship between Organization Structure, Disaster Preparedness, Organization Resilience, and Business Continuity Management, using Formalization, Centralization, and Organization Size as a dimension for Organization Structure, and Supply Chain Management, Cash Flow Management, and Knowledge Management as a dimension for Organization Resilience. Using the quantitative method, Data were collected from 323 respondents working in Egypt SMEs using an online questionnaire. Research results: The results showed a direct positive effect of Organization Structure on Disaster Preparedness, with a significant positive correlation between Formalization and Organization Size with Disaster Preparedness; however, Centralization was non-significant.There was a non-significant relationship between Organization Structure and its dimension of Centralization and Business Continuity Management System; however, there was a significant correlation between Formalization, Organization Size, and Business Continuity Management System. Disaster Preparedness showed a significant direct positive effect on Business Continuity Management System. The indirect relationship between the Organization Structure and Business Continuity Management System through the mediator effect of Disaster Preparedness showed a significant direct positive effect with full mediation. The indirect relationship between the Organization's Resilience and Business Continuity Management System through the mediator effect of Disaster Preparedness; the results showed a positive effect on Business Continuity Management System, with a significant positive correlation between Supply Chain Resilience, Cash Flow Resilience, Knowledge Management Resilience, and Business Continuity Management System. The relationship between the Organization's Resilience and Disaster Preparedness, The results showed a significant effect on Disaster Preparedness, with a significant correlation between Supply Chain Resilience, Cash Flow Resilience, Knowledge Resilience, and Disaster Preparedness. The relationship between Organization Structure and Disaster Preparedness through the moderation effect of Organization Resilience showed a non-significant effect of Organization Resilience on the relationship. The significance of results, recommendations, and possible applications: The study has proposed a new framework for a Business Continuity Management System; to be applied in SMEs; the study revealed that Managers of SMEs shall maintain a state of Formalization inside the firm, even in a start-up phase, in addition to maintaining a highly resilient organization by focusing on best practices for Supply Chain Management, Cash Flow Management, and Knowledge Management inside the firm in order to reach a high state of Disaster Preparedness inside the firm to deal with disruptions and changing circumstances in the business environment. It is recommended to build on the current study framework and expand it by adding more dimensions for Organization Structure like complexity and span of control, test the effect of new constructs, for example, organization innovation or external environment; further, the research did not distinguish between industries; accordingly, it is favorably to issue this study according to each industry and observe the variation in results.

Keywords:
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Business Continuity Disaster Preparedness Organizational Resilience Supply Chain Management Cash Flow Management Knowledge Management Organizational Characteristics Centralized Decision-Making Formalization Business Continuity Management (BCM)

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