Strategy

Entrepreneurship

Business Model Innovation as a tool for SMEs in the Food and Beverage Industry to successfully navigate crises such as COVID-19

The purpose of this project is to shed light on how SMEs can use temporary business model innovations to navigate and recover from crises. 

Main Applicant:

Cruz, M., EHL Hospitality Business School

Co-applicant(s):

Partners:

Enzo Bivona, University of Palermo (Italy)

Start and End Date:

15/06/2021 → 15/12/2021

External Funding:

HES-SO

Project Description

This project explores how small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the food and beverage industry (F&B) use business model innovations (BMIs) to navigate and recover from crises such as COVID-19. Building on an in-depth multi-case study of four SME breweries in Switzerland, this project aims at developing a generalizable framework to help SMEs in the F&B industry to understand how to create BMIs to coping and recovering from crises. 

Publication(s)

Bivona, E., & Cruz, M. (2021). Can business model innovation help SMEs in the food and beverage industry to respond to crises? Findings from a Swiss brewery during COVID-19. British food journal, 123(11), 3638-3660.; Cruz, M. and Bivona, E. (Forthcoming). Unlocking potential: collaborative approaches to crisis management and business model innovation for SMEs. European Journal of Innovation Management.

EHL Researcher Profiles

Other Research Highlights

https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/boosting-smes-business-model-innovations-in-times-of-crisis

https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/smes-food-beverage-industry