Chapter 14

Managing Human Resources in the New

Normal: How Are Small Business
Owner-­Managers Responding?

Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi

Introduction

In 2019, the world experienced the novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) with
devastating consequences (McKibbin & Fernando, 2020; World Health Organization,
2020). In 2020 alone, more than 20 million deaths were estimated in collated global
figures (Walker et al., 2020). Within organizations, budget cuts were also attributed
to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic (Tafeni & Mngomezulu, 2020). The
COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing socioeconomic challenges
(Mazarire, 2020; van der Merwe, 2020). In the developed world, the impact of the
pandemic has also been noted to be enduring and affecting society and the world of
business (Anker, 2021). The pandemic has led to a limit in terms of how businesses
operate, including even the closure of some businesses (Zacher & Rudolph, 2020).
The pandemic has also been noted to affect aspects of the workspace. Due to limita-
tions around gathering, the physical workspace is being replaced by online work
modes (Brynjolfsson et al., 2020). Firms may need to rethink and realign human
resource management (HRM) practices to align with this new working mode
(Caligiuri et al., 2020). This has led to calls for organizations to adapt swiftly and
charter responses to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (Collings et al., 2019).
Ogunlela and Tengeh (2020) bemoan the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
especially within the small business sector, leading to closure for some. Furthermore,
also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are employees in such businesses, not
only in how they are managed (Bapuji et al., 2020) but also in their mental well-­
being (Rachidi, 2020). This could serve as a difficult path to post-recovery in the
new normal (Handfield et al., 2020; Trautrims et al., 2020). Small businesses may
also need to be responsive because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This

W. T. Chinyamurindi (*)
Department of Business Management, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
e-mail: wchinyamurindi@[Link]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 249

Switzerland AG 2022
I. L. Potgieter, N. Ferreira (eds.), Managing Human Resources,
[Link]
250 W. T. Chinyamurindi

responsiveness is needed given the dynamics of social change actuated by the pan-
demic, especially for small businesses (Anshari et al., 2020). A pre-pandemic con-
cern had been the challenges faced by small businesses related to financial and
human resource management (Pal et al., 2014). As a post-pandemic strategy, there
is a need to prioritize small business development (Eggers, 2020). In so doing, the
desire is to pay attention to the aspects related to the management of not just the
finances but also the human resources of small businesses (Kuckertz et al., 2020).
In addressing the presented challenges posed by the pandemic, two possible
strategies are proposed by Ngcaweni (2020). The first is to strive for prevention,
especially considering the general population. The second strategy focuses on post-­
recovery to stabilize and grow national economies (Baur, 2020). This also calls for
a change in how organizations are run and in the aspects of resource allocation and
utilization (Makumbe, 2020). Ultimately, the aim is to improve business confidence
(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020). In so doing,
attention needs to be given to post-COVID-19 recovery efforts to be studied in situ
(Cho, 2020), considering the micro–macro processes and happenings (Roosen
et al., 2020; Magezi & Manzanga, 2020). In response to the pandemic, a noted
effort, especially amongst South African firms, is diversification (Bauw, 2020).
Furthermore, calls exist to understand the role of managerial and leadership
capabilities in driving all this (Atiku et al., 2020). Furthermore, how human resource
management (HRM) practices respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pan-
demic is an issue of continued inquiry (Gigauri, 2020). Ultimately, such gaps prof-
fer an understanding of the post-recovery efforts and responses of human behavior
(Pillay & Barnes, 2020) and those of organizations to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, calls and apparent gaps exist within the literature. Notably, there is a
need for comparative studies that are sector-influenced responses to the challenges
of the COVID-19 pandemic (Hudecheck et al., 2020). This is deemed a valuable
point of organizational learning, especially given the unpredictable nature of the
world’s challenges due to the pandemic (Raju & van Niekerk, 2020). An essential
capability warranting further attention to the ideals of post-recovery efforts is con-
cerned with the role of technology. This has been an acknowledgment pre-COVID-19
(Telukdarie et al., 2018) and needs further attention in the current and post-­
COVID-­19 scenarios (Hu et al., 2021). Calls exist within the literature for more
nuanced case examples of how businesses respond to the COVID-19 crisis through
their strategic decisions and actions (Margherita & Heikkila, 2021).

Chapter Objective

This chapter seeks to offer theoretical and empirical insights and proffer practitioner
ramifications considering the proposed topic under study. This fits within calls,
especially in both developing and developed countries, for seeking ways to improve
how micro-level capabilities can contribute to the performance of enterprises and
the management of the same (Duarte, 2017; El Haddad et al., 2018). Furthermore,
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 251

this chapter adds a unique dimension and context in response to the COVID-19
pandemic. In essence, considering the theoretical, empirical, and practitioner audi-
ence as advocated in the literature (Zhang & Merchant, 2020), this chapter seeks to
explain the how and why aspects of the issues under focus. This chapter can be a
sound basis for pushing frontiers in studies responsive to contextual happenings,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic, through its findings and implications. This quest
has become essential, especially given the acknowledgment of small businesses
having the potential to leverage the success of the presence of human capital (Light
& Dana, 2020; Dana et al., 2019).

COVID-19 and the Small Business Sector

Small businesses are acknowledged as necessary for growth and employment cre-
ation. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses face serious chal-
lenges, even closure (Markovic et al., 2021). Two strategies are deemed key in
response to this, a) efforts of prevention and b) actions encouraging post-recovery
building. Calls exist within the academic and practitioner press for fine case exam-
ples of prevention–response actions to the COVID-19 pandemic (Katare et al.,
2021). Answering such calls has become an essential precursor to targeted interven-
tions that aid in efforts to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable societies. In
essence, this can be done through an appraisal of critical vulnerabilities that small
businesses face and ongoing efforts (and best practices) post-recovery from the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from the study can potentially
help policy-makers in assisting small business development, despite the devastation
caused by the pandemic. Such a quest can be in line with international calls for stud-
ies of this kind to inform the work of policy-makers. For instance, Harel (2022)
suggests the generation of evidence-informed practice in understanding the impact
of the pandemic and developing interventions from this.

Research Question and Purpose

The research seeks to answer the following question:

How does a sample of small business owner-managers respond to the challenges of
the COVID-19 pandemic considering the human resource function of the entity?
Based on this proposed research question, the following research objective is
proposed:
To explore how a sample of small business owner-managers respond to the challenges of
the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the human resource function of the entity.
252 W. T. Chinyamurindi

Literature Review

Theoretical Lens

The proposed study borrows from a couple of theoretical postulations concerning

the theoretical literature. First, borrowing from the human capital theory, the focus
is on developing resources (particularly human resources) within enterprises to gain
a competitive advantage (Bag & Gupta, 2019). The role of managers and leaders has
become critical in attaining a competitive advantage (Hoffmann & Rusch, 2017)
and in driving internal capabilities for organizational success (Barreto et al., 2017).
Essentially, such a role can be a critical success factor in business outcomes (Shen
& Liu, 2003).
Second, given quests for improving competitive advantage (Evans, 2019), the
focus is also on the idea of dynamic capabilities. Calls exist within the literature to
understand how such dynamic capabilities not only feature and relate to COVID-19
but also relate to firm operation and performance (Rapaccini et al., 2020). This also
emphasizes the resource-based view (Barney, 1991) and seeks to link resources and
capabilities to firm performance.
The third aspect is concerned with issues related to organizational learning. Van
Hoek (2020) argues that given the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to under-
stand how decision-making capabilities develop in such a context. A launch pad
could utilize an organization (and its actors) to understand all this. This can be a
helpful platform for understanding organizational learning, especially considering
the COVID-19 pandemic context (Lee et al., 2020). The role of managerial and
leadership influence has become a different area of inquiry (Auer, 2021), especially
in driving capabilities that foster learning. This could be an essential response amid
the tragedy imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Raju & van Niekerk, 2020). The
current crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic offers the opportunity to respond
as the basis for crisis management (Margherita & Heikkila, 2021) and through the
post-crisis work of learning and revision (Coombs, 2015).

Empirical Literature

This research makes some fundamental assumptions guided by the literature and the
issue under study concerning the empirical literature. The dynamic business envi-
ronment and the accompanying changes have called for an organizational response
(Abubakar et al., 2019). Capabilities play an essential role in allowing for this
response while possibly positioning success for the organization (Eren &
Ciçeklioğlu, 2020). Therefore, a set of interlinked capabilities can assist an organi-
zation in navigating a period of difficulty. These include a) technology (Pederzini,
2019); b) organizational processes (Pahos & Galanaki, 2019); and c) business func-
tion activities (Chinyamurindi et al., 2021a). This may mean that South African
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 253

entrepreneurs need training and education regarding responsive business models to

the pandemic (Von Maltitz & Van der Lingen, 2022).
Another critical capability includes the human resource component
(Chinyamurindi et al., 2021a, b). Calls exist for continued efforts in ascertaining the
role of dynamic capabilities such as the human resource component as a response to
the COVID-19 crisis from the organization’s vantage (Anker, 2021). Even consider-
ing Teece (2007), the argument here is seeking to understand how dynamic capabili-
ties are affected by the pandemic and the ensuing response, a view also supported
by others (Garrido et al., 2019). The premise is that business models still accrue
value while expanding on new market opportunities, albeit with uncertainty
(Nambisan et al., 2019).
A period of crisis can be used to be innovative. This places importance on also
understanding the types of capabilities that can be generated in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations can use external stakeholders as potential plat-
forms through which new forms of work arrangements can be developed (Markovic
et al., 2021). This has led some to see the need for a spirit of collaboration in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Maciel & Fischer, 2020). However, such col-
laborative efforts may need to be balanced (Crick & Crick, 2020). This has led to
calls for organizations to be more responsive, including agile, to the challenges
posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Mundra & Mishra, 2021). All this places impor-
tance on dynamic capability development (Kump et al., 2019).
Some argue that technology plays an essential role in managing the challenges
created by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world of work (Semke & Tiberius, 2020).
This has emphasized the need to pay attention to technological acumen and compe-
tencies, especially within organizations (Abbady et al., 2019). Potentially benefit-
ting from this are employees. Links can be made, therefore, to business continuity
despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Margherita & Heikkila,
2021). In essence, through such responses, organizations are encouraging the
enhancement and creation of new capabilities to manage the challenges stemming
from the pandemic (Glyptis et al., 2021).
In South Africa, the pandemic is likely to worsen the skills challenge that was
present pre-pandemic (Ngwenya et al., 2020). Some in the South African context
even predict a notable increase in cyberattacks, given the reliance on technology for
business (Chigada & Madzinga, 2021). Due to the pandemic, certain professionals
will need to have new professional roles stemming from the challenges posed by the
pandemic and the desire to adapt to the new normal (Chinyamurindi et al., 2021a,
b). Firms may also need to propose and implement safety precautions within the
workplace (Atiku et al., 2020). This also entails ensuring that HRM activities are in
line with such precautions. In summary, as some South African researchers advo-
cate, capabilities will have to be formed to assist firm-specific activities affected by
the pandemic (Weber, 2021).
254 W. T. Chinyamurindi

Research Method

An interpretivist philosophy relying on the qualitative research approach and semi-­

structured interviews were used to answer the research question. In previous
research studies, in seeking to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
within organizational studies research, such a philosophy and approach were uti-
lized (Koekemoer et al., 2021; de Klerk et al., 2021; Chinyamurindi et al., 2021a, b).
The philosophy and approach assist in understanding the aspects related to the com-
plexity that affects the lived experience (Chinyamurindi, 2020). This provides a
platform for research to understand social experience (Chinyamurindi, 2016) and
the ensuing actions to such experience (Bryman et al., 2018; Delport et al., 2018).
The set of guiding questions for the interviews was split into three. First, the
questions sought to establish more about the entrepreneurs and their businesses.
This first round of questions helped put the participants at ease. The second round
of questions generally sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has
affected the running of a small business, including aspects related to the manage-
ment of people within the firm. Finally, based on the challenges stemming from the
COVID-19 pandemic, the small business owners were asked to respond to the inter-
ventions incorporated.

Sampling and Research Participants

A non-probability sampling approach was used, relying on a purposive sampling

technique because the participants were deemed as “information-rich” and illumi-
native, that is, they would offer practical manifestations of the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on the small business context in South Africa (Cohen et al.,
2018; Rule & John, 2017). The aim was to narrowly focus only on small business
owner-managers’ experiences in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. This
experience included small business responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total
of 25 small business owner-managers were selected using a convenience sampling
technique over a data collection period that lasted 8 months. Table 14.1 shows the
demographic characteristics of the participants in the study.
The following inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to select the partici-
pants: (1) a participant had to be operating a small business running for a minimum
period of 5 years and fully registered and (2) a participant had to be classified at
either two levels, the owner of the small business or a manager within the small
business. Enforcing these criteria allows for control over who took part in the study.
Furthermore, this also assisted in making sure that participants with the requisite
skills and experience were part of the study.
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 255

Table 14.1 Demographic characteristics of the participants

Participant Gender and race Years of small business operation Sector
1 Female (B) 8 Construction
2 Male (I) 11 Retail services
3 Female (B) 15 Agriculture
4 Female (B) 10 Construction
5 Male (I) 9 Retail services
6 Female (C) 14 Construction
7 Male (C) 6 Construction
8 Female (B) 12 Information technology
9 Male (B) 11 Agriculture
10 Male (B) 9 Agriculture
11 Male (W) 7 Retail services
12 Male (B) 8 Construction
13 Male (B) 7 Construction
14 Male (I) 12 Retail services
15 Male (W) 6 Agriculture
16 Female (B) 7 Construction
17 White (W) 9 Construction
18 Male (B) 9 Construction
19 Female (W) 10 Retail services
20 Male (B) 13 Construction
21 Male (B) 7 Agriculture
22 Female (C) 6 Construction
23 Female (B) 9 Retail services
24 Male (B) 8 Agriculture
25 Female (B) 8 Construction
Source: Author’s own work
Note: W, White; B, Black; C, Colored; I, Indian

Data Collection and Data Recording

The guiding research question and objective made it possible to use a qualitative
research approach, especially given the complexity that the COVID-19 pandemic
has created. Furthermore, the small business context also became a context of inter-
est given the challenges experienced stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In
achieving all this, semi-structured interviews were utilized for small business
owner-managers. Members were recruited to online bulletin boards where informa-
tion about the research was advertised. Upon agreeing to take part, the potential
participant would make contact with the researcher. An online interview was then
arranged with the participant using either the Microsoft (MS) Teams or the Zoom
application. The interviews were then video-recorded with permission. Each inter-
view lasted between 40 and 55 minutes.
256 W. T. Chinyamurindi

Strategies to Ensure Data Integrity

There is a need to ensure data quality and reporting. The researcher paid attention to
many strategies. First, all interviews were conducted and recorded over the MS
Teams and Zoom platforms in terms of credibility. This allowed for a platform for
interviewing while respecting social distancing rules around COVID-19 and enabled
the recording (conducted with permission) of each interview. This also allowed easy
reference concerning accessing the data later for data analysis. Second, given that
the study was conducted at the height of the pandemic, the participants preferred
this online mode of meeting. This was in line with respecting the COVID-19 proto-
cols. Third, after the data had been collected through the video interviews, transcrip-
tions were made and sent back to the participants to correct anything if the need
existed. This process allowed for participant checking of the data and corrections
made based on this. Fourth, data were collected over 8 months, allowing data col-
lection, including transcriptions, to be carried out without pressure. The 8-month
period also captured the small business owner-managers’ experiences with the
COVID-19 pandemic.

Data Analysis

An interpretivist approach was adopted for data analysis in this study. A qualitative
thematic analysis approach was utilized. Over the 8 months of data collection, the
interviews were transcribed soon after each interview. The transcripts were then
entered into the QSR NVivo 9 data analysis and management software (Reuben &
Bobat, 2014). The software was used to code each of the transcripts’ paragraphs
into themes and sub-themes. The coding was carried out using the participants’ own
words wherever possible. However, the researcher relied on the software not only to
develop the themes but also as a complementary method to develop themes. A the-
matic analysis was conducted to analyze the qualitative data by identifying and
examining common patterns within the data (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). For analyz-
ing the data through thematic analysis, six steps advocated in the literature (Braun
et al., 2019) were utilized as shown in Table 14.2.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical guidance was adhered to as part of the study. First, ethical clearance was
applied for before the research took place at the participating university. Second,
and related to the first point, attention was given to the guidance of the Helsinki
Declaration of 1972, which stipulates that when research is being conducted, and
the participants include humans or animals, the researcher has to get a clearance
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 257

Table 14.2 Phases of thematic analysis

Phase Description
1. Familiarizing oneself with Actively reading and re-reading data to obtain an overall
data understanding
2. General initial codes Noting the essential aspects of data
3. Searching for themes Identifying codes and forming codes into themes
4. Reviewing themes Relating the themes to codes and the entire data set
5. Defining and naming Producing clear definitions and names for themes
themes
6. Producing the report Final analysis of themes relating to the initial research question
Source: Braun et al. (2019: 119)

from the ethics committee (Parsa-Parsi, 2017). The researcher complied with the
regulations stipulated that include informed consent, right of participation, and con-
fidentiality and anonymity of the research participants. Third, the researcher sought
to avoid prejudice and ensure that all the participants enjoyed equal rights and par-
ticipation in this critical project. Pseudonyms were used to avoid identifying the
participating individuals and their small businesses.

Findings

Based on the thematic analysis conducted, two main findings emerged as themes.
First, small business owner-managers prefer to adopt innovative ways of managing
their workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given these ways of man-
aging, small business owner-managers sought ways to put in place measures that
improve cash flow and ensure the management of their employees. Second, as a
theme, focus was also given to the continued use of support mechanisms to assist
employees in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. These mechanisms as sub-­
themes center on prioritizing mental health and providing in-house counseling ser-
vices. These findings and illustrating quotes are presented next.

I nnovative Ways of Managing as a Response

to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Innovative ways of managing a response to the COVID-19 pandemic were imple-

mented. These innovative ways of managing appear to stem from two main
challenges.
The first consisted of challenges of cash flow. The participating small business
owner-managers flagged difficulty in maintaining a smooth cash flow within their
258 W. T. Chinyamurindi

enterprises. This difficulty appears to stem from the restrictions that they faced
through the various stages of lockdown. One participant expressed this viewpoint:
The varying stages of lockdown posed the same cashflow challenges with differing levels
of impact. A common feature was that we struggled in paying our employees. In some
cases, we delayed payments, but we opted for employees not to come to work in the worst-­
case scenario. We have a small workforce here, but the impact was huge. (Participant 12,
male, construction sector)

Supporting participant 12, a participant in the agricultural sector also bemoaned the
cash flow challenges. In their reflection, working from home had devastating impli-
cations for the sector.
When the announcement came that everyone should work from home – it did not make
sense for our workers and us. We wanted to follow the rules, but also, the rules posed some
limitations. So we lost a lot of potential earnings from our produce. We also struggled to
pay salaries, and strangely, the no work no pay policy crept in. (Participant 3, female, agri-
culture sector)

The second challenge centered on the lack of contingency preparation for the pan-
demic. With regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses appeared to
have had no financial and social preparations to face the challenge before them. One
participant expressed this viewpoint:
A precursor to the management interventions we adopted focuses on the context we operate
in. As a small business, we do not plan for contingencies that stem from a pandemic. So we
had nothing and were caught unaware. Our response was going to be reactionary.
(Participant 16, female, construction sector)

One participant also echoed the same concerns about a lack of preparedness.
Generally stating, pre-pandemic, most of the small business sector was already fac-
ing challenges of an economic nature. The pandemic merely exacerbated the
challenge.
Remember pre-pandemic, we were witnessing some small businesses closing due to the
economic challenges in the country. You can only imagine when the pandemic hit us and
what this meant. Responses had to be considerate also the pre-pandemic state of the small
business context. (Participant 1, female, construction sector)

Bearing in mind the presented challenges, Table 14.3 presents a range of innovative
ways used in the small business context to manage the workforce.
The second set of findings directly focuses on the need for continued support
mechanisms to assist employees in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. These
mechanisms prioritize mental health and provide in-house counseling services at
the core. Management response to the COVID-19 pandemic needs to be cognizant
of these priority needs. Such interventions are presented next.
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 259

Table 14.3 Management response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Management response Illustrating quotes
Work rotation amongst “We asked our workers to take a rotation – some working on
employees – employees rotating some days and others working on another day. We cut back on
and taking shifts individual salaries but at least ensured that everyone’s job was
secure.”(Participant 20)
Salary cuts amongst “Salary cuts were by far not popular amongst our employees.
employees – employees were This allowed for us not to fire any of our employees.”
taking salary cuts (Participant 25)
Incentivize employees seeking “Given that retail is seeking to recover, our approach was to
new opportunities for business reward those employees, especially in sales, in seeking new
expansion in response to the opportunities.” (Participant 5)
pandemic
Use of technology-based “We are mostly service-oriented, so we could allow our
work – incorporating employees to be on their devices at home. This allowed them
technologies to allow for to work and for us to find ways to manage them remotely. We
cross-functional working online got some work done importantly.” (Participant 8)
Source: Author’s own work

 rioritizing Employee Mental Health and Providing In-House

P
Counseling Services

At the core of supporting management responses, as illustrated by the participating

small business owner-managers, is focus on developing employee mental health.
One participant framed this as the “core” of a range of techniques that may be in
place within the organization.
We began to realize that at the core should be focussing on the development of our employ-
ees. In the case of the pandemic, due to the cuts experienced (including the uncertainty),
this must take a huge mental health toll on employees. We never had a focus on mental
health support services. The pandemic reality made sure we prioritize this. (Participant 13,
male, construction sector)

Supporting participant 13, a participant in the construction sector also supported the
need for employee-centered interventions. The challenge is often that small busi-
nesses have a small budget base. This does not take away the enormous responsibil-
ity of taking care of employees.
Our budget base is lean. This means we can only do so much with what we have. The focus
should be on making sure we use the little we have to get the most. We have requested those
experienced in matters of psych-social support to even come to our firm to speak to our
employees. This helps cushion and address somewhat the levels of uncertainty created from
the pandemic. (Participant 25, female, construction sector)

Until the start of the pandemic and the devastation caused by it, one firm had no
policy centered on employee well-being and support.
Based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we focused on understanding ways of
supporting our employees. Most of the farmworkers have little or no education. So we
started using the employee representatives to convey a message that support was available.
260 W. T. Chinyamurindi

This was also actuated by implementing a policy that supported what we were trying to
achieve. (Participant 9, male, agriculture sector)

Discussion

This study sought to explore how a sample of small business owner-managers

respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the human
resource function of the entity. The findings illustrate innovative ways of managing
their workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the findings
also highlight the importance of continued support mechanisms to assist employees
in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These mechanisms center on prioritizing
mental health and providing in-house counseling services. The findings appear in
the backdrop of the broader challenge and devastation caused by the COVID-19
pandemic (Walker et al., 2020). As argued in the literature, common to the findings
is the response to the pandemic (Tafeni & Mngomezulu, 2020). At the core, the
responses by the participating firms appear woven within the sociocultural milieu
(Mazarire, 2020) in responding to the challenge (van der Merwe, 2020). The find-
ings of this study appear to argue for the need to be employee-centered. This
becomes important as employees play an essential role in realizing business and
social goals (Anker, 2021).
Unlike previous findings, none of the participating firms considered closure
(Ogunlela & Tengeh, 2020). The findings show support through responsive manage-
ment attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic (Bapuji et al., 2020). The study’s find-
ings focus on some management strategies used to keep the small business in place,
albeit under adversity. This also brought into focus the importance of mental well-­
being-­focused interventions. A finding from this study is similar to that of previous
research (Rachidi, 2020). The focus should be on the continued development of
managerial and leadership capabilities to assist small business owner-managers
(Atiku et al., 2020).

Implications

Based on the findings of the study, some implications can be drawn. There is a need
to provide support services to small business owners on two fronts. There is a need
for small businesses to reinvent themselves through offering their services continu-
ously. Given the findings, this could include seeking more ways of collaborative
working to leverage costs. For instance, seeking ways of working together appears
to make more sense given the challenges that the small business sector faces.
Furthermore, management responses need to be contextual and employee-­
centered. It was commendable that the small business owner-managers from the
participating firms preferred not to let their employees go and instead sought ways
14 Managing Human Resources in the New Normal: How Are Small Business… 261

to retain them. Here, some support can be provided by assisting small businesses in
developing competencies in the management of their employees. Institutions of
higher learning can intervene by creating a platform using which small business
owner-managers can be trained on issues that affect the operation of their busi-
nesses. This could include seeking development opportunities that assist small busi-
nesses across the board.
Here, an added angle could also be ensuring that the small business owner-­
managers are exposed to a vast repertoire of techniques that promote employee
well-being. An added implication could be the need for continued small business
support in terms of financial support. This was something that the COVID-19 pan-
demic revealed. Despite its economic importance, the small business sector remains
a sector needing financial support. It is envisaged that such support when in place
will also assist the management aspect, especially the human resources in the firm.

Limitations of this Study

This study has some limitations. First, caution should be exercised when interpret-
ing this study’s findings. The sample used in this study is not representative of the
sample of small business firms operating in the Eastern Cape province of South
Africa. This study mostly surveyed the views of small businesses in the construction
and agriculture sectors. These are predominantly the most popular trade sectors in
the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Future research could improve on sam-
pling issues. Second, this study relied on the use of online interviews. A challenge
experienced here centered on connectivity issues as some of the interviews had to
be re-recorded. Furthermore, the researcher had to put in extra effort to gain trust
from the participants. This comes about due to some guided concerns with online
interactions. Finally, given the nature of qualitative data and their objectivity, cau-
tion should be exercised when interpreting the findings of this research.

Future Research

Suggestions for future research can be made. First, this study explored management
responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These views were explored from the angle
of an owner-manager. Future research could pay equal attention to the experiences
of these management responses from the lens of an employee. Interestingly, given
the second finding, where the focus is on paying attention to psycho-social support
measures, there is a need to understand employee experiences. The second area of
research could be to evaluate the management responses to the COVID-19 pan-
demic and the efficacy of the range of psycho-social interventions being incorpo-
rated even in a comparative manner. Finally, future research could also focus on
post-COVID-19 strategies with small businesses. This could be in understanding
262 W. T. Chinyamurindi

the aspects of compliance (or a lack of it) to issues happening in the South African
context.

Conclusion

This study thus makes an essential contribution to an important topic that deserves
further interrogation, especially in the small business context. The platform pre-
sented by this study enables further inquiry into the issues prevalent in the small
business context, despite the recognized importance of the sector. This study pro-
vides a window of opportunity to understand how small businesses adjust to the
new normal.

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Willie Chinyamurindi is a National Research Foundation (NRF) Rated Researcher

(Y2) working at the University of Fort Hare as a professor in the Department of
Business Management. He considers himself as a pan-Africanist and is a scholar
with an intent to promote such ideals in his work. In 2021, he served as a co-chair
of the South African Young Academy of Science, in addition to his professional
membership in this society. As a broad theme, his research is along the aspects of
human and organizational capabilities and how they contribute toward the theme of
development.