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Decision support system to predict business performance: study of small and medium scale enterprises during COVID - 19

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dc.contributor.advisor Karunaratne I
dc.contributor.author Jayaweera MADBL
dc.date.accessioned 2022
dc.date.available 2022
dc.date.issued 2022
dc.identifier.citation Jayaweera, M.A.D.B.L. (2022). Decision support system to predict business performance: study of small and medium scale enterprises during COVID - 19 [Master's theses, University of Moratuwa]. Institutional Repository University of Moratuwa. http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/20310
dc.identifier.uri http://dl.lib.uom.lk/handle/123/20310
dc.description.abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted business activity, particularly for small and medium enterprises, some of which have been entirely lost to the economy. This unexpected crisis has required that businesses change quickly with few resources. Some enterprises respond to this situation by applying creativity and have responded to the change more successfully than others. Generally, business performance depends on the owner’s characteristics and how they operate their businesses. Therefore the aim of this research was to examine the relationship between owner characteristics and small business performance and limitations during the pandemic. This research consisted of collecting primary data, using a questionnaire, from small and medium enterprises in three grama niladari divisions, in Chilaw. Hypotheses were tested using descriptive techniques, multiple regression analyses, and decision tree algorithmhem. It was hypothesized that the owner’s s characteristics would relate to business performance according to sales growth, profit growth and number of employees growth. The results indicate that a substantial proportion of businesses have closed due to the pandemic. Business owners had used financial and non-financial strategies to tackle the crisis (obtaining loans, utilizing business and social networks, pursuing new market channels), but a substantial number simply did not adopt particular strategies. The personality characteristics, adaptability, competitiveness, autonomy, risk propensity and emotional resilience significantly affected business performance (p<0.05). The owner’s age, business type, business age, and some finacila and non-financial strategies also showed significant relationships with business performance (p<0.05). The research findings give insights into how the pandemic has taken a toll on SMEs and findings are used to build up a decision support system en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.subject BUSINESS CHARACTERISTICS en_US
dc.subject OWNER’S CHARACTERISTICS en_US
dc.subject BUSINESS PERFORMANCE en_US
dc.subject COVID-19 en_US
dc.subject DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM en_US
dc.subject INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY- Dissertation en_US
dc.subject COMPUTER SCIENCE - Dissertation en_US
dc.title Decision support system to predict business performance: study of small and medium scale enterprises during COVID - 19 en_US
dc.type Thesis-Abstract en_US
dc.identifier.faculty IT en_US
dc.identifier.degree Msc. in Information Technology en_US
dc.identifier.department Department of Information Technology en_US
dc.date.accept 2022
dc.identifier.accno TH4820 en_US


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