Enterprise risk management: effects of the pandemic on the revival and success of India's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises

The devastating effect of COVID-19 came as a never-ending nightmare for humanity. The present pandemic situation has an adverse deep impact on Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The process of vaccination is a great relief; still, the 2nd wave of COVID-19 forced Indian states to resort to social distancing through the lockdown and shutdown. This has put a question mark on the fate of the MSMEs. The current study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employees' turnaround, productivity, demand, supply chain, sales, cash flow, and profitability of MSMEs. Although the majority of the research was conducted in the first wave of COVID-19 in India, current work made a remarkable difference in focusing on the effect of the later stage of 2nd wave of COVID-19; it gives a clearer picture of vulnerability as compared to earlier studies. The paper covers the entrepreneurs' perspective supported by empirical evidence.