Leveraging on Business Ethics for Survival of Individually Owned E-Businesses in the Face of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Individually owned e-businesses in developing countries like Nigeria have been observed to hit the exit stage in their business cycle too early. This spurred the researchers to conduct a survey to assess the contribution of business ethics to survival of individually owned e-businesses in Nigeria, particularly in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. From a survey of 384 e-business owners using a structured questionnaire administered electronically, the study found a negative and significant effect of the Business Ethics practices of e-businesses in Nigeria on their survival. The study therefore recommends that, in the face of global economic social crisis like the covid19 pandemic, businesses, especially individually owned e-businesses, should make concerted efforts to adopt and comply to the highest ethical standards in businesses in order to survive the trying times and beyond in business.