THE INFLUENCE OF INNOVATION PRACTICES ON THE PRODUCTIVITY AND SURVIVAL OF MICRO-BUSINESS RESTAURANTS DURING POST-PANDEMIC COVID-19

The Covid-19 crisis has affected many industries since 2020 as the virus forced businesses across the country including small businesses such as restaurants to close. There is growing pressure on the number of business misfortunes as they battle to see through the fierce period to survive, especially when the government's Movement Control Order (MCO) was commenced. Hence, this study aims to find out whether innovation practices among restaurants owner can significantly affect the restaurant’s productivity and survival during the national recovery phases. The objectives of this research are to determine the level of innovation practices of the restaurant businesses in Johor Bahru during post-pandemic Covid-19 as well as to determine the effect of innovation practices on productivity and survival. In this study, 180 restaurant owners in Johor Bahru were selected by using convenience sampling. The result revealed that a positive and significant association was found between the practice of innovation on the productivity and survivability of the restaurants. This study is significant because it provides evidence in the Malaysian context that could stimulate a better understanding of the importance of innovation practice in boosting productivity and extending the sustainability of restaurants, particularly micro-business restaurants, from the insights of owners or customers.