The continued operation of businesses after an earthquake: a case study from Lushan County, China

This study performed a comparative analysis of changes in the operating status of initial surviving disaster-stricken businesses and non-disaster-stricken businesses in Lushan County, China, after a devastating earthquake on 20 April 2013. It used a logistic regression model to explore the key factors associated with 'post-disaster continued business operation' in the long term. Field data were collected from 1,078 businesses and questionnaire data from 263 small businesses between 2013 and 2017. The results indicate that a higher proportion of initial surviving disaster-stricken businesses than non-disaster-stricken businesses managed to remain operational in each observation period. The continued operation of disaster-stricken businesses after the earthquake was positively associated with the owner's age, previous disaster experience, pre-disaster financial conditions, closure duration, and borrowing money from family or friends. A negative association was found with the size of the business. The findings serve as a vital reference for strategies to promote post-disaster continued business operation.