Organizational change and best practices in service startups: what happened during the COVID-19 crisis?

Brazil is the largest country in terms of startups in Latin America. Minas Gerais state occupies the third position in the number of startups and Uberlandia is the second largest city in Minas Gerais, behind only the capital. Regarding the size of Brazilian startups, around 90% are small and medium-sized companies. Considering that the service sector is the second largest among small businesses, this study aimed to analyze whether there have been changes caused by the pandemic in small and medium-sized service startups located in Uberlândia city. Specific objectives were: to verify whether there have been changes in the business structure and practical activities of early-stage service startups in the face of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic; and to identify and describe best practices of the companies studied in order to propose improvements and assist in the decision-making of other organizations. We developed a qualitative descriptive multiple case study with nine technology-based service startups in Uberlandia. We used structured interviews with the companies’ founders and analyzed data using content analysis. This study contributes to the academic field by identifying seven categories related to the changes caused by the pandemic in small and medium-sized service startups. This data provides areas and themes for future research in the sector. In addition, the study proposes a synthesis of managers’ experiences in relation to the best practices carried out in their companies and their relationship with decision-making.