Master of crisis: Strategic management dealing with, and benefitting from, COVID-19 : A multiple case study of Swedish Multinational Manufacturing firms in turbulent markets

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 caused widespread economic distress with waves of business failures among several industries. Literature suggests that businesses can acknowledge opportunities and profit from shifts in the external environment through strategic management. However, the link between actual strategic practices and beneficial outcomes is poorly tackled. Problem: Given the presence and sensitivity of crisis, the importance of investigating strategic decision-making in turbulent markets has never been more noticeable. Recent events have shown that society at large is hugely exposed to unexpected events, and the gap in knowledge makes it nearly impossible for executives to prepare to master the situation efficiently. Purpose: This study aims to explore how crises affect the strategic decision-making of Swedish multinational manufacturing firms. The focus is set on examining how and why these decisions are implemented and what the outcome generalizes to business performance. Method: This research is qualitative and based on an inductive approach. It follows a multiple case study research design with an internal-realism ontology and a positivist epistemology. Primary data was collected through five open-ended semi-structured interviews with Swedish multinational manufacturing firm executives. Conclusion: The results show that drivers of competitive decision-making are controlled by macroeconomic factors, drastically changing market behaviors. Businesses that could adapt their strategies to current situations identified favorable opportunities that strengthened rather than harmed the firm. Four key enabling strategies to master a crisis are identified: (1) Awareness of market behavior, (2) Tied-up capital, (3) Dual-sourcing, and (4) Managing both internal and external relations.