Understanding crisis resilience in manufacturing firms in the DACH region during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis paper describes the impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing firms in the DACH region of Europe (DACH is an acronym used to describe Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The purpose of the study was threefold: first to describe crisis resilience empirically through the actions taken by the firms using the elements of resilience; the paper then goes on to compare the DACH region with Northern Italy; finally, based on the findings, an existing crisis management model is expanded.Design/methodology/approachA mixed method of quantitative research based on survey data and qualitative interviews was applied for data collection. The findings are based on 57 survey results and 13 interviews from December 2020 to March 2021. The findings are presented based on the resilience elements and are discussed based on processes, technologies and people. The findings are compared with those from an Italian study made 6–9 months before this study. The comparison provides the basis for the adaptations to the crisis management model.FindingsThe findings describe the actions taken by firms in the DACH region to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19. The findings were, in most cases, very similar to those from the Italian study. The most resilient firms had well-defined processes in place, adaptable employees who were well-led, and had (digital) technologies that could be quickly implemented.Originality/valueThe timing for the crisis was later in the DACH region and firms were able to learn from Italy. The crisis management model based on the Italian study was refined; the resulting model will support managers to face future crises. This model needs testing and extending to link to past and future events.

Resilience Analysis of Crisis in Medical Environments: A Structural Equation Modeling based on Crisis Management Components

Enhancing the index of crisis resilience is one of the key goals in medical environments. Various parameters can affect crisis resilience. The current study was designed to analyze crisis resilience in medical environments based on the crisis management components. This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was performed in 14 hospitals and medical centers, in 2020. A sample size of 343.5 was determined based on the Cochran's formula. We used a 44-item crisis management questionnaire of Azadian et al. to collect data. The components of this questionnaire included management commitment, error learning, culture learning, awareness, preparedness, flexibility, and transparency. The data was analyzed based on the structural equation modeling approach using IBM SPSS AMOS v. 23.0. The participants’ age and work experience mean were 37.78±8.14 and 8.22±4.47 years. The index of crisis resilience was equal to 2.96±0.87. The results showed that all components of crisis management had a significant relationship with this index (p <0.05). The highest and lowest impact on the resilience index were related to preparedness (E=0.88) and transparency (E=0.60). The goodness of fit indices of this model including RMSEA, CFI, NFI, and NNFI (TLI) was 2.86, 0.071, 0.965, 0.972, and 0.978. The index of crisis resilience in the medical environments was at a moderate level. Furthermore, the structural equation modeling findings indicated that the impact of each component of crisis management should be considered in prioritizing measures to increase the level of resilience.

Strategies of German Bundesliga and English Premier League clubs for the COVID-19 crisis: the case of international broadcasting fans

During the COVID-19 pandemic that paused sports worldwide, the German Bundesliga League (GBL) and English Premier League (EPL) took two different strategic approaches to agree with their players on returning to play. To become better informed and prepared for future crisis management, this study examines consumer responses to these opposing strategies. We also identify how perceived organizational legitimacy, trustworthiness, reliance, and justifiability have an impact on consumer multimedia consumption of the games. A sample of 503 participants responded to an online questionnaire regarding the contrasting decisions taken by the GBL and the EPL during the global health crisis. SEM with multi-group analysis was conducted to test the research hypotheses. When comparing the two selected sport leagues, the league that reached an agreement with their players experienced higher levels of perceived legitimacy while needing fewer perceptions of trustworthiness, reliance, and justifiability to obtain higher multimedia consumption intention from consumers.

Mindful unlearning in unprecedented times: Implications for management and organizations

Crises trigger both learning and unlearning at both intra-organizational and inter-organizational levels. This article stresses the need to facilitate unlearning for effective crisis management and shows how we could use mindfulness practice to enhance unlearning and transformative learning in a crisis. This study proposes the conceptualization of mindful unlearning in crisis with different mechanisms to foster unlearning in three stages of crisis (pre-crisis, during-crisis, and post-crisis). These mechanisms include mindful awareness of impermanence and sensual processing (pre-crisis stage), mindful awareness of interdependence and right intention (crisis management stage), and mindful awareness of transiency and past experiences (post-crisis stage).

COVID-19, Reverse Migration and Crisis Management: A Study of the Model of Government of Uttar Pradesh (India)

With the outbreak of the global pandemic of COVID-19, India witnessed one of the largest reverse migrations in its entire history. Amid continuously streaming heart-rending visuals of migrant workers struggling to somehow return to their place of origin, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the recipient of huge 3.2 million migrant workers employed in the informal sector. Accepting, welcoming, helping, encouraging and offering employment to those destitute workers amid the pandemic was a difficult task for the state government. An appropriate management of this problem has made it a classic case of crisis management by a state chief minister who dares to think beyond the reflex paranoia about resource crunch so as to come up with an improvised strategy. Purpose of this article is to discuss the crisis of reverse migration amid COVID-19 and the initiatives taken by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The article uses case study approach to analyse the problem of livelihood faced by the migrant workers and the innovative model of employment and rehabilitation envisioned and implemented by the state government. Based on secondary data, it observes positive impact of skill mapping and other key strategies of the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

What Influences Physicians’ Online Knowledge Sharing? A Stimulus–Response Perspective

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online health platforms and physicians’ online knowledge sharing played an important role in public health crisis management and disease prevention. What influences physicians’ online knowledge sharing? From the psychological perspective of stimulus–response, this study aims to explore how patients’ visit and patients’ consultation influence physicians’ online knowledge sharing considering the contingent roles of physicians’ online expertise and online knowledge sharing experience. Based on 6-month panel data of 45,449 physician–month observations from an online health platform in China, the results indicate that both patients’ visit and patients’ consultation are positive related to physicians’ online knowledge sharing. Online expertise weakens the positive effect of patients’ consultation on physicians’ online knowledge sharing. Online knowledge sharing experience weakens the positive relationship between visit of patient and physicians’ online knowledge sharing, and enhances the positive relationship between patients’ consultation and physicians’ online knowledge sharing. This study contributes to the literatures about stimulus–response in psychology and knowledge sharing, and provides implications for practice.

The mediation of perceived risk’s impact on destination image and travel intention: An empirical study of Chengdu, China during COVID-19

Perceived risk clearly impacts travel behavior, including destination selection and satisfaction, but it is unclear how or why its effect is only significant in certain cases. This is because existing studies have undervalued the mediating factors of risk aversion, government initiatives, and media influence as well as the multiple forms or dimensions of risk that can mask its direct effect. This study constructs a structural equation model of perceived risk’s impact on destination image and travel intention for a more nuanced model of the perceived risk mechanism in tourism, based on 413 e-questionnaires regarding travel to Chengdu, China during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Bootstrap method to analyze suppressing effect. It finds that while perceived risk has a significant negative impact on destination image and travel intention, this is complexly mediated so as to appear insignificant. Furthermore, different mediating factors and dimensions of perceived risk operate differently according to their varied combinations in actual circumstances. This study is significant because it provides a theoretical interpretation of tourism risk, elucidates the mechanisms or paths by which perceived risk affects travel intention, and expands a framework for research on destination image and travel intention into the realms of psychology, political, and communication science. It additionally encourages people to pay greater attention to the negative impact of crises and focuses on the important role of internal and external responses in crisis management, which can help improve the effectiveness of crisis management and promote the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

Consumers’ lodging intentions during a pandemic: empirical insights for crisis management practices based on protection motivation theory and expectancy theory

Purpose Drawing on protection motivation theory (PMT) and expectancy theory, this study aims to investigate consumers’ lodging consumption intentions during a pandemic crisis. Design/methodology/approach The research survey was conducted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (August, 2020) in the USA to investigate consumers’ lodging intentions amidst the pandemic crisis. PLS-SEM and multiple regression were conducted to explore answers to proposed research questions. Findings The research finds that, during the pandemic crisis, consumers’ lodging consumption intentions are subject to both their internal protection motivation evaluations and the external prevention practices implemented by the lodging facilities regardless of property types and travel purposes. Notably, the research finds that consumers are willing to make efforts and pay extra for a safe stay at lodging facilities. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the literature regarding the applications of PMT and expectancy theory from a crisis management perspective, and it provides implications and guidelines to the crisis management practices in the lodging industry. Originality/value The current research examines the specific protection motivation appraisal factors and prevention practices significantly impacting consumers’ decisions in terms of willingness to stay at various lodging facilities (hotels and non-hotel homestay/short-term rental properties) for different purposes (business and leisure) and to pay premiums for a safe stay.

Covid-19 Crisis Management Responses of Small Tourism Firms in South Africa

Although the literature on COVID-19 is expanding, particularly in relation to crisis management responses pursued by large tourism enterprises, currently few studies exist on the responses of small tourism firms and more specifically of the crisis management practices of small and microaccom modation establishments. The aim in this study is to investigate the business management responses of small tourism firms to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and restrictions in South Africa. Themes of concern are whether enterprises have been able to sustain operations and adopt certain coping mechanisms or management strategies to mitigate the pandemic’s impact. The article reports on an interview survey of small and microenterprises engaged in accommodation services (N = 75) in South Africa under lockdown restrictions as a means of assessing the responses and coping strategies during an unprecedented crisis of this core component of the country’s tourism industry. Among key findings are that small and microlodging firms that have suffered severe financial losses because of the COVID-19 shock have few viable mechanisms to cope with the impact of the crisis and that government support to aid recovery has been insufficient in South Africa. This research contributes to the limited body of international scholarship that examines how small and microaccommodation firms, a major group and contributor of many economies, are navigating the unprecedented COVID-19 environment.