IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v12y2022i1p21582440211071098.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19: What are firms doing and what they need to do?

Author

Listed:
  • Atif Saleem Butt

Abstract

The novel COVID-19 (coronavirus) has created havoc and massive disruption to firms’ business operations. While much literature has recently emerged on how this pandemic outbreak has affected the firms. Limited empirical studies to date exist on what actions firms are employing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and further ensure business continuity. Our study attempts to fill this gap in management literature. This study employs a multiple case study methodology. Overall, 36 semi-structured interviews with eight different based in China were undertaken. Results reveal that Chinese firms are employing six distinct actions to control the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring that the business continues to run to its maximum capacity. In particular, firms are educating employees on the symptoms of COVID-19, implementing strict screening protocols, applying agile IT systems, revising their cash flow policies and conducting global scenario planning to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This study concludes by discussing its implications for theory, alongside limitations and future research directions.

Suggested Citation

  • Atif Saleem Butt, 2022. "Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19: What are firms doing and what they need to do?," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440211, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440211071098
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440211071098
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440211071098
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440211071098?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maliszewska,Maryla & Mattoo,Aaditya & Van Der Mensbrugghe,Dominique, 2020. "The Potential Impact of COVID-19 on GDP and Trade : A Preliminary Assessment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9211, The World Bank.
    2. Nezih Altay & Raktim Pal, 2014. "Information Diffusion among Agents: Implications for Humanitarian Operations," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 23(6), pages 1015-1027, June.
    3. Atif Saleem Butt, 2018. "Guanxi and intra-organizational conflicts: evidence from Chinese logistics industry," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(4), pages 495-505, December.
    4. Govindan, Kannan & Mina, Hassan & Alavi, Behrouz, 2020. "A decision support system for demand management in healthcare supply chains considering the epidemic outbreaks: A case study of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    5. Warwick McKibbin & Roshen Fernando, 2021. "The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: Seven Scenarios," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 20(2), pages 1-30, Summer.
    6. Atif Saleem Butt, 2019. "Personal relationships in supply chains," International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(3), pages 193-204.
    7. Syed Hamad Hassan Shah & Saleha Noor & Shen Lei & Atif Saleem Butt & Muhammad Ali, 2021. "Role of privacy/safety risk and trust on the development of prosumption and value co-creation under the sharing economy: a moderated mediation model," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 718-735, October.
    8. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    9. Saleha Noor & Yi Guo & Syed Hamad Hassan Shah & M. Saqib Nawaz & Atif Saleem Butt, 2020. "Bibliometric Analysis of Social Media as a Platform for Knowledge Management," International Journal of Knowledge Management (IJKM), IGI Global, vol. 16(3), pages 33-51, July.
    10. Ivanov, Dmitry, 2020. "Predicting the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on global supply chains: A simulation-based analysis on the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) case," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    11. Guiyang Zhu & Mabel C. Chou & Christina W. Tsai, 2020. "Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic Exposing the Shortcomings of Current Supply Chain Operations: A Long-Term Prescriptive Offering," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-19, July.
    12. Dmitry Ivanov & Alexandre Dolgui, 2020. "Viability of intertwined supply networks: extending the supply chain resilience angles towards survivability. A position paper motivated by COVID-19 outbreak," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 2904-2915, May.
    13. Choi, Tsan-Ming & Wen, Xin & Sun, Xuting & Chung, Sai-Ho, 2019. "The mean-variance approach for global supply chain risk analysis with air logistics in the blockchain technology era," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 178-191.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sheng-Chieh Lee & Ching-Yuan Lin & Ying-Ji Chuang, 2022. "The Study of Alternative Fire Commanders’ Training Program during the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation in New Taipei City, Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-22, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bianco, Débora & Bueno, Adauto & Godinho Filho, Moacir & Latan, Hengky & Miller Devós Ganga, Gilberto & Frank, Alejandro G. & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose, 2023. "The role of Industry 4.0 in developing resilience for manufacturing companies during COVID-19," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Raj, Alok & Mukherjee, Abheek Anjan & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes & Srivastava, Samir K., 2022. "Supply chain management during and post-COVID-19 pandemic: Mitigation strategies and practical lessons learned," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 1125-1139.
    3. Chowdhury, Priyabrata & Paul, Sanjoy Kumar & Kaisar, Shahriar & Moktadir, Md. Abdul, 2021. "COVID-19 pandemic related supply chain studies: A systematic review," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Fang, Da & Guo, Yan, 2022. "Flow of goods to the shock of COVID-19 and toll-free highway policy: Evidence from logistics data in China," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. Paul, Ananna & Shukla, Nagesh & Trianni, Andrea, 2023. "Modelling supply chain sustainability challenges in the food processing sector amid the COVID-19 outbreak," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    6. Tang, Lianhua & Li, Yantong & Bai, Danyu & Liu, Tao & Coelho, Leandro C., 2022. "Bi-objective optimization for a multi-period COVID-19 vaccination planning problem," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Rozhkov, Maxim & Ivanov, Dmitry & Blackhurst, Jennifer & Nair, Anand, 2022. "Adapting supply chain operations in anticipation of and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    8. Olli-Pekka Hilmola & Oskari Lähdeaho & Ville Henttu & Per Hilletofth, 2020. "Covid-19 Pandemic: Early Implications for North European Manufacturing and Logistics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    9. Ekinci, Esra & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Kazancoglu, Yigit & Sarma, P.R.S. & Sezer, Muruvvet Deniz & Ozbiltekin-Pala, Melisa, 2022. "Resilience and complexity measurement for energy efficient global supply chains in disruptive events," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    10. Burgos, Diana & Ivanov, Dmitry, 2021. "Food retail supply chain resilience and the COVID-19 pandemic: A digital twin-based impact analysis and improvement directions," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    11. Muhammad Umar Farooq & Amjad Hussain & Tariq Masood & Muhammad Salman Habib, 2021. "Supply Chain Operations Management in Pandemics: A State-of-the-Art Review Inspired by COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-33, February.
    12. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco & Nuno Sousa & Rui Silva, 2021. "Reviewing COVID-19 Literature on Business Management: What It Portends for Future Research?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Xie, Lei & Hou, Pengwen & Han, Hongshuai, 2021. "Implications of government subsidy on the vaccine product R&D when the buyer is risk averse," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    14. Amjad Masood & Junaid Ahmed & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, 2022. "Gravity of Covid-19," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(1), pages 60-68.
      • Masood, Amjad & Ahmed, Junaid & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2021. "Gravity of Covid-19," MPRA Paper 109651, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Shaker Ardakani, Elham & Gilani Larimi, Niloofar & Oveysi Nejad, Maryam & Madani Hosseini, Mahsa & Zargoush, Manaf, 2023. "A resilient, robust transformation of healthcare systems to cope with COVID-19 through alternative resources," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    16. Queiroz, Maciel M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Machado, Marcio C., 2022. "Supply chain resilience in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic: A resource orchestration perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Brusset, Xavier & Ivanov, Dmitry & Jebali, Aida & La Torre, Davide & Repetto, Marco, 2023. "A dynamic approach to supply chain reconfiguration and ripple effect analysis in an epidemic," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    18. Anker, Thomas Boysen, 2021. "At the boundary: Post-COVID agenda for business and management research in Europe and beyond," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 171-178.
    19. Wen, Xin & Ma, Hoi-Lam & Chung, Sai-Ho & Khan, Waqar Ahmed, 2020. "Robust airline crew scheduling with flight flying time variability," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    20. Choi, Tsan-Ming & Shi, Xiutian, 2022. "Reducing supply risks by supply guarantee deposit payments in the fashion industry in the “new normal after COVID-19”," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440211071098. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.