Chapter 8: Thinking Strategically During the Global Pan(dem)ic

When a major crisis hits, the immediate challenges are often so daunting that we lose focus on what we want to achieve in the long run. Early in the COVID-19 crisis, many businesses were preoccupied with short-term challenges such as employee safety and cash flow. However, a major disruption also is an opportunity for entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs who can imagine the world beyond the light at the end of the tunnel may be able to lay foundations for future prosperity. Thus, even faced with short-term adversity, businesses need to think long term, which means thinking strategically (Meyer, 2009).

In an earlier essay in April 2020 (Meyer, Pedersen, & Ritter, 2020), we discuss companies’ initial actions, emphasizing entrepreneurial resourcefulness and citizenship. In this chapter, I look beyond the immediate challenges toward the longer run to analyze the development of the external environment and to identify emergent business opportunities. The ability of a society to bounce back after the COVID-19 crisis depends on its resilience, which in turn depends on entrepreneurial initiatives to develop new approaches to emergent societal challenges (Meyer, Prashantham, & Xu, 2020; Välikangas & Lewin, 2020). Thus, I have given my chapter the title “Thinking Strategically During the Global Pan(dem)ic” because as scholars and advisors, we need to help businesses take action not only for the current crisis but for longer-term, not be overwhelmed by the bad news, but focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.