Exemplary quotes derived from the elite informants' interviews: Disruption
| Quotes | Second-Order Themes | Disruptions |
|---|---|---|
| “At the beginning of the pandemic, demand went down to almost zero for our line of home products” (Elite informant #7) | Consumer Demand Shifts | Changes in Public Needs |
| “After the initial lockdown, there was increased attention for solo sports, therefore demand for cycling apparel increased dramatically” (Elite informant #10) | ||
| “Businesses had to adapt to online sales in a couple of days, […] for large companies the online infrastructure was already there, but more small and medium enterprises moving to online sales was an unexpected challenge” (Elite informant#16) | New Sales Channels | |
| “Retail was the first one to stop and the effect was backward, so the firms located first in the supply chain (suppliers) were the last ones to receive the message to stop production and therefore got the biggest blow. They were left with most of the inventory” (Elite informant #6) | Inventory Distortions | Transportation and Distribution Backlogs |
| “The pandemic affected supply chains at different times around the world. Early in 2020, suppliers in China started closing their factories. When they started opening in April and May, we in the Americas were not buying since our retail stopped and our sales were canceled” (Elite informant #17) | Movement Restrictions | |
| “..the supply chain had several blockages. [..] The excessive demand of a type of material or product at the same time from different locations, and a very strong blockade in transportation since there were no planes, nothing” (Elite informant #8) | ||
| “We had no idea about biosecurity and which fabrics I needed to use to shift my production to a line of products related to this new type of products but we had to move fast to protect people” (Elite informant #5) | Rushed Interventions | Defective and Counterfeit Supplies |
| “In the midst of the first wave, the supply chain had several backlogs. [..] On top of that, counterfeit PPE supplies were surging…we experience so many cases, especially in Latin America” (Elite informant #8) | Opportunistic Behaviors | |
| “We almost bought a large batch of counterfeit M95 masks. [..] Luckily one of our partners in China realized of the issue on time and we were able to cancel the order” (Elite informant #20) | ||
| “Our factory was closed for three weeks, there was panic, and the main dilemma was whether to start letting go of people or not” (Elite informant #10) | Human Resources Dilemmas | Stakeholder Relationships at Stake |
| “During the height of the crisis, I realized which suppliers and buyers I could really trust. Many of our top-tier suppliers did not react the way I expected, they just wanted to collect their receivables. Now I have a revised list of top tier preferred business partners who take care of each other” (Elite informant #6) | Short-term Financial Stress | |
| “Our COVID related survey to 160 member companies and 400 producers, left a clear message: there is a need to improve empathic communication between buyers and producers” (Elite informant #9) | ||
| “Without notice, we had to close the factory from one day to the next. I just went home and did not know what to do. It took me some days to assimilate what was going on and start thinking of a contingency plan to keep my business afloat keeping stakeholders in mind” (Elite informant #10) | Emergency Decision-Making | Managers' Coping Challenges |
| “The quarantine came out of nowhere, there was no warning. We did not know what to do. Managers panicked, even the government” (Elite informant #3) | Emotional Collapse | |
| “Lots of managers gave up really quick. The difficult part was to be resilient and keep working to look after stakeholders” (Elite informant #7) |
| Quotes | Second-Order Themes | Disruptions |
|---|---|---|
| “At the beginning of the pandemic, demand went down to almost zero for our line of home products” (Elite informant #7) | Consumer Demand Shifts | Changes in Public Needs |
| “After the initial lockdown, there was increased attention for solo sports, therefore demand for cycling apparel increased dramatically” (Elite informant #10) | ||
| “Businesses had to adapt to online sales in a couple of days, […] for large companies the online infrastructure was already there, but more small and medium enterprises moving to online sales was an unexpected challenge” (Elite informant#16) | New Sales Channels | |
| “Retail was the first one to stop and the effect was backward, so the firms located first in the supply chain (suppliers) were the last ones to receive the message to stop production and therefore got the biggest blow. They were left with most of the inventory” (Elite informant #6) | Inventory Distortions | Transportation and Distribution Backlogs |
| “The pandemic affected supply chains at different times around the world. Early in 2020, suppliers in China started closing their factories. When they started opening in April and May, we in the Americas were not buying since our retail stopped and our sales were canceled” (Elite informant #17) | Movement Restrictions | |
| “..the supply chain had several blockages. [..] The excessive demand of a type of material or product at the same time from different locations, and a very strong blockade in transportation since there were no planes, nothing” (Elite informant #8) | ||
| “We had no idea about biosecurity and which fabrics I needed to use to shift my production to a line of products related to this new type of products but we had to move fast to protect people” (Elite informant #5) | Rushed Interventions | Defective and Counterfeit Supplies |
| “In the midst of the first wave, the supply chain had several backlogs. [..] On top of that, counterfeit PPE supplies were surging…we experience so many cases, especially in Latin America” (Elite informant #8) | Opportunistic Behaviors | |
| “We almost bought a large batch of counterfeit M95 masks. [..] Luckily one of our partners in China realized of the issue on time and we were able to cancel the order” (Elite informant #20) | ||
| “Our factory was closed for three weeks, there was panic, and the main dilemma was whether to start letting go of people or not” (Elite informant #10) | Human Resources Dilemmas | Stakeholder Relationships at Stake |
| “During the height of the crisis, I realized which suppliers and buyers I could really trust. Many of our top-tier suppliers did not react the way I expected, they just wanted to collect their receivables. Now I have a revised list of top tier preferred business partners who take care of each other” (Elite informant #6) | Short-term Financial Stress | |
| “Our COVID related survey to 160 member companies and 400 producers, left a clear message: there is a need to improve empathic communication between buyers and producers” (Elite informant #9) | ||
| “Without notice, we had to close the factory from one day to the next. I just went home and did not know what to do. It took me some days to assimilate what was going on and start thinking of a contingency plan to keep my business afloat keeping stakeholders in mind” (Elite informant #10) | Emergency Decision-Making | Managers' Coping Challenges |
| “The quarantine came out of nowhere, there was no warning. We did not know what to do. Managers panicked, even the government” (Elite informant #3) | Emotional Collapse | |
| “Lots of managers gave up really quick. The difficult part was to be resilient and keep working to look after stakeholders” (Elite informant #7) |
Source: Created by the authors
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