Building resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic: the journey of a small entrepreneurial family firm in Brazil

PurposeThe present study used a process approach to examine how a small entrepreneurial family business in the tourism industry evolved during different stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and across different dimensions of resilience.Design/methodology/approachThe research strategy consisted of a real-time longitudinal case study during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, based on interviews conducted with the founders of the business.FindingsThe results show how the firm responded to the pandemic and moved through different stages – interruption, loss, resumption, and recovery – as the crisis evolved. During each stage, there were manifestations of different dimensions of organizational resilience: anticipation/awareness, coping and adaptation. The entrepreneurs mobilized several capabilities – emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational – during the different stages and across different dimensions to face and respond to the pandemic.Originality/valueThe contributions of the study stem from the lack of research on how small entrepreneurial family businesses in the tourism industry are impacted by disruptive events of long duration and multiple cycles. Specifically, the study contributes to the understanding of how this type of firm responds to these crises, mobilizing different capabilities at different stages and across different dimensions of organizational resilience.

Rethinking Offshoring and International Marketing Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This teaching case focuses on the national and international expansion of IGT Motors, a Brazilian company operating in the market for twenty years that has moved most of its production to China since 2010. Nearly after the company started searching for new markets abroad and adapted its internal and communication processes to comply with other countries' preferences and regulations, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led top management to rethink its production and marketing strategies, specifically hit by involving China, country of origin of the virus. The case is about how small companies in the midst of a global expansion can deal with unexpected scenarios and emerging crisis, engaging students to reflect upon the initiatives that might be taken to overcome issues such as consumer animosity, but also to make the company less susceptible to similar situations in the future.Alternate abstract:Este caso de ensino tem como foco o processo de expansão nacional e internacional da IGT Motors, empresa brasileira que atua há vinte anos no mercado, e que produz a maior parte de seus produtos na China desde 2010. Pouco tempo após a empresa iniciar a busca por novos mercados no exterior e adaptar todos os seus processos internos e a comunicação para atender às preferências e regulamentações de outros países, a eclosão da pandemia do COVID-19 a levou a repensar suas estratégias de produção e marketing, que foram especificamente afetadas por envolverem a China, país de origem do vírus. O caso trata de como empresas de pequeno porte em meio a uma expansão global podem lidar com cenários inesperados e crises emergentes, ensejando os alunos a refletir sobre as iniciativas que poderiam ser tomadas para superar questões de animosidade do consumidor e tornar a empresa menos suscetível a situações similares no futuro.