"To go or not to go?": business travel decision with the risk of COVID-19

COVID-19 have led companies and organizations to carefully decide overseas business travel after borders reopen. This study aims to develop a theory to guide a structural analysis of the situational factors that companies and organizations would consider in overseas business travel decisions and how to measure these factors. A qualitative research approach was adopted. Bunn's situational characteristics were used as the starting point to guide the study. The findings suggest that the decision results from a struggle between carry-on and hold-back forces, which were affected by two and six situational factors respectively. Their measuring dimensions and ten propositions are suggested.

Corporate flexibility in a time of crisis

We use the COVID shock to study the direct and interactive effects of several forms of corporate flexibility on short- and long-term real business plans. We find that i) workplace flexibility, namely the ability for employees to work remotely, plays a central role in determining firms’ employment plans during the health crisis;ii) investment flexibility allows firms to increase or decrease capital spending based on their business prospects in the crisis, with effects shaped by workplace flexibility;and iii) financial flexibility contributes to stronger employment and investment, in particular when fixed costs are high. While the role of workplace flexibility is new to the COVID crisis, CFOs expect lasting effects for years to come: high workplace flexibility firms foresee continuation of remote work, stronger employment recovery, and shifting away from traditional capital investment, whereas low workplace flexibility firms rely more on automation to replace labor.

Recent advances and future directions in macro-finance: macroeconomic conditions and corporate decisions

A decade after the 2007-2009 financial crisis, the covid-19 pandemic causes disruptive economic conditions and its uncertain nature makes the formulation of macroeconomic policy response challenging. Meanwhile, extreme weather and natural disasters linked to climate change become more frequent and adversely affect the economy. These challenges highlight the importance of better understanding the effects of macroeconomic conditions on corporate decisions. This article reviews the related macro-finance literature and introduces articles included in this special issue on this theme. In the end, we suggest possible future research directions.