A case study on the responses of Swedish SMEs
to the COVID-19 pandemic
Marketing
Innovation
During a Crisis
BACHELOR THESIS WITHIN: Business Administration NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15 ECTS
PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Marketing Management AUTHOR: Elvira Lundell & Zsófia Varga
TUTOR: Jenny Balkow JÖNKÖPING 2021 JÖNKÖPING May 2021
Acknowledgement
First of all, we would like to express our gratitude to Jenny Balkow, our tutor, for providing us with constructive input and advice during the research process. From start to finish, she offered instruction and guidance based on her experience and understanding which led us to discover new ideas and insights, that ultimately resulted in a qualitative study.
Secondly, we would like to thank the CEOs and marketers of the interviewed companies for their time, for providing us with their knowledge and contribution, as well as for paving the way for a new investing paradigm.
Thirdly, we would like to thank our seminar group members for providing us with valuable feedback and for the produced invaluable discussion throughout this period.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to one another for always keeping spirits high and assisting one another. Thanks to our amazing team dynamic, the research process could keep moving forwards and could result in a successful outcome.
Thank you! Tack så mycket! Köszönjük szépen!
_________________________ _________________________
Elvira Lundell Zsófia Varga
Bachelor Project in Business Administration
Title: Marketing Innovation During a Crisis: A case study on the responses of Swedish SMEs to
the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Elvira Lundell & Zsófia Varga Tutor: Jenny Balkow
Date: 2021-05-21
Key terms: Economic Crisis, COVID-19, SMEs, Crisis Management, Marketing Innovation
Abstract
Background: The economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on the
global economy and Swedish small and medium-sized enterprises are challenged to adapt their practices to the new consumer buying behaviour. As a response to economic crises, where consumer buying behaviour changes, companies are forced to innovate their marketing methods.
Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish SMEs manage the economic
crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic through the relatively unexplored relationship between crisis management and marketing innovation.
Method: This research is an exploratory qualitative study focusing on Swedish small and
medium-sized enterprises where semi-structured interviews were held with seven participants who were marketing responsible. A thematic analysis was applied to analyse the empirical data.
Conclusion: The empirical findings and the analysis suggest three main areas when answering the
research question. 1) Marketing innovation improved the crisis management practice among the interviewed enterprises. 2) Marketing innovation is a common crisis management tool among the respondents of this study, and one reason why is because of the high capacity to innovate of the interviewees. 3) A new type of crisis management is arising because of the technological advancements and business climate.
Table of Contents 1. Introduction ... 1 1.1 Background ... 1 1.2 Problem Discussion ... 3 1.3 Purpose ... 5 1.4 Research Question ... 5 1.5 Delimitations ... 6 1.6 Definitions ... 6 2. Frame of Reference ... 7
2.1 Method for Frame of Reference ... 7
2.2 Economic Crisis ... 8
2.2.1 Economic Crisis and Consumer Buying Behaviour ... 9
2.3 COVID-19 ... 9
2.3.1 Impact and Challenges of COVID-19 ... 11
2.4 SMEs ... 11
2.4.1 SMEs in Crisis ... 12
2.5 Crisis Management ... 13
2.6 Innovation ... 14
2.7 Marketing Innovation ... 14
2.7.1 Marketing Innovation and Crisis Management ... 16
2.7.2 Marketing Innovation and Crisis Management in SMEs ... 17
2.8 Gap of Research ... 18
3. Methodology & Method ... 19
3.1 Methodology ... 19 3.1.1 Research Paradigm ... 19 3.1.2 Research Approach ... 20 3.1.3 Research Design ... 20 3.2 Method ... 21 3.2.1 Primary Data ... 21 3.2.2 Sampling Approach ... 22
3.2.3 Semi – Structured Interviews ... 23
3.2.4 Interview Questions ... 24 3.2.5 Data Analysis ... 25 3.3 Ethics ... 26 3.3.1 Credibility ... 27 3.3.2 Transferability ... 27 3.3.3 Dependability ... 28 3.3.4 Confirmability ... 28
3.3.5 Anonymity and Confidentiality ... 29
4. Empirical Findings and Analysis ... 30
4.1 Short-Term Challenges ... 31
4.2 Long-Term Impact of Crisis ... 33
4.3 Intensified Digital Presence ... 35
4.4 Changes in Marketing Message ... 37
4.5 Transformation of Customer Base ... 38
4.6 Product and Service Modification ... 40
4.7 Final Analysis ... 42 5. Conclusion ... 45 6. Discussion ... 47 6.1 Contributions ... 47 6.2 Practical implications ... 48 6.3 Limitations ... 49 6.4 Critical reflection ... 50 6.5 Future research ... 50 7. References ... 52 8. Appendices ... 63
Appendix 1 – Interview Questions ... 63
Appendix 2 – Interview Consent Form ... 64
Appendix 3 – Eleven Categories of Ethical Principles ... 65
List of Tables Table 1 ... 7 Table 2 ... 12 Table 3 ... 24 Table 4 ... 30 Table 5 ... 34
1. Introduction
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The purpose of this chapter is to provide the readers with a better understanding of the topic at hand, including concepts and definitions that will be frequently discussed in this study. Additionally, the readers will be introduced to the concept of marketing innovation as a crisis management tool during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter contains the problem discussion and the purpose statement followed by the research question. Finally, this part includes the delimitations and key definitions.
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1.1 Background
As this thesis is written, the entire world is in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic which affects all businesses worldwide. The first case infected by the coronavirus in Sweden was reported in February 2020 and one month later, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic (WHO, 2020). In May 2021, the virus deceased 125 million cases worldwide (Statista, 2021). At the same time in Sweden, 1 027 934 cases of the coronavirus had been identified and 14 267 were death cases (ibid). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sequence of events leading up to a global economic crisis. The main factor behind this chain reaction that led to an economic crisis is the social distancing measures taken by governments. This economic crisis has completely changed peoples’ lives. It has impacted the world economy and healthcare, and the changes driven by the pandemic will have consequences for the future (Wang et al., 2020). As new regulations have been implemented by governments, businesses, marketers, and consumers are forced to adapt to the new situation. Consequently, the attitude of purchasing and selling various products during the pandemic has shifted to new directions (Sheth, 2020).
During the coronavirus pandemic the choice of shop physically have become restricted due to the social distancing restrictions (Sheth, 2020), and customers are forced to consume online goods. This shift from physical to online consumption has pushed companies towards digital
transformation. According to a survey conducted by McKinsey (2020) this pandemic has influenced companies to accelerate their implementation of digital or digitally enabled products by seven years. Furthermore, the McKinsey survey sums up that to stay competitive in this new environment requires new business practices. In fact, Cabello-Morales (2021) claim that to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, the usage of digital resources is key for businesses. This concludes that as the coronavirus has spread all over the world, the market has transformed and required digital business solutions.
Almost 40 percent of the European small and medium-sized enterprises have experienced liquidity problems and 90 percent reported turnover issues because of the economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic (Antonopoulos, 2020). Furthermore, the most affected sectors are construction, retail and hospitality. In Sweden, the government has offered these enterprises crisis packages including central government loan guarantee, temporary reduction of social security contributions, etc. (Government Offices of Sweden, 2020). The companies that suffer the most from an economic crisis are according to Quintiliani (2017) the small and medium-sized enterprises, abbreviated as SMEs. The reason why SMEs suffer significantly from a crisis is because of the nature of SMEs that includes for instance the lack of knowledge and investment (Cabello-Morales 2021). Other significant characteristics of SMEs in crisis times are their limited resources, small impact on the marketplace, and their shortage of expertise (Carson, 1985; Naidoo, 2010). In Sweden, almost 99 percent of the registered firms are SMEs. In addition, these SMEs have created most of the jobs since the ’90s (Yazdanfar & Öhman, 2018). Thus, their activities have a significant impact on the Swedish economy. Since small and medium-sized enterprises majorly contribute to economic growth, these companies are most important to study in an economic crisis.
A recommended tool to manage an economic crisis for SMEs is marketing innovation (Naidoo, 2010). Marketing innovation involves significant amendments of the marketing mix including the 4 Ps of product design, price, place and promotion (OECD, 2005). However, this may be done without evoking any changes in the main product. Marketing innovation allows firms to open towards new markets and change already existing ones (Kjellberg et al., 2015). When a crisis strikes businesses, they might be required to change their marketing mix components (Mansoor & Jalal, 2010). While consumers become more conscious about their purchasing habits during such
a time, companies become more conscious about their marketing strategies. Therefore, to keep the businesses’ growth and maintain consumer loyalty during an economic crisis, companies are suggested to spend extra budget and time on marketing activities and innovate their marketing (Grundey, 2009). In fact, the progression of innovative marketing methods and tools may have a crucial role in the development of any business regardless the circumstances (Chen, 2006). This progression involves crucial changes in the marketing mix without evoking any changes in the main product (OECD, 2005). Marketing innovation gives the opportunity for firms to open towards new markets and change already existing ones (Kjellberg et al., 2015). For these reasons, marketing innovation can in fact be a crucial part of the crisis management of a business.
Although marketing innovation has been advised as a tool for businesses to manage a crisis, it has received less scrutiny in empirically demonstrate this. Furthermore, marketing innovation has been researched in the environment of a crisis previously, however, little research has examined marketing innovation during crisis in the context of SMEs (Naidoo, 2010; Wang et al. 2020).
1.2 Problem Discussion
An economic crisis impacts all companies in a different fashion (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001). Also, an economic crisis is usually seen as a threat with serious effects on firms. This event can demolish an entire organization and its employees, products, services, and financial resources (Hertati et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the application of marketing innovation could be a pleasant tool for firms that are short of money caused by an economic crisis (Naidoo, 2010). However, there is little research on the relationship between crisis management and marketing innovation (Naidoo, 2010).
As an effect of the spreading of the COVID-19 virus, social distancing measures were implemented by governments which led to change in customer buying behaviour and preferences. Thus, firms must adapt their offers to meet the new customer demand and ensure their competitiveness during this pandemic. Since marketing innovation has an economic objective due to its focus on interaction with customers through marketing and sales (OECD, 2005). Innovativeness in the marketing will thus help businesses to better meet the customer needs (Naidoo, 2010). Marketing innovation aims to improve market share and therefore differs from the more common forms of innovations, such as product and process innovation which tend to
concentrate on the efficiency and quality of production (OECD, 2005). Innovation research has mostly been done in the areas of products and processes, but more lately researchers claim that marketing innovation is a valuable form of innovation (OECD, 2005; Naidoo, 2010). Marketing innovation is less costly than for example innovation of products and processes (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001). This is one of the reasons why Naidoo (2010) argues that marketing innovation is an appropriate tool to apply during times of a crisis.
Wang et al. (2020) take the research on marketing innovation one step further by claiming that marketing innovation is highly suitable as a safe crisis management method. The researchers state that marketing innovation is an elemental part of crisis management. In prior literature, little attention has been directed to marketing innovation as an important aspect and part of crisis management and deserves more scrutiny. Although Naidoo (2010) was a pioneer within this research field, Wang et al. (2020) contributed to the research more recently. Furthermore, Wang et al. (2020) focused on firms in China during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas Naidoo (2010) conducted the study eleven years ago before this thesis was written, which was also before the world experienced such emerging technology. With this said, there seems to be a lack of research within the field of marketing innovation and crisis management combined. Thus, this is a research gap to be filled.
It is a fact that the world has never been challenged with such a widespread economic crisis such as the one created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there are similarities between different economic crises, especially between crises of similar sorts, all calamities are unique of its kind and the circumstances it causes (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001). For this reason, firms encounter economic crises with little knowledge. Additionally, there seems to be a lack of knowledge on how marketing innovation is handled during crisis times. Although marketing innovation is a way of meeting new consumer demand (Naidoo, 2010), it catches the curiosity of the authors whether a change of marketing strategies has a significant impact on crisis management or not. Furthermore, the problem has arisen due to the marketing interest of the authors, and how it has been forced to change during a global economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. The question the authors ask themselves is if it is possible to not only change the marketing strategies but also innovate them as a method of crisis management?
With this in mind, the authors of this thesis wish to through this study contribute with new knowledge and insights on how Swedish SMEs relate marketing innovation to crisis management. Furthermore, the authors also aim to contribute to research that favours the management of future crisis events.
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish SMEs manage the economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, through the relatively unexplored relationship between crisis management and marketing innovation. This is to provide a better explanation of how marketing innovation strengthens or constrains crisis management in terms of small and medium-sized businesses in Sweden.
The topic was selected because of the relevance of the impact of COVID-19 on businesses overall and the severe consequences it has brought to business owners and marketers. The findings of this study are expected to provide an insight into how businesses manage crisis management and how they relate it to marketing innovation. Firstly, this study may contribute with information on how firms can handle a crisis in the short-term. Secondly, this thesis may also serve as an indication for future economic crises and especially pandemics where social distancing is a restriction. As the COVID-19 pandemic is perceived as a tremendous challenge for many SMEs, numerous SME owners and marketers may find this study helpful and as an extension of their own experiences. In conclusion, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute with valuable knowledge from an exploratory point of view on the influence of marketing innovation on crisis management.
1.4 Research Question
The following research question has been formulated based on the problem definition of this thesis:
1.5 Delimitations
The scope of the conducted research of this thesis has been delimited to small and medium-sized enterprises in Sweden. This is due to several reasons, and one is practical. Both authors are studying at a Swedish, well-known university and therefore have access to Swedish enterprises. Besides, Sweden has been chosen due to its high percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises which is 99 percent of all businesses in the country (Yazdanfar & Öhman, 2018). Hence, the population of this study is Sweden. Furthermore, the scope of research has also been delimited to businesses within randomly sampled industries, both due to the authors’ great interest in how the COVID-19 pandemic affects different industries but also because of the belief that SMEs heavily depend on their marketing during crisis times, regardless of industry type.
1.6 Definitions
COVID-19: The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide crisis that was declared as a global
pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020 (WHO, 2020). When this thesis is written it is still ongoing. The COVID-19 pandemic is proved to put an extreme damage on the global economy and cause an overall change in market dynamics (Wang et al., 2020; Mehta et al., 2020).
Crisis Management: Crisis management is “a systematic attempt by organizational members
with external stakeholders to avert crises or to effectively manage those that do occur” (Pearson
& Clair, 1998).
Marketing Innovation: Marketing innovation is the development of new marketing methods
2. Frame of Reference
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The aim of this chapter is to provide a theoretical foundation for the topic at hand. This is accomplished by first defining the approach used for the theoretical framework and the references used. Furthermore, the theory will be introduced to the audience in the following primary areas: Economic Crisis, COVID-19, SMEs, Crisis Management, Marketing Innovation. Lastly, a subdivision with attention to existing lack of literature will be discussed.
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2.1 Method for Frame of Reference
The search engines such as Business Source Premier, Scopus, Google Scholar, and the online version of Jönköping University Library: Primo were used to conduct a systematic literature review aimed to evaluate previous literature on the subject. Due to the researchers’ prior knowledge and access to literature, these four databases were used.
Table 1 - Search Parameters for Frame of Reference
The scope of literature was restricted to peer-reviewed publications written in English. The important keywords available in Table 1 were used. To ascertain the relevancy of the papers found, the abstract and headlines of the articles were read.
Furthermore, the papers had to follow at least one of the two criteria: being published and listed in the Association of Business Schools' (ABS) Academic Journal Guide or in in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journal list. Hence, only trustworthy, and reliable sources were used in order
to secure the quality of the study. However, minor exceptions from only reviewing peer-reviewed articles were made and were held to a bare minimum, but solely for adding more value to the research. One example of the exceptions were the recently published articles on the topic of COVID-19 that was crucial to use in order to answer the research question of this thesis.
Besides, the examined theories in this chapter have been selected due to the authors’ understanding of the subject of this thesis. The motivation of choice of theory is to answer the research question of this study, and the theories included in the frame of reference are selected due to their relevance to answering the research question. By relevancy, the authors refer to the fact that the theories are related to the research question and valuable sources to be discussed to understand the research topic which aims to explore how Swedish SMEs manage the economic crises derived from the COVID-19 pandemic through the unexplored relationship between marketing innovation and crisis management. This chapter seeks to provide the reader with a structure of the theories that undergird the thinking of the authors, based on previous research conducted within the field of primarily marketing innovation and crisis management.
2.2 Economic Crisis
A crisis is the representation of a low probability, high impact situation that is recognized by the crucial stakeholders and is in fact a threat to the overall development of an organization (Pearson & Clair, 1998). Furthermore, an economic crisis is threatening for achieving organizational goals (Bundy et al., 2017). Crises can appear in many forms such as natural disasters, technological disasters, and economic disasters and these disasters bring inevitable changes to firms (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001; Benson & Clay, 2004).
An economic crisis influences all firms in a different manner (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001). An economic crisis is usually seen as a threat that has various effects on companies. This event can easily demolish an entire organization and its employees, products, services, and financial resources (Hertati et al., 2020). For instance, many businesses must comply with reducing the production due to the insufficient demands for their products and services combined with intense competition on the market (Köksal & Özgul, 2007). The lack of demand causes financial issues that force companies to cut out personnel and lower wages. Furthermore, many businesses have
no other choice but completely shut down (Zehir & Savi, 2007). As far as the general strategies are concerned, businesses need to leave from those markets where they are not considered as main participants and direct their resources on those in which they are solid (Ang et al., 2000).
2.2.1 Economic Crisis and Consumer Buying Behaviour
Furthermore, in every market, consumers are drivers of the overall growth and consumer’s utility depends on the consumption of agricultural and industrial goods and services (Mehta et al., 2020; Grundey, 2009). During an economic crisis, consumer buying behaviour changes. In order to be able to adjust to the changing economic conditions, consumers change and adapt their shopping behaviour and habit (Köksal & Özgul, 2007). Seema et al. (2020) state that the new movements in consumer behaviour emerge and the crucial factors modelling consumer’s behaviour during disaster are risk attitude and risk perception. In general, during an economic recession, consumers seek to simplify their demands, save money by looking for the lowest price and prioritize necessary products because of the transformed perception of risk (Mansoor & Jalal, 2010; Sharma & Sonwalkar, 2013). During the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing, consumers purchasing habit have shifted to new directions and their choice of the place to shop have become restricted (Sheth, 2020). The consumptions have changed because of the elevated level of risk perception and the new type of consumer behaviours have appeared that companies must adapt to (Mogaji, 2020; Sheth, 2020). In response to consumer buying behaviour changes in a crisis, businesses are forced to modify their marketing mix components that refer to the price, product, promotion, and place (Mansoor & Jalal, 2010).
2.3 COVID-19
The emergence of COVID-19 that is also called the coronavirus, was officially declared as a global pandemic in March 2020 (WHO, 2020). In May 2021 when this is being written, the virus reached over 125 million cases worldwide (Statista, 2021). The first case in Sweden was detected in Jönköping on February 4, 2020. As of May 11, 2021, 1 027 934 cases of the coronavirus have been detected in Sweden and among those 14 267 have had a deadly outcome (ibid). The
COVID-19 pandemic has caused a chain of events that eventually led to the current worldwide disaster that is proved to put an extremely damaging impact on the global economy and to influence an overall change in market dynamics (Wang et al., 2020; Mehta et al., 2020). It is evident that the economic effect of the current coronavirus pandemic is a challenge for businesses to handle. Each nation’s business institutions, economic landscape, and market characteristics are affected by the challenge that COVID-19 brings upon the world (Bhattacharyya & Thakre, 2021). Furthermore, the quick response to the pandemic from the governments, stock markets and consumers resulted in social distancing restrictions that radically altered the status quo of almost every society (Laato et al., 2020). As of today, many retail businesses suffer greatly due to the government-enforced limitations on their operations and consumers staying in quarantine (Luca et al., 2020). Moreover, the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on employment and earning possibilities of workers and companies are predicted to be long-lasting (Adams-Prassl et al., 2020).
There have been several epidemic outbreaks in the human history. For example, SARS, Ebola and the Spanish flue, and these outbreaks have had an impact on human behaviour following an economic recession in certain areas (Laato et al., 2020). These pandemics from the past usually have been associated with following low return to assets (Taylor et al., 2020). For example, the world was hit by the Spanish flu in 1918 and lasted until 1921 where the victims of the pandemic were healthy young people and not elderly people (Karlsson et al., 2014). Therefore, this pandemic effected the labour market mostly and resulted in decline of GDP (Weng et al., 2020). Although there is a lack of economic data for this period which limits research on the economic impact of the Spanish flu, it was yet a damaging pandemic economic wise (ibid). Furthermore, when it comes to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is no close historic parallel due to its abruptness and its massive cause of job losses along with the economic contraction it has started worldwide (Altig et al., 2020). Finally, this economic originating from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is happening during the digital era of human history. The availability of emerging technologies influences the possibilities for how businesses can adapt their operations to the circumstances caused by the current pandemic (Poniewierski, 2021).
2.3.1 Impact and Challenges of COVID-19
Impact and challenge are two phenomena that consistently appear throughout literature regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to distinguish impact from challenge which both have been reviewed above, the two words are defined in this section. The word impact can be defined in several ways. However, the definition that this study will follow is by the Cambridge Dictionary (2021) “a powerful effect that something, especially something new, has on a situation or person”. Challenge is on the other hand by the Cambridge Dictionary (2021) defined as “(the situation of
being faced with) something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person's ability”. In conclusion, impact is an effect of something
that influences a situation whereas a challenge is a specific situation itself. In other words, an impact can cause a challenge. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has a severe impact on the business climate which causes a challenge for companies.
The coronavirus pandemic has a major impact on the worldwide economy (Yang & Han, 2021). This powerful effect on the economy forces organizations and leaders to propose innovative approaches for businesses to manage and organize key resources (Budhwar & Cumming, 2020; Verbeke, 2020). Although, innovative approaches could be implemented by many industries during COVID-19, it requires a great effort to do it successfully (Rivera, 2020). Shankar (2020) points out that this situation is a crucial moment where companies must look at the challenges and opportunities in the short-term. Budhwar and Cumming (2020) explain that in order to develop new business strategies, companies must have a deep understanding of the industry challenges and opportunities caused by the current pandemic.
2.4 SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises are referred to as SMEs in this thesis. According to the European Commission (2021) SMEs can be further divided into micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. A micro-sized enterprise employs maximum 10 co-workers and has an annual turnover of at most 10 million EUR and/or a balance sheet total of 10 million. Furthermore, a small enterprise is considered to employ maximum 50 co-workers and have at most 2 million EUR in
annual turnover and/or 2 million EUR in balance sheet total. Lastly, if the employment total is above 50 but below 250, and either has an annual turnover on less than 50 million EUR and/or less than 43 million EUR in balance sheet total then it is a medium enterprise. This definition has been stated in Table 2 below and will be used in this study.
Table 2 – Definition of SMEs Source: European Commission (2021)
In addition, as far as Swedish SMEs are concerned, they are in leader position when it comes to job creation since the 90’s and estimated to occupy approximately 99 percent of registered firms in Sweden (Yazdanfar & Öhman, 2018). The Swedish SMEs are influenced by the country’s business culture of significantly low power distance (Hofstede Insights, 2021). The low power distance includes decentralized organizations, flat hierarchies and high independence for employees (ibid).
2.4.1 SMEs in Crisis
Small and medium-sized enterprises have a significant role in the economic growth; however, they also have higher probability of going bankrupt and suffering financial constraints (Quintiliani, 2017; Yazdanfar & Öhman, 2018). Not just during an economic crisis but in general, the failure rate of Swedish SMEs is relatively high due to the limited resources and the absence of responsiveness to changes (Yazdanfar, 2011). The already existing problems of SMEs include the lack of investment in improvements and knowledge, the insufficient planning and demand forecasting, the lack of management and technical skills and the limited financial resources (Cabello-Morales, 2021). Consequently, the small and medium companies are most vulnerable to
the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their limited resources and vulnerable supply chain and B2B or B2C relationships (Semple & Cherrie, 2020; Cabello-Morales, 2021). According to a survey conducted by McKinsey, 70 percent of European SMEs claim that their revenues have declined during the economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, 20 percent had to furlough employees, and 50 percent expressed their belief that they will not be able to be in business for longer than 12 months because of the pandemic (Dimson, 2020).
2.5 Crisis Management
Crisis management is a comprehensive area of research, however, due to Pearson and Clair (1998, p. 61) crisis management is defined as “A systematic attempt by organizational members with
external stakeholders to avert crises or to effectively manage those that do occur.” Crisis
management can focus on internal dynamics and external stakeholders (Bundy et al., 2017). Internal dynamics is identified as crisis leadership and describe the efforts of leaders who perceive crisis as a threat as more limited because they react more emotionally, whilst leaders who perceive crisis as an opportunity as more flexible to adjust to the situation (James & Wooten, 2005). On the other hand, the external stakeholders cover the stakeholder perception and reaction to crises and a subject to social influence (Bundy et al., 2017). The perception of the external stakeholders is formed by the attitude of the leaders of an organization that experiences a crisis and vice versa. In other words, the internal dynamics influence the external stakeholders and rely on each other. Besides, a business is proactive or reactive in terms of crisis management contingency (Mitroff & Alpaslan, 2003). Reactive businesses represent most companies worldwide, and they only prepare to handle the sorts of crises they have experienced before that in some cases can be very few. Proactive businesses on the other hand develop crisis management plans to face a wide range of emergencies including those kinds of crises they have not dealt with previously. Furthermore, crisis management is commonly divided into a process of different phases (Coombs & Laufer, 2018; Pearson & Mitroff, 1993). The first phase is the signal phase, and the second phase is the pre-crisis phase which involves prevention of a crisis. The third phase consists of the containment or damage limitation and represents the response to a crisis. Further is the fourth phase that is the post-crisis phase, and the fifth and final phase is the learning and revision phase.
Lastly, effective communication is one of the most crucial parts of crisis management (ASIS International, 2009). In order to ensure that the communication is effective, the internal and external stakeholders must be identified, and the audiences should be segmented. This is to enable targeted communication strategies tailored to the characteristics of different segments.
2.6 Innovation
According to OECD (2005) innovation is “The implementation of a new or significantly improved
product or service, or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations.” In other words, innovation can
appear in the forms of product innovation, process innovation, organizational innovation, and marketing innovation. Also, innovation relies on firms’ capacity to innovate (Hurley & Hult, 1998). Businesses that have a higher innovation capacity can create a competitive advantage by being more responsive to market changes and develop new or improved products, services or processes compared to firms with a low capacity to innovate. The capacity to innovate among firms are claimed to be higher when the organization is young, is less formalized and has a flat hierarchy, sets strategic plan long-term, cross-functionally and are market-focused (ibid). Furthermore, it is necessary to research how businesses innovate and what sorts of innovations they implement rather than solely identify whether enterprises are innovative or not (OECD, 2005).
2.7 Marketing Innovation
The two concepts of marketing and innovation have long been of significant interest to both researchers and corporates. Already in 1954, Drucker emphasized the importance of marketing and innovation by stating that “Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.” (Drucker, 1954, p. 39). Furthermore, Drucker also stated that “… any business enterprise has two
– and only these two – basic functions: marketing and innovation.”
More recently, scholars have acknowledged the combination of marketing and innovation, and created the theory of marketing innovation. The most cited definition of marketing innovation is marketing innovation as the development of new marketing methods including improvements of
product design, placement, promotion and/or pricing (OECD, 2005). Although this appears as the most widely accepted definition of marketing innovation, other definitions have been identified in academic literature too. Marketing innovation include the marketing mix as well as the marketing information systems (Gupta et al., 2016). Marketing innovation is also a firm's capacity to enter the market, and their effective use of marketing channels, and delivery of the product or service to attract potential customers or nurture existing customer relationships. In addition, marketing innovation can open up new markets but also change existing markets (Kjellberg et al., 2015). Through the application of marketing innovation, firms can efficiently use their resources to meet the demand of consumers and develop a sustainable competitive advantage (Hunt & Morgan, 1995). Marketing innovation increases firm value and the current cash flow values (Tang et al., 2021). However, in this paper the definition of marketing innovation will be the development of new marketing methods including significant improvements of the marketing mix. The aim of the marketing mix is to create a mutually satisfying exchange with the target market (Lamb et al., 2017, p. 26). Further, the main objective of marketing innovations is to increase the sales of a company (OECD, 2005). According to Kotler (2000, p. 9) the marketing mix is "The set of
marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market".
Furthermore, due to the marketing innovation definition by OECD (2005) that this study follows, marketing innovation involves a significant improvement of the marketing mix in terms of the 4 Ps. For this reason, the 4 Ps are defined below.
Product design: The product may be the most important component of the marketing mix since
the placement, promotion and price cannot be fulfilled without it. The product includes the physical unit, package, warranty, after-sale service, brand name, company image, and value (Lamb et al., 2017, p. 27).
Placement: Placement can also be named distribution and is concerned with enabling the
availability of the product or service to meet the consumer demand (Lamb et al., 2017, p. 27). Distribution may also take place through digital channels (Lamb et al., 2017, p. 239).
Promotion: Promotion includes advertising, public relations, sales promotion and personal selling
(Lamb et al., 2017, p. 27). Furthermore, this may also include the marketing messages (Chen et al., 2020). The marketing messages published on social media in specific can generate a great deal of user interaction (Chen et al., 2020).
Pricing: Price is the most flexible element of the marketing mix because is the quickest component
to change (Lamb et al., 2017, p. 27). Price is an important tool in competition with other businesses and a direct factor to the revenue of a firm.
2.7.1 Marketing Innovation and Crisis Management
An economic crisis requires a crisis management approach, and this can include adjustments in the marketing strategy since the business environment changes. It can be explained that an economic crisis requires aggressive sales expansion because of the reduced product and service demand and therefore companies are forced to adapt their marketing strategies to the new climate (Köksal & Özgül, 2007). However, although a sudden change saves a company short-term, the adjustments can damage a brand severely in the long-term. To avoid brand damage, companies can adopt a marketing innovation strategy (Naidoo, 2010). Marketing innovation can improve a firm’s performance in both short-term and long-term and at the same time save companies from harming their brands during a crisis. Furthermore, marketing innovation plays a fundamental role in crisis management (Wang et al., 2020). Marketing innovation can be the key factor to business survival during a crisis, and for this reason, marketing innovation is highly relevant in the research area of crisis management.
Crises affect countries differently due to moderating factors such as characteristics of the crisis, trade dependencies, socio-economic environment, market sophistication, and culture (Ang, 2001). In a study conducted on companies in Asia, it was proved that these businesses focused on improving their relationships as a marketing innovation strategy rather than lowering prices (ibid). On the other hand, prices in former Yugoslavia increased during a crisis. Besides, in order to select a suitable marketing innovation strategy, internal and external factors must be considered (Wang et al., 2020). However, in the economic crisis derived from COVID-19 specifically, there are several factors that firms are affected by. One factor is the external environment, and how a firm relies on it. Because of the social distancing measure that most governments have applied, businesses with an offline business model are more likely to suffer from the pandemic than a business with an online strategy. Another factor is the internal advantages of a firm, such as cash
flow or human resources. Also, the characteristics of the firm in whole, such as managerial influence, play a significant role in the selection of marketing innovation strategy (ibid).
To sum up, during recession time, marketers are forced to change their marketing strategy to stay consumer-responsive and profitable. This means that the marketing mix and target markets need to be modified to stimulate consumer demands (Shama, 1993). Marketing and promotion activities play a crucial role during crisis time since a well-planned advertising can improve the sales by aiding to overcome the propensity to save money (Cundiff, 1975). Furthermore, increasing the marketing budget during crisis will contribute to the gain of market share quicker. Therefore, to survive during the challenging times and become profitable in the future, businesses should focus on long-term marketing budgets and keep spending on the short-term (Köksal & Özgul, 2007). It is well-known that consumer loyalty is one of the key elements for businesses’ growth. For that matter, a good marketing plan strengthens brands and most importantly maintain consumer loyalty during tough times and economic crisis (Grundey, 2009). Below, the marketing mix during an economic crisis is elaborated.
Product design: It is not suggested for businesses to focus on the product during a crisis, due to its
complex and tends to be of costly nature when it is a subject to change (Grewal & Tansuhaj, 2001).
Placement: Regarding the placement or distribution channel, a good solution to a crisis may be to
save costs on streamline the distribution of products or services (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006).
Promotion: Promotion may be the most important tool during a crisis due to its ability to frame
safety, durability and reliability (Köksal & Özgül, 2007).
Pricing: It can be explained that during an economic crisis the consumer demand for products and
services lowers because of the uncertainty that crises add. This may require an aggressive sales strategy or a price reduction in order to increase the demand to normality during a crisis (Köksal & Özgül, 2007).
2.7.2 Marketing Innovation and Crisis Management in SMEs
The marketing activity in SMEs contrasts with large firms because they are affected by their limited resources, impact on the marketplace, and their lack of expertise (Carson, 1985). Marketing
in SMEs is mostly task-oriented and lack strategic pre-planning and is influenced by the owner’s personality and marketing experience. The owner of an SME is often more of a marketing generalist than a marketing specialist, and for this reason, the marketing of SMEs tends to be profit-seeking (ibid). On the other hand, argue that much marketing in SMEs is driven by innovation, and this is one reason why marketing innovation is well suited for SMEs (O’Dwyer et al., 2009). In contrast to product innovation or process innovation, marketing innovation is less costly, but requires a strategic mindset. SME owners can use innovative marketing practices to compensate for their disadvantages and thus create a sustainable competitive advantage.
Because of the disadvantages of SMEs, they are already vulnerable and when an economic crisis spreads, business survival rapidly become critical to many firms but particularly SMEs. By taking advantage of innovations, SMEs can make better use of their limited resources (Caballero-Morales, 2021). Innovation is a not only a key factor for successful marketing for SMEs but also a business survival strategy, especially during and after an economic crisis.
2.8 Gap of Research
Although there is a growing amount of literature about marketing innovation as a form of crisis management, there seems to be a need of in-depth research about the connection between the two theories of crisis management and marketing innovation. Wang et al. (2020) suggest that marketing innovation is a crucial part of crisis management, and Naidoo (2010) states that marketing innovation may be a suitable solution to a crisis. Furthermore, Chen (2006) proposes that it would be purposeful to investigate marketing innovation among asymmetric firms. Nevertheless, Bundy et al. (2017) advise that future research regarding crisis management should have a more integrative perspective compared to past literature. By identifying an opportunity for future research that involves recognizing that the best use of crisis management may be invisible to researchers who focus only on crisis failures and therefore an integrative approach to crisis management research is recommended. Finally, Mitroff and Alpaslan (2003) insist that future crisis management research must have the ability to review crises comprehensively.
3. Methodology & Method
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In this chapter, the authors will describe and explain the chosen methodology approach and structure utilized in this thesis. This will be followed by explaining the relevant research design, data collection and data analysis. Moreover, the underlying principles of the research quality and ethics will conclude this chapter.
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3.1 Methodology
3.1.1 Research Paradigm
Kuhn (1970) identifies the concept of research paradigm as “The set of common beliefs and
agreements shared between scientists about how problems should be understood and addressed”.
A more recent study describes the research paradigm as the philosophical implication of how the research can be carried out (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Furthermore, it is specified by how researchers answer to the three fundamental questions: ontological, epistemological, and methodological (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). The two most common approaches of the research paradigm are positivism and interpretivism. The distinction between the paradigms is defined by what qualifies as relevant knowledge for the perception of reality.
Positivism is a form of or progression of empiricism that is generally associated with experiments and quantitative analysis (Ryan, 2018). Empiricism is a form of foundationalist theory which suggests that knowledge should be unbiased and objective from researcher's principles and beliefs (Philippe & Burbules, 2000). Questionnaires and surveys are commonly used to gather data since they are more detectable and measurable. Thus, positivism is based on reasons and knowledge that generates an objective hypothesis.
Interpretivism is considered to be the opposition of positivism and used for qualitative research approach. It suggests that the truth and knowledge are subjective and based on the experience of people and their understanding of them (Ryan, 2018). Interpretivists generally prefer semi-structured interviews and open questions adapting to the interviewee (Collis & Hussey, 2014).
The interpretivism approach will allow the researchers to develop a deep and impactful understandings of the responses provided by the participants about marketing innovation strategies that might be used among Swedish SMEs to manage an economic crisis. Moreover, as is anticipated for an interpretivist research philosophy, the responses are predicted to be subjective, different and complex. Thus, interpretivism is the chosen paradigm for the authors of this study.
3.1.2 Research Approach
Due to the interpretivist point of view, the authors have chosen to conduct a study and gather data using deductive approach. Deductive study is a method of research in which a logical and theoretical framework is established and then empirically evaluated, allowing individual instances to be deduced from broad inferences (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The other research approach that could be chosen is the inductive. In contrast of the deductive approach, inductive approach is a research study in which a hypothesis is formulated based on the empirical evidence (Collis & Hussey, 2014).
For this study, a deductive approach is more suitable because the study aims to examine existing theories about the research topic and develop a hypothesis from those. More specifically, it allows the authors for the explanation of relational interactions between the concepts and variables. The hypothesis will be formulated in the conclusion of this paper. Furthermore, due to the purpose of this study which aims to investigate how Swedish SMEs handle the economic crisis of the current pandemic, deductive research approach seems more fitting as it does not start with a single observation rather amesses observations then it becomes more specified.
3.1.3 Research Design
In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, it is crucial to find a propriate design of research. The authors have chosen a qualitative research for this exploratory study to investigate the marketing innovation that Swedish SMEs adopt to manage COVID-19.
The aim of exploratory research is to gain new perspectives, ask questions, and evaluate phenomena from a wider viewpoint (Stebbins, 2001). Additionally, this type of approach is
necessary in case of unexpected answers which require more flexibility to result in depth and open responses (Erickson, 2017). As the study aims to identify a complex phenomenon and its root causes, a qualitative approach would fit. A qualitative research approach enables the researchers to use interviews to gain a deep sense of the research topic. As far as the research study is concerned, semi-structured interviews will be the source of collecting primary data.
To be able to gather data from semi-structure, in-depth interviews, the research design is inspired by the grounded theory. The purpose of grounded theory is to establish a theory based solely on the empirical evidence collected for the research to shed light on a previously unknown field (Collis & Hussey, 2014).
Lastly, as this study is being built upon on exploratory approach, the case study has been chosen which is an examination of processes that is carried out from a broad perspective using one or more approaches (Thomas, 2011). The difference between a single case study and a multiple case study is that in the last mentioned, the researcher is studying multiple cases to understand the differences and the similarities between the cases (Baxter & Jack, 2015). Therefore, the authors have chosen the multiple case study design over the single case study design because this study is constructed on the differences and similarities of the Swedish SMEs regarding the research topic.
3.2 Method
3.2.1 Primary Data
Primary data are research data coming from an initial source, such as personal experience, questionnaires, interviews, or focus groups (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The research team sought to generate precise information from empirical findings through independent, semi-structured interviews with a total of seven participants, as the study is based on a qualitative framework. Thus, the primary data were collected during the research process was based upon the seven online interviews containing the thesis subject. Moreover, the writers documented, recorded and selectively transcribed the interviews prior to applying and analysing them into a thematic structure.
3.2.2 Sampling Approach
It is important to find the most suitable sample method in order to be able to answer the research question. Sample refers to the specific group of individuals that the data is collected from and selected from the population (McCombes, 2019). To gather samples, the authors used nonprobability sampling method. Nonprobability sampling is often used in case study design and qualitative research, and it entails non-random selection drew on convenience or other factors (Taherdoost, 2016). Furthermore, purposive, or judgmental sampling was used as a nonprobability sampling method. Taherdoost (2016) describes purposive sampling as a strategy in which specific environments, people, or events are purposefully chosen to provide crucial information that cannot be acquired by other means.
Hence, the participants of the research were selected according to the following criteria: being a CEO or marketer of a Swedish small or medium business impacted by the economic crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason why CEOs and marketers were chosen was because the authors believed that participants with these positions could provide the information required for the empirical findings. CEOs and marketers gave the possibility to get an insight of the overall organization and the marketing actions that were taken in order to appease the crisis. Additionally, the Swedish SMEs were chosen within different fields. The goal of choosing companies in different industries was to find central themes, core components, and shared dimensions that transcend a diverse sample while still allowing for distinctive or diverse variations to be documented. Therefore, maximum variation sampling method was also used without including a wide range of extremes. Besides, the authors made sure that the sample was a fair representation of the three different sizes of SMEs. To explain further, equal proportion of micro, small and medium-size enterprises were interviewed.
The relevancy of the chosen companies was identified before contacting them. By relevant, the authors refer to the fact that these companies are related and valuable sources to be discussed regarding the research topic which aims to explore how Swedish SMEs manage the economic crises derived from the COVID-19 pandemic through the unexplored relationship between marketing innovation and crisis management. In addition, the authors emailed the potential participants to ask whether their firm had been impacted by the crisis derived from the current pandemic or not. Furthermore, the researchers made sure that the firms met the criteria of being a
SME according to the definition of the European Commission (2021) that was mentioned previously and can be seen in Table 2. Lastly, the page Allabolag provided the writers with the possibility to find detailed information about Swedish SMEs. By detailed information the authors mean the company overview which includes size, number of employees, date of registration, financial statement, account history, executives and contact details.
3.2.3 Semi – Structured Interviews
The seven interviews were conducted in March 2021 with the intention of discovering what the participants think, do or feel regarding the research subject (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Interview as a method was chosen, because it helps researchers to capture even more detailed and richer answers, as well as subjective qualitative data, which can be used to make concrete correlations to the research questions. More specifically, the semi-structured interview type was selected which enables interviewers to ask a list of predetermined questions but still open-ended questions. Open questions prevent the interviewees to simply answer “yes” or “no” and to encourage the discussion to progress beyond the surface. Hence, researchers gain a deeper understanding of the research subject.
Prior to the start of the interview the participants were given an overview of the main topics, as well as the goal and mission of the research. Furthermore, a digital consent form (Appendix 2) was sent out to them to be signed one week prior to the interview. During the interview sessions, the authors made sure to develop a rapport with participants and made them feel protected by stating their rights.
Due to the coronavirus restrictions, online, web-based interviews were conducted mostly via Zoom, and one was via Teams. Conducting online interviews allowed the research team to overcome the cost constraints deriving from face-to-face or telephone interviews (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The video calls enabled the researchers to interact with the participants. Furthermore, follow up questions and emotion detections gave a better understanding of the interviewees’ answers. Follow up questions were necessary due to the generalist thinking of the interviewees about the impact of marketing and the lack of awareness of its impact on crisis management. However, some complications derived from the online video calls, for instance bad connection or
technical problems. Fortunately, the difficulties mentioned before did not damage the quality of the interviews or the research purpose.
The participants were contacted via email and asked whether they would contribute to this research or not. The interviews were held in English and one interview was held in Swedish due to the lack of language skills of that single interviewee. The interview participants were selected according to their position, either a CEO or marketer of a Swedish SME. They were previously asked whether they would be comfortable having an interview in English, in which one participant was not comfortable and preferred the interview to be held in Swedish. The interviews ranged from 28 to 40 minutes long. Afterwards, the result was transcribed and in one case translated from Swedish to English.
Thus, according to the requirements mentioned previously, the key information about the interviewed respondents is summarized in Table 3 down below.
Table 3 – Interview Participants
3.2.4 Interview Questions
The main purpose of the interview questions was to investigate the innovative marketing strategies that the interviewed Swedish SMEs adopt in order to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, questions were asked about the perception of an economic crisis. The list of questions of the interview can be seen in Appendix 1.
The questions were developed to explore the study from literature. Moreover, the intention was to find more information about the topics that were mentioned in the gap of literature. In order to gain a deeper insight into the operations and positions of the interviewed businesses, the participants were asked company related questions and the importance of their roles in details. Afterwards, open-ended questions about the impact of the current coronavirus pandemic on the company helped the researchers to discover the challenges they have been facing and their management. Thereafter, the topic about the changing marketing strategies was discussed using the 4 Ps of the marketing mix framework, that are place, promotion, product, price. Nevertheless, the authors wanted to avoid limiting the research outcome by only using the 4 Ps as a framework. Therefore, specific questions that seemed repetitive in the field of marketing innovation were asked to be explained. Surprisingly, reformulating certain questions resulted in new discoveries and in more details. Moreover, closed questions were not used in the study due to the fact that the authors believed open questions would encourage free and honest responses.
3.2.5 Data Analysis
In order to analyse the empirical data gathered through the seven conducted interviews, thematic analysis was utilized. Thematic analysis is a method for finding, analysing, arranging, explaining and reporting themes in a collection of data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Nowell et al. (2017) claim that thematic analysis offers a highly flexible approach that can be adapted for the needs of many studies, providing rich and comprehensive, yet complex answers to the research questions, due to its theoretical freedom. Therefore, the authors of this thesis found this analysing method the most suitable to answer the research question using the six-phase process. Braun and Clarke (2006) describe that the six-phased process begins by identifying, noting, and comprehending significant patterns, as well as challenges and problems, in the collected data, which help to define specific topics to be used in the study.
Thus, the process is divided into six steps outlined as familiarization with data which is a crucial step since it is here that the researchers discover key ideas and concepts that can help to interpret
the data better. This stage also necessitates multiple data revisits. The second step is to generate
initial codes which require the identified key ideas and concepts to be served as the first set of
codes for the study question and its analysis of great interest. The third step is themes searching where the codes supposed to be arranged into groups based on their relevance or relationship to one another. Furthermore, to visually arrange and interpret the relationships, these groups are then converted into a thematic table. After this step, the next thing to do is to review the themes. Here, it is crucial to reassure the relevance and validity of the generated themes with the emphasis on maintaining good quality by checking into the correlation and obtaining enough data. This step often entails rearranging and redefining the codes and themes. The fifth phase is to define and
name the themes. This process may begin when the theme review is satisfactory and finished.
Giving the themes appropriate names that exhibit what the comprehensive themes are about is part of this step. The last step is to produce the report. This phase starts after the fully established themes and is prepared to begin the report's final analysis and writing (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The authors followed the six steps in chronological order in order to maximize the effectiveness of this process. After going through the interview data multiple times and fully understanding the key concepts, the codes were created. These codes enabled us to identify the themes and understand the marketing innovation that companies adopt during the coronavirus pandemic.
3.3 Ethics
According to Collis and Hussey (2014), ethics are the moral principles that control the behaviour of a person. Research ethics more specifically are concerned with the moral principles connected to the research practice and how the researchers report their findings. In order to ensure a high quality and ethical study, the list of moral principles by Bell and Bryman (2007) has been followed and can be found in Appendix 3.
Furthermore, Lincoln and Guba (1985) advise researchers to consider the four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability to ensure high ethical standards in an interpretivist study. Nevertheless, to guarantee no ethical mischief towards the participants of this thesis, anonymity and confidentiality have been taken into consideration and will finally be discussed in greater detail.
3.3.1 Credibility
According to Shenton (2004) credibility is a profound factor in order to establish trustworthiness in qualitative research. Credibility concerns the confidence in the truth value of the data and accuracy of the empirical findings (Cope, 2014). In this study, several measures have been taken in order to guarantee trustworthiness and among these measures are the different establishments of triangulation.
The first action taken in order to illustrate the trustworthiness of this study was the data triangulation. Data triangulation is according to Collin and Hussey (2014) when the data of a study is collected from multiple sources of different nature, and at different times. In this study, multiple interviews with CEOs and marketers within different industries and in differently sized SMEs were conducted. Apart from data collection from interviews, the data has also been gathered from previous academic literature relevant to this study’s field of research. Nevertheless, the study was continuously evaluated, and this was primarily done during consulting sessions between the authors and the supervisor and other peers. This does not only illustrate the data triangulation of the study but also the investigator triangulation.
Regarding the method of this study, a qualitative interview-based approach was implemented. Following, after conducting and transcribing the interviews, a thematic analysis was conducted with the aim to improve the trustworthiness of the data. The methodological triangulation was illustrated through analysis of the interview transcripts and following, identification of codes and themes to contribute to the outcomes of the study. Finally, the trustworthiness established by a theoretical triangulation was carried out through the analysis and use of multiple theories as conceptual framework.
3.3.2 Transferability
Transferability is concerned with whether the empirical findings of the research can be practiced in a similar situation and therefore allow a valid generalization (Collin & Hussey, 2014). Also, transferability corresponds to the external validity (Shenton, 2004). To improve transferability of
this study, a detailed description of the research context and underlying assumptions has been provided. One important note of this study conducted on the topic of the COVID-19 crisis, is that this crisis because of its unique nature is different from other economic crises in the world history. For this reason, it can be difficult to ensure that the results can be replicated because this study is of pioneer character. Hence, in this sense it may be considered that this study has a low transferability. Also, to ensure that the data of this study is as accurate as possible, the sample of seven companies were selected. Although this may not be a perfect representation of a larger population, it establishes a good ground for future research but most importantly this study has proved to contain crucial information for professionals and therefore receives external validity.
3.3.3 Dependability
A consistent and well documented research process is equal to high dependability of a study (Collin & Hussey, 2014). Also, dependability addresses the reliability aspect and is often achieved through following an audit process which refers to the detailed tracking of the research process (Tobin & Begley, 2004). To prove dependability of this study, the research process is demonstrated in an audit trail available in Appendix 4. Each interview was digitally recorded, observed, transcribed and coded following the audit trail. Other efforts done to fulfil the dependability of this research is that both researchers were equally involved in all steps of research. Furthermore, dependability fulfilment is demonstrated through a detailed description of chosen research design and data collection in chapter 3.1.3.
3.3.4 Confirmability
The objectivity and neutrality of the researcher correspond to the confirmability of the research (Shenton, 2004). In other words, confirmability refers to the research process and if it has been described entirely and how easy it is to assess the findings from the flow of data (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The confirmability of this study has been achieved due to several factors. First, the results of the data emerged naturally due to that the data analysis followed the six-step thematic analysis due to Braun and Clarke (2006) that is described in detail in chapter 3.2.6. Second, the coding
process of the thematic analysis proves that data is not biased in any way. The application of unchanged quotes from the interviewees implies the confirmability of this study.
3.3.5 Anonymity and Confidentiality
By giving the participants anonymity and confidentiality in the research assure them not to be identified with any opinions expressed (Collin & Hussey, 2014). In interviews in general, anonymity encourages the participants to express themselves freely to a greater extent than if their identities were published. Therefore, in order to assure the anonymity of the interviewees in this study extensive actions were taken. The first measure made was to collect the interviewees’ informed consent through the creation of the consent form (see in Appendix 2) that the participants were obliged to agree to and sign prior to the occurrence of the interview. The participants gave their consent in a written confirmation over email, that were downloaded and stored on the researchers’ computers. Notwithstanding the anonymity may have affected the participants in a negative manner by denying the recognition of the participant, this limitation is difficult to answer to because the measure is necessary to take in order to establish an ethical interview environment for all participants. Furthermore, the second action taken to secure the anonymity of the participants was the substitution of the haphazard names to ensure that the interviewees felt encouraged to express themselves freely.
