Alone or in company? Cultural orientation, strategic response and COVID-19 outcomes

ABSTRACT

The respiratory disease, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which began in December 2019, and became a pandemic in early 2020, has posed critical challenges not only for nations and businesses but also individuals. As a result, management scholars are examining organizational and management antecedents and effects of COVID-19. Leveraging crisis management as the overarching theory we report on three studies that examine cultural orientation and strategic response as antecedents, leader obligation as a moderator, and dual economy effects of COVID-19. Data from archival sources (Afrobarometer, Worldodometer, and the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center) of countries in Africa (n = 18) show main and interactive effects of leader obligation in Study 1. In Study 2 strategic responses of countries relate to COVID-19 outcomes. In Study 3, we find some effects of COVID-19 on small and medium firms. We discuss the findings, contributions as well as implications for research and policy development, and conclude with limitations and future research.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• Maat
• cultural orientation
• strategic response
• leader obligation
• effects on business

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/africa-has-held-worst-coronavirus-researchers-are-working-figure-out-n1241026.

2 https://www.idrc.ca/en/project/socio-economic-impact-covid-19-african-economies-social-cohesion-and-governance-evidence.

3 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSSP-05-2020-0171/full/html.

4 https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-us-bankruptcies-coronavirus/.

5 https://www.natlawreview.com/article/covid-19-pandemic-spurs-wave-mega-corporate-bankruptcies.

6 https://www.gfmag.com/topics/blogs/covid-19-bankruptcies-global-country.

7 www.afrobarometer.org.

8 Even though COVID-19 figures appear to have escalated over the December 2020-January 2021 period, that is the 2nd wave which is not the period of our studies.

9 https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/04/government-response-global-landscape.html.

10 https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19.

11 Tables excluded due to space limitation. They may be requested from the first author.

12 https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/covid-19.

13 Results may be requested from the first author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Baniyelme D. Zoogah

Baniyelme D. Zoogah (PhD – The Ohio State University) Associate Professor of Management at the Williams College of Business, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA where he teaches Strategic Human Resources Management and International Human Resources Management as well as Strategy and Organizations. He is a founding executive of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM), an affiliate of the Academy of Management, where he currently functions as President. In addition to books, book chapters, and conference presentations, he has published several articles in top tier journals His research generally focuses on development of individuals, groups, organizations, and nations. His current areas are strategic followership, corporate environmental sustainability, and Africa-centered management.

Benedicta S. Quao

Benedicta S. Quao is a Lecturer, a Research Fellow and a Management Consultant with the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Ghana. She has been involved in research in economic development, market research, micro, small and medium enterprise management, and accounting. Her area of competence includes: capacity building, fund management, private sector development, economic research, feasibility/business plans, proposal writing, workshop/seminar facilitator and auditing. Benedicta is currently a PhD candidate in Marketing, holds an MPhil Economics degree, a BA (Honors), an Economics and Mathematics degree and a diploma in Education. She has a number of publications as well as conference papers to her name.

Vincent H. T. Musah

Vincent H. T. Musah is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Professional Studies, Accra. He is an industry practitioner whose research interests include management, service innovation, e-Banking, big data, branding, marketing strategy, service marketing, and international marketing. Since 2012, Vincent has been presenting introductory e-Banking workshops to new joiners across banks in Ghana.

Patience O. Ahwireng

Patience O. Ahwireng is a PhD candidate at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. A Lecturer in the faculty of management, she holds an MPhil in Public Administration from the University of Ghana Business school. Before joining Academia, Mrs Patience Obeng Ahwireng was a professional teacher at Ghana Education Service Accra.