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. 2020 Aug:116:188-192.
doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.026. Epub 2020 May 25.

Managing uncertainty during a global pandemic: An international business perspective

Piyush Sharma  1 , T Y Leung  2 , Russel P J Kingshott  1 , Nebojsa S Davcik  3 , Silvio Cardinali  4
Affiliations

Managing uncertainty during a global pandemic: An international business perspective

Piyush Sharma et al. J Bus Res. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Despite the perennial need to understand and manage uncertainty in international business, there is no comprehensive framework that incorporates different types of uncertainty, their antecedents and outcomes, and the different coping strategies used by managers and their outcomes. This makes it difficult for international business managers to understand the types of uncertainty in their businesses and develop appropriate strategies to deal with it effectively, especially during times such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This paper uses an extensive review of the international business literature to address the above research gap by identifying the different types of uncertainty, their antecedents and outcomes, the coping strategies used to mitigate their impact, and the consequences of these actions. The authors also use examples from the current Covid-19 crisis to assess the firms' responses and their consequences. The paper concludes with some implications for international business managers and directions for future research.

Keywords: Covid-19; Globalization; International business; Risk; Trade; Uncertainty.

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