Strategic responses to crisis: a review and synthesis of promising research directions

Review of International Business and Strategy. 2022. Vol. 32. No. 4. P. 545–580.

Kozachenko E., Anand A., Shirokova G.

Purpose – A strategic response to crisis research is a critical and growing area of study in management and business literature. Consequently, the sudden rise of COVID-19, that has a substantial adverse impact on the global economy in a relatively short period of time, brings into sharp focus on the possible and most effective types of strategic responses adopted by firms. In this context, this study aims to shed light on the types of strategic responses adopted by firms and the possible outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach – To contribute to the advancement of knowledge around strategic responses in general for business, this study conducted a keyword bibliometric analysis reviewing 66 articles from highly ranked journals according to ABS list of journals published between the period 2006–2020 and synthesize the existing research on strategic responses.

Findings – This research enabled the identification of the novel typology of strategic responses to the crisis, such as revived stakeholders’ relationships, revived pricing mechanisms and revived organizational compliance, and their outcomes. Additionally, the analysis established many research areas for scholars who will deal with this topic in the future.

Originality/value – The literature review contributes to the management and business literature by providing a novel and comprehensive classification of crisis responses and synthesizing all new knowledge gained within a new conceptual framework.

Keywords Strategic response, Crisis, Crisis response, Bibliometric analysis, Literature review, Strategic management, Bibliometrics

Paper type Literature review

Keywords: Bibliometrics, bibliometric analysis, Crisis, crisis response, strategic management, Literature review, Strategic response