Navigating the storm: how managers’ decisions shape companies in crisis

This research aims to examine how managers responded and behaved in the highly chaotic environment generated by the COVID-19 crisis. Understanding their response is important because each decision taken impacted differently and significantly on their companies’ performance. The first part of the study uses topic modeling to interprets text from 113 interviews with executives published in general media. The second part analyzes responses from 518 managers across 15 countries using PLS-SEM. The survey was conducted during the most severe stage of the pandemic (2020), ensuring real-time opinions from managers rather than relying on recollections. The study’s main finding reveals that managers made strategic/operational and financial decisions, which helped companies adapt and survive in this new environment. However, they had a negative effect on firm performance. These findings delineate significant theoretical implications for managerial decision-making amidst chaotic contexts, as well as guiding practitioners in facing future crises.