IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CORPORATE STRATEGY: A CASE OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE BULAWAYO METROPOLITAN PROVINCE IN ZIMBABWE

Abstract

This study sought to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on corporate strategies of manufacturing companies in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. The study was motivated by the fact that while COVID-19 pandemic has forced manufacturing companies to rethink almost every aspect of their businesses, it has also validated the importance of corporate strategy. The study was guided by the Real Option Theory, which indicates that managers tends to defer investments when uncertainties arise. The interpretivism research philosophy guided this research because the aim was to establish the socially constructed nature of the reality of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the corporate strategies of manufacturing companies in Bulawayo. A qualitative research approach was used which enabled the researchers not to be restricted to specific research questions. The researchers opted for a case study research design where 5 manufacturing companies that constituted 5 cases in the study. This allowed the researchers to gain a sharpened understanding of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the corporate strategies of manufacturing companies in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province. A sample of 20 participants, comprising of 5 senior managers and 15 middle managers of manufacturing companies were used in the study. Data was generated through interviews with 5 senior managers and open-ended questionnaires with 15 middle managers of manufacturing companies. The key findings of the study were that COVID-19 pandemic affected the four pillars of corporate strategy of manufacturing companies in Bulawayo in a positive and negative way. The study recommended that manufacturing companies should be flexible in responding to market trends, collaborate with government, establishing a crisis plan and having a collaboration mechanism well in time before the crisis in order to reduce the negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on their corporate strategies.