Working Capital Management and Systems Disruption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from South Africa

Abstract

This study provides a critical analysis of working capital management (WCM) research in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of human life, from health to the economic system. Businesses need to respond swiftly to the extreme changes, and adopt a proactive approach to working capital, to ensure a greater chance of successfully overcoming the many challenges. This research uses five stages to investigate WCM research and critically analyses and proposes ways to deal with WCM during each stage. The first stage deals with the global recession of 2008 and thereafter. The second involves managing working capital during the pandemic; thirdly during extreme change; and fourthly post-pandemic. It concludes with managing working capital in the new economic order. Samples of research outputs for each stage were used for critical analysis through a systematic analysis process. The results show that research into WCM after the 2008 global recession mostly focused on how businesses could mitigate the impact of the crisis itself and buffer themselves against future crises. During pandemics, there are three key steps that should be considered by management teams who seek to stabilise their cash positions. When experiencing extreme changes, such as economic downturns and sudden demand or supply shocks, businesses need to cushion them. Post pandemic working capital research focus is on demand volatility and workforce safety. Finally, in a new economic order, digital transformation shifts as well as effective cash management necessary to alleviate volatile supply chains, are important. The global coronavirus pandemic has produced a humanitarian crisis unlike anything before, with sudden and dramatic disruptions across all industries and markets. This research produces some insight into how to manage the short-term finances of a business during these phases. Keywords: working capital management, systematic review, COVID-19 pandemic, extreme change, new economic order