Policy Development Framework for Operations Management During Crises: A Multiple Case Study of Nueva Ecija Cooperatives Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Submitted: 2024-07-23
|Accepted: 2024-12-03
|Published: 2025-02-10
Copyright (c) 2025 James Michael Alcaide Dalde
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Downloads
Keywords:
Operations Management, Crisis management, Resilience theory, Stakeholder Theory, Cooperative management
Supporting agencies:
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to businesses worldwide, including cooperatives in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. These organizations faced unique trials due to their distinct structure and operations. This study aims to understand the crisis management strategies employed by these cooperatives during the pandemic. Utilizing Mitroff's (1994) five stages of crisis, resilience theory, and stakeholder theory, the research provides a comprehensive view of how cooperatives navigated each stage of the crisis.
Data analysis reveals that these cooperatives not only survived but also implemented multifaceted strategies to thrive amidst the challenges. Significant findings include their initial reactions, emergency planning, mitigation efforts, resumption of operations, and resilience building. The study underscores the importance of resilience and stakeholder engagement in effective crisis management, contributing to the academic discourse on cooperative management in crisis scenarios and offering practical guidance for cooperative leaders and policymakers.
The study concludes that crisis management of cooperatives in Nueva Ecija was aligned with stakeholder theory, resilience theory, and Mitroff’s five stages of crisis management. Initially unprepared, they quickly adapted by implementing emergency planning, digital communication, safety protocols, workforce management, and financial support. As operations cautiously resumed, they balanced economic recovery with health concerns. This research highlights that the cooperatives in Nueva Ecija effectively navigated the COVID-19 crisis, adhering to crisis management principles and providing valuable insights for similar organizations in managing future crises.
References:
Agle, B. R., Mitchell, R. K., & Sonnenfeld, J. A. (1999). Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. Academy of Management Journal, 42(5), 507-525. https://doi.org/10.5465/256973
Alpaslan, C. M., Green, S. E., & Mitroff, I. I. (2009). Corporate governance in the context of crises: Towards a stakeholder theory of crisis management. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 17(1), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5973.2009.00555.x
Ayukekbong, J. A., Ntemgwa, M., Ayukekbong, S. A., Ashu, E. E., & Agbor, T. A. (2020). COVID-19 compared to other epidemic coronavirus diseases and the flu. World Journal of Clinical In-fectious Diseases, 10(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5495/wjcid.v10.i1.1
Balkhi, F., Nasir, A., Zehra, A., & Riaz, R. (2020). Psychological and behavioral response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Cureus, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7923
Bapuji, H., Patel, C., Ertug, G., & Allen, D. (2020). Corona crisis and inequality: Why management research needs a societal turn. Journal of Management, 46(7), 1205-1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320925881
Berkes, F., & Ross, H. (2013). Community resilience: Toward an integrated approach. Society & Natural Resources, 26(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2012.736605
Busetto, L., Wick, W., & Gumbinger, C. (2020). How to use and assess qualitative research meth-ods. Neurological Research and Practice, 2, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-020-00059-z
Carpenter, S. R., Westley, F., & Turner, M. G. (2005). Surrogates for resilience of social-ecological systems. Ecosystems, 8(8), 941-944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0170-y
Coombs, J. E., & Gilley, K. M. (2005). Stakeholder management as a predictor of CEO compensa-tion: Main effects and interactions with financial performance. Strategic Management Journal, 26(9), 827-840. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.476
Daley, A. M. (2013). Adolescent-friendly remedies for the challenges of focus group re-search. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 35(8), 1043-1059. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945913483881
de Jager, J. E., & Drogendijk, R. R. (2002). Crisis management: An analysis of business literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 41(1-2), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021310911326
Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evi-dence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65-91. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1995.9503271992
Elavarasan, R. M., & Pugazhendhi, R. (2020). Restructured society and environment: A review on potential technological strategies to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Science of the Total Environment, 725, 138858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138858
Everly, G. S. (2011). Building a resilient organizational culture. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/04/building-a-resilient-organizational-culture
Fediuk, T. A., Coombs, W. T., & Botero, I. C. (2010). Exploring crisis from a receiver perspective: Understanding stakeholder reactions during crisis events. In The Handbook of Crisis Com-munication (pp. 635-656). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444314885.ch31
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Pitman Publishing Inc. Available at: https://archive.org/details/strategicmanagem00free (Internet Archive) (Cambridge).
Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A. C., & Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder theory and "The Corporate Objective Revisited". Organization Science, 15(3), 364-369. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.0066
Gerosa, T., Gui, M., Hargittai, E., & Nguyen, M. H. (2021). (Mis)informed during COVID-19: How education level and information sources contribute to knowledge gaps. International Jour-nal of Communication, 15, 22.
Hadjielias, E., Christofi, M., Vrontis, D., & Khan, H. (2022). Social impact through family firms' interorganizational relationships within a community and a cooperative: An embedded view of stewardship. Journal of Business Research, 139, 584-601.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.005
Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2013). Stakeholder theory, value, and firm performance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23(1), 97-124. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq20132314
Hillman, A. J., & Keim, G. D. (2001). Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: What's the bottom line? Strategic Management Journal, 22(2), 125-139. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200101)22:2<125::AID-SMJ150>3.0.CO;2-H
Hu, X., Yan, H., Casey, T., & Wu, C. H. (2021). Creating a safe haven during the crisis: How organi-zations can achieve deep compliance with COVID-19 safety measures in the hospitality in-dustry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102662
Iliopoulos, C. (2014). Ownership, governance and related trade-offs in agricultural coopera-tives. DQ, 159. https://doi.org/10.5553/DQ/221199812014002004004
Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. (2023). Articles on digital tools and business model resilience. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00100-0
Karda, L., & Kavan, S. (2023). Emergency board management as a tool for strengthening resilience of the electric power industry: A case study in the Czech Republic. Energies, 16(5), 2467. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052467
Keim, M. E. (2010). OºCº: A unified model for emergency operations planning. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2010.0021
Lapuz, C. L., Policarpi, J. S. E., Manzon, R. D. S., & Santos, M. R. (2022). Evaluation of agricultural cooperatives in Cabanatuan City Nueva Ecija, Philippines during COVID-19 pandem-ic. International Journal of Progressive Research in Science and Engineering, 3(05), 147-152.
Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organi-zational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human Resource Man-agement Review, 21(3), 243-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.07.001
Limnios, E. A. M., Watson, J., Mazzarol, T., & Soutar, G. N. (2016). Financial instruments and equity structures for raising capital in co-operatives. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change.
Marin-Garcia, J. A., Vidal-Carreras, P. I., & García-Sabater, J. J. (2020). Operations Management at the service of health care management: Example of a proposal for action research to plan and schedule health resources in scenarios derived from the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Indus-trial Engineering and Management, 13(2), 213-227. https://doi.org/10.3926/jiem.3190
Menoni, S., & Schwarze, R. (2020). Recovery during a crisis: Facing the challenges of risk assess-ment and resilience management of COVID-19. Environment Systems and Decisions, 40, 189-198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-020-09775-y
Meyer, A. D. (1982). Adapting to environmental jolts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27(4), 515-537. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392528
Mitroff, I.I. (1994). Crisis management and environmentalism: A natural fit. California Management Review, 36(2), 101-113. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165747
Ng, D. W. L., Duarte Alonso, A., Bressan, A., & Vu, O. T. K. (2022). Impacts, lessons learnt, and envisioning the future of firms under COVID-19-implications for knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(10), 2784-2804. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2021-0584
Quinn, M. (2016, September 12). Starbucks' sustainability and the stakeholder theory. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/michaelaquinn/2016/09/12/starbucks-sustainability-and-the-stakeholder-theory/
Regester, M., & Larkin, J. (2008). Crisis management and communications. Strategic Communica-tion Management, 12(4), 14-17. https://www.routledge.com/Business-Continuity-Management-A-Crisis-Management-Approach/Elliott-Swartz-Herbane/p/book/9781138186927
Richter, U. H., & Dow, K. E. (2017). Stakeholder theory: A deliberative perspective. Business Eth-ics: A European Review, 26(4), 428-442. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12164
Sangster Jokić, C. A., & Jokić-Begić, N. (2022). Occupational disruption during the COVID-19 pan-demic: Exploring changes to daily routines and their potential impact on mental health. Journal of Occupational Science, 29(3), 336-351. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2021.2018024
Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research. (2022). Various articles on business resilience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41471-022-00108-9
Smith, B., Toffel, M. W., & Johnson, R. (2016). Can business organizations change social norms? Exploring the role of industry associations in reducing employment discrimination. Organi-zation Science, 27(6), 1345-1361. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2016.1098
Sutcliffe, K. M., & Vogus, T. J. (2003). Organizing for resilience. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 94-110). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21588
Tasavori, M. (2012). Corporate social entrepreneurship at the bottom of the economic pyramid: Antecedents and outcomes in India. The University of Manchester. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2012.15758abstract
Thielsch, M. T., Röseler, S., Kirsch, J., Lamers, C., Hertel, G. (2021). Managing pandemics - de-mands, resources, and effective behaviors within crisis management teams. Applied Psy-chology, 70 (1), 150-187. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12303
Transformational Company. (2024). Starbucks uses multi-stakeholder collaborations to address systemic barriers and challenges to recycling. Retrieved from https://transformationalcompany.ca/case-study/starbucks-uses-multi-stakeholder-collaborations-to-address-systemic-barriers-and-challenges-to-recycling/
Tsipursky, G. (2020). Resilience: Adapt and plan for the new abnormal of the COVID-19 corona-virus pandemic. John Hunt Publishing.
Van Breda, A. D. (2018). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social work. Social Work, 54(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.15270/54-1-611
Vogus, T. J., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). The safety organizing scale: Development and validation of a behavioral measure of safety culture in hospital nursing units. Medical Care, 45(1), 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.mlr.0000244635.61178.7a
Williams, S., & McEwen, L. (2021). 'Learning for resilience' as the climate changes: discussing flooding adaptation and agency with children. Environmental Education Research, 27(11), 1638-1659. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1927992
Wolf, D. P., Hahn, R., & Alt, R. (2005). Strategic crisis management: Lessons from the airline indus-try. Journal of Air Transport Management, 11(6), 418-423. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00251740510597754/full/html
Zarafshani, K., Helms, M. M., & D'Itri, M. P. (2019). Revitalizing the co-operative sector in Iran. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 84(3), 53-71.
