Reconfiguration of Relations within the Business Ecosystem: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought about abrupt changes to demand in many sectors, which resulted in the polarization of the market situation of enterprises. Some of them became big winners as demand increased, while others were losers due to the decline in demand; there was also a small group of companies that did not feel any changes in demand for their products. To date, research on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for enterprises has focused on identifying bilateral relations. In this article, the authors undertake an analysis of the reconfiguration of the business ecosystems of enterprises depending on their market situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article deals with the relations between businesses and their suppliers, customers, competitors, financial institutions, scientific and research centers and public administration institutions. The study was conducted on a sample of 170 companies and utilized the method of a multidimensional analysis of correspondence. The companies which benefited from the pandemic enlarged their business ecosystems by expanding short-term relations with new suppliers and customers, maintaining unchanged cooperation with current ones. The willingness to cooperate with competitors (coopetition), financial, scientific and research institutions and public administration has been on the rise. The biggest losers made their business ecosystems smaller by reducing the number of suppliers and customers, protecting contacts with their key partners; however, relations with financial institutions, public administration and scientific and research institutions deteriorated. Rivalries with competitors became fiercer. The deterioration of relations also resulted from the demanding attitude of the surveyed companies and the expectation of support from members of their business ecosystems. Companies which did not experience any market changes as a result of the COVID-19 crisis did not undertake any reconfiguration in their business ecosystems. The research shows that the dynamics and directions of changes in the business ecosystems of enterprises as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic depended on changes in their demand situation.