Responding to disruptive events : A qualitative study on post pandemic challenges and responses of Swedish furniture SMEs with focus on value chain implications

Disruptive events are a recurring factor, and are in today's world a noticeable talking point as a result of their widespread effects, largely due to years of increasing globalization. With an increased accessibility to globally connected value chain activities, SMEs have been able to establish networks and strategies with global ties. When disruptive events introduce new challenges, SMEs are prompted to use crisis management strategies to protect their value chains and ensure established competitive advantages are not significantly diminished. The thesis is constructed around a series of theoretical frameworks and concepts which jointly depicts different perspectives in relation to the SMEs value chain activities. The research has been conducted from a deductive standpoint, while opting for semi-structured interviews as the method of choice to collect empirical data from SMEs, operating in Sweden with furniture manufacturing as their main occupation. The results portray empirical findings from four furniture SMEs, of which the primary findings indicate that value chain implications as a result of disruptive events are relative to the firms internal activities in terms of the experienced effects, while the view of certain value chain implications are varied. Our conclusion present the various value chain obstacles SMEs are facing as a result of disruptive events, what actions they have chosen to take in response and how these actions are influenced by established value chain activities. The crisis management strategy of persevering emerged as the generally preferred choice, revealing a strong trust in current value chain activities ability to lead the SMEs through disruptive periods.