Everything was fine until it wasn´t : A qualitative study on the evolution of managerial decision-making after managing through times of crisis

Uncertainty can be regarded as a constant in business. What happens if…? What will happen when…? In todays globalized world, events taking place on the other side of the world can have an impact on companies and people in Sweden. These events can create crisis situations that people have to deal with and somehow resolve. As Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone, and afterword, many are strong at broken places”. Our thesis explores the strong, the managers that must deal with all the issues that might arise in their organization or from external events. The research includes a literature review on how managers should act and what competencies are desirable for a manager to have in times of crisis. Additionally, a theoretical framework has been developed to show how their decision-making processes have changed though three phases of crisis; pre crisis, during crisis and post crisis phase. The study includes qualitative interviews with Swedish managers in varying sectors and a variety of crisis events, to be able to delve into how their decision-making processes have evolved. The study has concluded that crisis events have an impact on the managers way of leading and taking decisions. The respondents all indicated a lack of preparedness from an individual and organizational standpoint. Another aspect reported was their resilience during the crisis events despite being characterized by uncertainty, lack of information and prior unfamiliar scenarios. The respondents have noticed an increase in confidence in decision making, but also improved communication, less stress when taking decisions and more prepared to manage future crises.