When the Unexpected Becomes Expected: Strategic Resilience in Firms of Strategic Importance

Abstract

With the disruptive macro environment and the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous economy as a backdrop this study focuses on how firms of strategic importance at heightened state of alert or in time of other crises can build resilience towards external disruptions. Theories on GVC resilience, corporate political activities, strategic agility forms the theoretical background and primary data gathering consists of data from eight semistructured interviews with in total ten informants holding, to the study, relevant positions in their respective firms. The analysis conducted with help of the theoretical frameworks results in identification of multiple resilience building tools where some examples are proactivity, use of multi-sourcing and close supplier collaboration. In regard to resilience building towards specifically production of strategic importance a dispersed picture appears.