Strategies for Coping with Global Disruptions: Diversify, Transform, Disengage, or Bypass?

Abstract

Global disruptions have a dramatic effect on international trade and often come as a shock to businesses. The consequences of disruptive events lead to uncertainty and radical changes to companies' well-established strategies. As a result, companies need to develop appropriate responses in order to adapt to the new reality and survive. In this paper, we discuss two cases – the Russian embargo introduced in 2014 and the U.S. additional tariff imposed in 2019 – to shed light on importers´ strategies in response to disruptions in the seafood industry. Based on our field observations, we propose a typology of strategic responses to global disruptive events.