Evaluation of Business Continuity Management - A case study of disaster recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract: Background The Company produces and sells specialised products and technical solutions worldwide through more than ten different technology-based and decentralised Business Units. While the "Business continuity management"-programme has been implemented throughout the Company for many years, many of the Business Units' "disaster recovery"-capabilities had not been tested until the Covid-19 pandemic. Problem Formulation In recent years, the follow-up by corporate regarding the organisation's BCM-implementation has reached a plateau. The pandemic outbreak of Covid-19, where the Company had to put the disaster recovery-practices to the test, provided an unparalleled opportunity to evaluate the current processes to better understand how the disaster recovery planning process can be improved. Thus, the Company has expressed a desire to evaluate the current BCM program, primarily focusing on disaster recovery. Purpose To provide suggestions on how the Company's Business Continuity Management-practices can be updated to improve future disaster recovery. Method The study followed a combined explanatory and descriptive approach. A theoretical framework was developed and applied in a multiple case study to create an increased understanding of the research area. The selected cases were three business units with associated business functions, where each case consisted of four interviewed individuals who had different responsibilities in a supply chain setting. An abductive research approach was adopted to study "Business continuity management and management of disaster recovery" at the Company during the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis has been a complete elaboration between the two authors. Each author has been involved in every part of the process and contributed equally. Conclusions The analysis indicated similar patterns across the cases. Disaster recovery has, in all cases, mainly been coordinated through the Company's crisis management structure. Recovery of disruptions in the material flow has mainly been managed within the regular functional structure and through collaboration with other Company functions. The measures have, to a certain extent, been developed reactively. The existing BCM-programme has contributed during disruptions in the supply of materials and components and manufacturing. Furthermore, the authors identified several improvement areas for the Company's BCM program, including the scope and the objectives of BCM, the business impact analysis, and training. Contribution Through a case study, the authors provide insight into how a leading multinational company has been affected by Covid-19. This study is an early indication of how the pandemic contributed with insights about appropriate adjustments for a company's BCM-programme to ensure a more effective disaster recovery in the future.