Crisis management during the Arab Spring: Cases of an Egyptian and two Tunisian companies

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2019

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: SARA ALFARES

Danışman: YALÇINTAŞ MURAT

Özet:

The Arab spring revolutions have converted the Middle-East firms radically in many ways. As the number of deaths increased, the economy of several countries was ripped, regional economic relationships were falling apart and businesses collapsed. The protests affected the politics, security, safety and economy of many countries. The new governments made new regulations which were a challenge for businesses and an opportunity for others to operate. The aim of this study is to investigate the crisis management practices of one Egyptian company and two Tunisian companies during the Arab spring. This investigation has been done by interviewing the three managers of the three companies that were responsible for the practices that were taken in order to face the crises that had an influence on two of the companies and was the reason for closing the third company. In addition to that, the article discusses the Arab spring, the Egyptian pound crisis, the Tunisian dinar crisis and the crisis management literature which might be useful for decision making. Since there have been a number of empirical studies on crisis management recently, the present study aims to contribute to the related literature by using a qualitative methodology, including in-depth interviews with managers. The analysis indicated that crisis management is very vital for a company. In addition, it proved that as much as it is essential and necessary to prepare a plan to adjust to a crisis situation, flexibility is equally important in adjusting to the different circumstances which a company might face.