Understanding Recurring in the Business Landscape
The project focuses on the phenomenon of recurring, that is, when a seemingly similar business activity or decision emanating from a company’s earlier period of activity occurs again after an interruption. We define recurring as a process that sometimes is on and sometimes off, with a period of hiatus between. Our special interest in the break, the hiatus, is our point of departure. We claim that recurring may seem like returning to what was before but this can never be the case because the business landscape is always under transformation. Both intended and unintended effects can occur, which may influence connected stakeholders in the business landscape, such as suppliers, customers, competitors, end-users and municipalities, both directly and indirectly.
We aim to contribute to research on business dynamics, and especially on radical type of change processes caused by events or actions beyond the control of individual companies. In particular, the purpose is to develop an understanding of the phenomenon of recurring by conducting two real-time studies: one with focus on restarting of business after a closure, and one with focus on relocating of manufacturing. In both studies, not only temporal and spatial aspects are important, but also how resources, such as products and production facilities, are adapted and reoriented during the restarting and relocating.
Final report
Today’s business environment is continuously challenged by sudden events such as economic crises, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks. These events affect firms in ways that are often impossible to foresee and are frequently beyond the control of individual organizations. They may disrupt normal business operations, forcing companies—and even entire industries—to rethink established ways of doing business, both during the crisis and in the subsequent recovery phase. Although disruptions are a common phenomenon in business life, limited attention has been paid to the recovery phase following unexpected and sudden events. Therefore, the overall aim of this research project has been to develop an increased understanding of the recovery phase after events that have caused radical changes in the business landscape.
The aviation industry was chosen for this study because it was suddenly and dramatically affected when the WHO Director-General declared Covid-19 a pandemic in March 2020. This led to a wave of continuously and unpredictably changing travel restrictions imposed by authorities worldwide. Many of the restrictions remained in place until May 2023, when Covid-19 was no longer classified as a public health emergency of international concern. For the aviation industry, this prolonged crisis resulted in dramatic revenue losses and forced many actors to reconsider their future plans. Another reason for selecting this industry was the opportunity to study both the temporal (Study 1) and spatial (Study 2) aspects of the recovery phase.
STUDY 1: “RESUMING BUSINESS OPERATIONS AFTER A HIATUS”
Study 1 is a real-time case study of the Swedish aviation industry during the period of disruption caused by continuously and unpredictably changing travel restrictions imposed by Swedish authorities when they tried to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In total, 37 restrictions or recommendations forced industry actors to repeatedly adjust their plans, including cancelling and resuming flights, closing and reopening airports, and laying off employees—often at very short notice.
Throughout the pandemic, the study followed extensive reporting on both the pandemic itself and decisions made by Swedish authorities affecting the aviation industry. It also included analysis of press releases and annual reports from industry actors. In addition, 73 real-time, in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers from aviation-related companies, industry organizations, and authorities at two time periods to study how actors across the Swedish aviation industry tried to cope with the situation. Some key informants were interviewed twice. The first round of interviews (2021) took place during a period of high uncertainty, when actors were primarily focused on short-term survival. The second round (2022) was conducted when the industry began to recover following the lifting of travel restrictions in Sweden. Thus, the study captures both the immediate crisis phase and the early recovery phase.
STUDY 2: “RELOCATING MANUFACTURING”
Study 2 is a case study of the re-insourcing of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities by an Australian aviation company during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously outsourced across several countries, these activities were brought back in-house to the company’s facilities in Australia. Even before the pandemic, the company had begun reconsidering its outsourcing decisions. However, the severe disruptions caused by the pandemic—such as border closures—accelerated this process, leading to a full re-insourcing of MRO activities. This transition also affected numerous external stakeholders.
Data were collected from multiple qualitative sources between February 2023 and December 2025. In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees involved in the re-insourcing process, representing various organizational levels and functional areas. Some interviews were conducted during on-site visits. The interview data was complemented by secondary sources, including internal company documents and media coverage of re-insourcing. The study thus captures both the closure of international MRO operations and the re-establishment of these activities in Australia.
In September 2021, the research project was presented at an international conference in Cork, Ireland (held online due to Covid-19 restrictions). The conference paper received the Best Paper Award and was later invited for submission to a Special Issue of Industrial Marketing Management (Poblete, Havila, Anderson, Gidhagen & Medlin, 2022). This marked the beginning of an expansion of the research project. The project has involved collaboration with both national and international scholars, with a total of nine researchers participating. Study 1 included collaborators from Mälardalen University/University of Exeter (UK), the University of Adelaide (Australia), the University of Turku (Finland), and Uppsala University. Study 2 involved collaboration with two colleagues from the University of Sydney. Throughout the project, paper development workshops were organized in connection with international conferences where we have presented our results.
Prior research on crisis management has typically focused on rare and isolated events, such as earthquakes or terrorist attacks, which are limited in time and space. In contrast, this study examines a crisis that was prolonged, global, and characterized by continuous and unexpected disruptions. Under such conditions, past experiences could not reliably guide future actions. Instead, industry actors engaged in ongoing collective sensemaking. The findings suggest that crises should not be studied as isolated events. Rather, they should be understood as ongoing processes embedded in broader temporal and spatial contexts. This study introduces the idea of “on-and-off-and-on” change processes, emphasizing continuity through interruption: the ending of an activity, followed by a period of hiatus, and eventually a resumption of the same or transformed activity. This can be seen as a special character of a process: a process with a hiatus. As the study shows, despite the disruptions, actors in the aviation industry continued to pursue long-term strategic goals. The importance of hiatus becomes particularly evident when incorporating spatial dimensions. During the crisis, industry actors not only made collectively sense of the situation but also questioned existing business practices and developed new approaches. For example, they used the hiatus to build new relationships and plan for more sustainable aviation. This period also enabled internal capability development and structural renewal.
In conclusion, the recovery phase following radical disruption should not be understood as a return to pre-crisis conditions. Instead, the hiatus represents a critical period for rethinking and reshaping future strategies.
The aviation industry was chosen for this study because it was suddenly and dramatically affected when the WHO Director-General declared Covid-19 a pandemic in March 2020. This led to a wave of continuously and unpredictably changing travel restrictions imposed by authorities worldwide. Many of the restrictions remained in place until May 2023, when Covid-19 was no longer classified as a public health emergency of international concern. For the aviation industry, this prolonged crisis resulted in dramatic revenue losses and forced many actors to reconsider their future plans. Another reason for selecting this industry was the opportunity to study both the temporal (Study 1) and spatial (Study 2) aspects of the recovery phase.
STUDY 1: “RESUMING BUSINESS OPERATIONS AFTER A HIATUS”
Study 1 is a real-time case study of the Swedish aviation industry during the period of disruption caused by continuously and unpredictably changing travel restrictions imposed by Swedish authorities when they tried to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In total, 37 restrictions or recommendations forced industry actors to repeatedly adjust their plans, including cancelling and resuming flights, closing and reopening airports, and laying off employees—often at very short notice.
Throughout the pandemic, the study followed extensive reporting on both the pandemic itself and decisions made by Swedish authorities affecting the aviation industry. It also included analysis of press releases and annual reports from industry actors. In addition, 73 real-time, in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers from aviation-related companies, industry organizations, and authorities at two time periods to study how actors across the Swedish aviation industry tried to cope with the situation. Some key informants were interviewed twice. The first round of interviews (2021) took place during a period of high uncertainty, when actors were primarily focused on short-term survival. The second round (2022) was conducted when the industry began to recover following the lifting of travel restrictions in Sweden. Thus, the study captures both the immediate crisis phase and the early recovery phase.
STUDY 2: “RELOCATING MANUFACTURING”
Study 2 is a case study of the re-insourcing of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities by an Australian aviation company during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously outsourced across several countries, these activities were brought back in-house to the company’s facilities in Australia. Even before the pandemic, the company had begun reconsidering its outsourcing decisions. However, the severe disruptions caused by the pandemic—such as border closures—accelerated this process, leading to a full re-insourcing of MRO activities. This transition also affected numerous external stakeholders.
Data were collected from multiple qualitative sources between February 2023 and December 2025. In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees involved in the re-insourcing process, representing various organizational levels and functional areas. Some interviews were conducted during on-site visits. The interview data was complemented by secondary sources, including internal company documents and media coverage of re-insourcing. The study thus captures both the closure of international MRO operations and the re-establishment of these activities in Australia.
In September 2021, the research project was presented at an international conference in Cork, Ireland (held online due to Covid-19 restrictions). The conference paper received the Best Paper Award and was later invited for submission to a Special Issue of Industrial Marketing Management (Poblete, Havila, Anderson, Gidhagen & Medlin, 2022). This marked the beginning of an expansion of the research project. The project has involved collaboration with both national and international scholars, with a total of nine researchers participating. Study 1 included collaborators from Mälardalen University/University of Exeter (UK), the University of Adelaide (Australia), the University of Turku (Finland), and Uppsala University. Study 2 involved collaboration with two colleagues from the University of Sydney. Throughout the project, paper development workshops were organized in connection with international conferences where we have presented our results.
Prior research on crisis management has typically focused on rare and isolated events, such as earthquakes or terrorist attacks, which are limited in time and space. In contrast, this study examines a crisis that was prolonged, global, and characterized by continuous and unexpected disruptions. Under such conditions, past experiences could not reliably guide future actions. Instead, industry actors engaged in ongoing collective sensemaking. The findings suggest that crises should not be studied as isolated events. Rather, they should be understood as ongoing processes embedded in broader temporal and spatial contexts. This study introduces the idea of “on-and-off-and-on” change processes, emphasizing continuity through interruption: the ending of an activity, followed by a period of hiatus, and eventually a resumption of the same or transformed activity. This can be seen as a special character of a process: a process with a hiatus. As the study shows, despite the disruptions, actors in the aviation industry continued to pursue long-term strategic goals. The importance of hiatus becomes particularly evident when incorporating spatial dimensions. During the crisis, industry actors not only made collectively sense of the situation but also questioned existing business practices and developed new approaches. For example, they used the hiatus to build new relationships and plan for more sustainable aviation. This period also enabled internal capability development and structural renewal.
In conclusion, the recovery phase following radical disruption should not be understood as a return to pre-crisis conditions. Instead, the hiatus represents a critical period for rethinking and reshaping future strategies.