The Ukraine/Russia conflict: Geopolitical and international business strategies

Abstract

The Ukraine and Russian conflict is one of the most pressing current global business issues. It has become a political and social issue that is influencing business practices around the world. While the topic is popular in the mainstream business press, there has been relatively little academic work on the topic. To address this gap, this article discusses the impact of the conflict on international business in terms of the perception by society about Ukrainian or Russian business activities. This means highlighting how a conflict can involve direct military intervention but also social interaction. This article reveals that there are many effects on global business stemming from the Ukraine–Russian conflict many of which are currently known, but others will be known in the future. Managerial implications are stated in the article that highlights the cultural and social impact of the crisis as well as future research suggestions for international business researchers that stress the importance of the conflict.

Business crisis management in wartime: Insights from Ukraine

“…Furthermore, research on business crisis management during wartime has largely focused on how business and continuity outside the conflict area are affected. This holds true for current studies of the war in Ukraine, which examine how the war impacts businesses and societies outside Ukraine, such as the shocks and consequences in European countries (Prohorovs, 2022), the expected consequences for firms on the G7 stock market (Abbassi et al, 2023), the economic impact on United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe (Mbah & Wasum, 2022), geopolitics and international business strategies (Ratten, 2023), and topics such as the role of stakeholders and stakeholderism in international companies withdrawing from Russia due to the war (Marcinkowska, 2022; Mol et al, 2023; Pajuste & Toniolo, 2022).…”

“…Factories, stores, and buildings have been ruined. Hundreds of thousands of the workforce are serving in the army, and millions have fled the country (Ratten, 2023).…”

“…Factories, stores, and buildings have been ruined. Hundreds of thousands of the workforce are serving in the army, and millions have fled the country (Ratten, 2023). Regardless of where in Ukraine a company is located, business leaders have had to find ways to cope with the instability and impact of the war.…”

The Influence Mechanism of Online Social Network Relationships on Sustainable Entrepreneurial Success

“…Over the past 20 years, higher geopolitical risk has predicted lower investment and employment and has been strongly associated with higher-downside economic risks and failed bets [1,2]. At the same time, due to exchange rate changes and supply chain disruptions caused by turbulence in the international market, the degree of enterprise diversification in different regions has declined [3]. Additionally, most investors are more conservative in their investment behavior, often preferring stable or short-term business models.…”

Untitled

“…Their sources are, first of all, structural changes such as shifting customer needs and institutional changes, rapid technological progress, increased competition, globalization, easy access to information, and the emergence of business cooperation networks (Ferraris, Mazzoleni, Devalle & Couturier, 2019;Orlandi, Zardini & Rossignoli, 2020;Chung, Kingshott, MacDonald & Putranta, 2021;Forliano, Orlandi, Zardini & Rossignoli, 2023). The other source of such changes is force majeure events such as a pandemic or war (Sharma, Kraus, Liguori, Bamel & Chopra, 2022;Ratten, 2023).…”