Journal of Research and Innovation for Sustainable Society (Mar 2023)
Business continuity framework in a COVID-19 pandemic. A case of the Zimbabwe Health Insurance Industry
Abstract
In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, business continuity is frequently threatened in various organizations. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered lifestyle changes economically, socially and businesswise. Due to restrictions and prohibitions implemented by governments, companies were forced to close down physical operations to curb the spread of the virus. The pandemic affected organizations in terms of sales revenue especially those that are still using the brick and mortar business model, thus Zimbabwean companies have not been spared from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is evidenced by 88% of employees within the ZHII, who agreed that the pandemic affected membership growth due to non-payment of subscriptions by individual members, hence reducing the monthly sales revenue. Thus, is it important for companies to be prepared and adapt to such disruptive market challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explores the effects of disruptive market challenges towards business continuity with the COVID-19 pandemic as a case. A mixed method approach was adopted to assess the impacts of disruptive market challenges towards company survival. Data was collected through questionnaires and structured interviews. A sample of 65 respondents from companies within the Zimbabwe Health Insurance Industry was used. The study revealed that Innovation and business continuity planning plays a critical role in enhancing business continuity during market disruptions, as companies will be proactive rather than reactive. A business continuity-planning framework is introduced to help companies in ensuring continual business operations during disruptive market challenges.
Keywords
