Continuity of operations over repeated crises. Case study of the biggest Ukrainian CRO

Abstract

Pharmaxi (hereinafter CRO) is a Ukrainian group of companies providing full service in clinical trials. At the beginning of the massive military Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, it was the biggest CRO in Ukraine with 17 full-time employees and 8 contractors.Founded in 2013, it has grown up increasingly while building resilience to repeated crises in Ukraine, sustaining continuity of operations. The company evolved through political instability during the Revolution of Dignity, the subsequent beginning of the Russian occupation of Crimea, the beginning of hybrid armed conflict in the Eastern part of Ukraine in 2014, and the COVID-2019 crisis. In the sixth month of the active Russian-Ukrainian war, the company continues business operations and is ready for further development.This case study investigates the strategy and best practices for ensuring business stability through contingency, resilience, and recovery actions analysis, expert interviews with management, and the SWOT analysis of the study findings. In particular, the organisational continuity framework features financial policy, human resources management, organisational behaviour practices, internal communication, and diversification.While investigating the case of company's continuity of operations, it appeared that the company had a crosscutting orientation on stability. The core domains ensuring resilient company's activity over repeated crises were the diversification, utilization tools for financial stability, distinct human capital management and design of operations.Study's results might be relevant to small and middle-sized service companies.

Keywords

• CRO
• Resilience
• Business recovery actions
• Crisis management