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Case Study

How Covid-19 tests entrepreneurs’ agility (B): Mobilizing through the crisis

By Heather Cairns-Lee, Angelika Kipor, Sabina Djuric, Ekaterina Risovanaya and Brice Mahé

5 pages

December 2021

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Reference: IMD-7-2345

Case B describes Tatulova’s actions in response to the crisis. This included a meeting with President Putin to discuss the situation of small businesses. Tatulova’s speech, in which she pleaded with him to support Russian entrepreneurs, made her very visible in Russia and propelled her into a nationwide role as the ombudsman for small businesses during the crisis. This new role provided her with an opportunity to influence at a broader level, yet it diverted time from nurturing her own business. Her choice to accept the ombudsman role provides an opportunity to discuss what motivates entrepreneurs to stretch and reinvent themselves and the role of communication and networks in crisis management.

Learning Objective

Learn about entrepreneurial orientation and growth mindset to support agile leadership to address shocks and challenges in crisis situations.
Illustrate how fortunes can be suddenly disrupted and map responses to crisis; Examine the impact of a crisis and explore the possible responses that leaders have.
Demonstrate the importance of agility; Explore how leaders make decisions in rapidly changing and unpredictable environments.
Identify the core attributes of a growth mindset; Illustrate the difference and consequences between fixed mindset and growth mindset.

Keywords

Agility, Crisis, Entrepreneurial Process, Growth Mindset, Resilience, COVID-19, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Growth

Settings

Russia
AnderSon Café, Travel and Leisure, Catering
2020

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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Teaching note

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