Facing crises: hurricanes, earthquakes, pandemic, and the Puerto Rican food industry

This research paper explores how high-level managers and business owners from 24 food industry organizations in Puerto Rico faced three consecutive crises: Hurricane Maria, the earthquakes in the southern area, and COVID-19. Starting from a qualitative paradigm, an emerging theory methodology is used with a multiple case study that includes participants from different levels of the supply chain. From the analysis, a model to face the crisis was inducted, consisting of a repetitive cycle with five stages: potentiation, decision, grasp, intervention, and dynamic homeostasis. The potentiation was governed by cognitive processes and emotions while the decision was directed towards activity or inactivity. The grasp came from the culture and organizational structure and the intervention was the period of implementing solutions. Finally, dynamic homeostasis led to a resurgence and recovery of organizational stability.