Disruptions in the Global Supply Chain Industry: Firm and Individual View of COVID-19 Pandemic Versus the Financial Crisis of 2008–2009

While the COVID-19 pandemic and financial crisis originated from different sources, both caused significant impacts on global supply chains. This paper qualitatively investigates supply chain impacts from the perspective of business owners and global supply chain executives. Each shock is analyzed both from an executive or business owner's perspective, having lived through each event, as well as comparing the actual impact on the supply chain itself. These occurrences of extreme uncertainty can inflict high levels of cognitive load. This abnormally high cognitive load can impact decision-making – both at the firm and individual level. The firm-level investigation included resource availability, planning uncertainty, cost management, long-term commitment to the business, profitability expectations, and buying cycles. Research at the individual level included stress, decision authority, job security, and career growth. All ten (10) of these constructs were researched through five entrepreneurs and five executives in global supply chains. These combined business owners and global supply chain executives had visibility in excess of $250B of annual revenues.