Äta här eller ta med? : En kvalitativ studie om lunch-och kvällsrestaurangers strategier och anpassningar under coronapandemin

Sammanfattning: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the whole world and because of its widespread, society has changed. Around the world, countries have introduced various measures to deal with the pandemic and its consequences. The hospitality industry worldwide is among the hardest affected industries and the restaurant industry in particular has suffered tremendous hardships. Restrictions and prohibitions forced restaurants to adapt in order to not go bankrupt. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the strategies and adaptations which restaurants used to manage the crisis. Furthermore, the purpose of this research was to add to the crisis management literature for restaurants in light of the particular circumstances posed by the pandemic. Since the Covid-19 pandemic has no precedent in modern history, it was of particular interest to examine how restaurants responded to the challenges and survived the pandemic. The study used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews to investigate the topic. Thematic analysis was used to identify strategic responses from fifteen semi-structured interviews with owners of different restaurants. This study finds that the restaurants could not deploy a long-term strategy due to the uncertainties of future restrictions and prohibitions. Furthermore, this study finds that the handling of the pandemic was similar among all restaurants. The results of the study also indicate that strategy is seen as a process rather than a long-term plan, which is supported by previous research. Furthermore, the research results indicate that the crisis management process is limited in complex situations with more underlying problems that require resources. In addition, this study found that government support, furloughs and customer support from the local area were important factors for businesses to be able to survive.