Adaptive Strategies in Response to the Economic Crisis: A Cross-Cultural Study in Austria and Slovenia

This study builds on prior research on culture-specific differences instrategic decision-making and strategic issue analysis, and extends it tothe field of strategic crisis adaptation. Taking an upper echelons perspective,it is investigated whether the cultural dimension of uncertaintyavoidance had an effect on strategic directions that managerschose in response to the 2008–2009 global financial and economic crisis.Building on a framework of strategic crisis responses and a quantitativesurvey conducted among 257 managers in Austria and Slovenia,the findings suggest that strategic issue interpretations of the economiccrisis as well as country differences influence whether firms are usingexternally versus internally-directed strategic responses, and pro-activeversus retrenchment strategies. The differences in strategy deploymentbetween the two countries, however, could not be consistently tracedto differences in the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, thussuggesting that other country-specific factors like institutional or socialdifferences also play an important role.