Business Firms' Responses to the Crises of 2009

Abstract

In 2009 firms faced both economic uncertainty and influenza outbreaks. Both crises posed large costs for firms; however, the manner in which they were perceived by management to affect the organization potentially differed. Using generalized maximum entropy (GME) the authors analyzed a business outlook survey of Seattle, Washington area businesses. Overall, firms were more proactive in responding to the economic crisis than to the influenza pandemic, even though the potential costs associated with both were quite large. Among the authors' conclusions is that business managers responded to the economic crisis more because it was more familiar and something over which they thought they had more control.