The Paradox of Distance - New Zealand Businesses during COVID-19

in International business in times of crisis: Tribute volume to Geoffrey Jones, Rob van Tulder, Alain Verbeke, Lucia Piscitello, and Jonas Puck (Eds.). Progress in international business research Vol. 16. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, 431-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220220000016

16 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2021 Last revised: 31 May 2022

See all articles by Benjamin Fath

Benjamin Fath

University of Auckland Business School

Antje Fiedler

University of Auckland Business School

Noemi Sinkovics

University of Glasgow - Adam Smith Business School

Rudolf R Sinkovics

Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT); Durham University Business School

Date Written: January 5, 2022

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has quickly transformed the notions of crises and of living in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world into a lived experience. This chapter offers a perspective on how New Zealand’s businesses experienced and reacted to COVID-19 related management from a distance and with a mindset that was informed by the government’s focus on health and well-being and ‘being kind’. Our exploratory findings from a sample of New Zealand exporters show that technology-supported management of digital distance and trust, infused with a partner-specific exhibition of empathy, fostered successful business relationships during these challenging times.

Keywords: COVID-19, Digital Distance, Trust, Virtuality Trap, Relationship, Empathy

JEL Classification: M1, M16

Suggested Citation

Fath, Benjamin and Fiedler, Antje and Sinkovics, Noemi and Sinkovics, Rudolf R, The Paradox of Distance - New Zealand Businesses during COVID-19 (January 5, 2022). in International business in times of crisis: Tribute volume to Geoffrey Jones, Rob van Tulder, Alain Verbeke, Lucia Piscitello, and Jonas Puck (Eds.). Progress in international business research Vol. 16. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, 431-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220220000016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3941565 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3941565

Benjamin Fath

University of Auckland Business School ( email )

12 Grafton Rd
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, 1010
New Zealand
+6499238313 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/people/profile/b-fath

Antje Fiedler

University of Auckland Business School ( email )

12 Grafton Rd
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, 1010
New Zealand

Noemi Sinkovics

University of Glasgow - Adam Smith Business School ( email )

Glasgow, Scotland
United Kingdom

Rudolf R Sinkovics (Contact Author)

Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) ( email )

Lappeenranta
Finland

Durham University Business School ( email )

Mill Hill Lane
Durham, DH1 3LB
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.sinkovics.com/rudolf

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