Journal of critical reviews - PDF document

1 Journal of critical reviews
Journal of critical reviews 931 Journal of Critical Reviews ISSN - 2394 - 5125 Vol 7, Issue 7, 2020 IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Mitika Nangia 1 , Dr. Farhat Mohsin 2 1 Research Scholar, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, India. mitika.nangia06@gmail.com 2 Associate Professor, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, India. farhat.fms@mriu.edu.in Received: 17 .02.2020 Revised: 01 .03.2020 Accepted: 09 .04. 2020 Abstract If ever the acronym “VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous)” felt appropriate to use, it’s now. Organisations at glob al and domestic levels are exper iencing highest levels of uncertainty due to the COVID - 19 pandemic, the impact of which is unprecedented. Organisations across industries have been experiencing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity time and again. Howe ver, there are no paralle ls to th e COVID 19 pandemic in the recent history. Researchers in their earlier studies have identified various VUCA factors and challenges that have influenced these organisations during various crisis situations such as Global Financial Crisis of 2 008, demoneti sation and BREXIT to name a few. However, there is lack of research that elucidates challenges faced in the presence of a pandemic driven VUCA environment. This study is first of its kind to present insights into the Indian Information Technology ( IT) Indu stry in the context of a pandemic landscape. The outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the indus tries crippling and Indian IT Industry is no exception. Therefore, this generates a need to identify various challenges i.e . VUCA f actors faced by organisations across the Indian IT sector in the context of a pandemic environment. It is a qualitative study accomplished wi th the help of in - depth interviews of strategic business leaders across the IT sector. The literature in th e paper has been enriched with different types of studies. The findings are based on data gathered from above sources (primary and secondary). The research makes an attempt to identify various VUCA factors impacting organisations across the Indian IT secto r during a pandemic, incorporated in a framework for future reference . Keywords: VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous), Pandemic, COVID - 19,VUCA Factors, Information Technology Industry . © 2020 by Advance Scientific Research. This is an open - access artic le under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ) DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.07. 169 INTRODUCTION Background to the Study The notion of VUCA, the one which represents a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment was intro duced by the United States Army to describe the unfavourable conditions that resulted from the end of cold war (Bennis & Nanus, 1985). The VUCA model was s ubsequently adopted by business leaders across the globe to approach different kinds of challenging s ituations posed by various external factors. This has been an on - going phenomenon and forecasts suggest that it is going to stay with us in the future. Giv en the rapid changes taking place on social, economic, political and technological fronts in the curr ent environment, COVID 19 pandemic has emerged as a perfect example of a VUCA landscape. “VUCA is like an on - going test that any organization nee ds to pass in order to succeed. (Sahu & Panda, 2016). This study presents insights into the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry in the context of a pandemic landscape. The outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the industries crip pling and Indian IT Industry is no exception. Therefore, this generates a need to identify various VU CA factors faced by organisations across the Indian IT sector in the context of a pandemic environment. 1. Defining VUCA VUCA has four dimensions (Bennett a nd Lemoine, 2014) i. Volatility: Volatility may be defined as a frequent, rapid and significant change f or which the duration may be unknown. ii. Uncertainty: Uncertainty may be defined as the lack of predictability of the future. It is a situation where events a nd outcomes are unpredictable. iii. Complexity: Complexity may be defined as a phenomenon having many inte rconnected parts or variables resulting in an overloaded information network. Ambiguity: Ambiguity may be defined as lack of clarity. It is a phenomenon or a situation havin g more than one interpretation. 2. Impact of VUCA on Indian Economy Any developing na tion exists in a VUCA environment for the very fact that it keeps on undergoing various changes in order to develop itself as an economy. India, being one of the largest devel oping nations, is no different. Few factors which lead to a VUCA environment in I ndia are uncertain & complex government policies, frequent regulatory changes, ambiguity driven by the number of cultures and the population of the country , resulting in changing demographic patterns of consumers based on geography, caste, gender etc. Ther e are several VUCA challenges that have been impacting one of the fastest growing industries of India viz. Indian IT Industry which has been discussed at a later stage in the literature review section. 3. Overview of Indian IT Industry A report by India Bran d Equity Foundation (2018) indicate

2 s that the Indian IT Industry is one of
s that the Indian IT Industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India and has played a major role in increasin g India’s v isibility in the global market. IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Journal of critica l reviews 932 India’s technology sector can be divided into six sub - sect ors namely Software, Hardware, Information Technology Enabled Services / Business Process Outsourcing (ITES - BPO) , Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), Engi neering and R&D Services and E - Commerce. The report also highlights that India’s IT & ITeS industry g rew to US$ 181 billion in 2018 - 19 and contributed around 7.7% to India’s GDP. The outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the in dustries crippling from its impact and has further led to several other VUCA factors impacting them, an d IT industry is one of them. 4. Coronavirus (COVID - 19) Pandemic The word ‘pandemic’ is derived from a Greek word ‘pandemos’ where Demos means the populat ion and Pan means everyone. So, this is a concept where a disease can occur over a wide geographic ar ea and can affect exceptionally a high proportion of the population. On their website, World Health Organization (n.d.) defines Coronaviruses as a group of viruses that may cause diseases in mammals and birds. They are known to infect humans typically lead ing to infections in the upper respiratory system. Seven different strains of coronavirus that can infe ct humans have been identified. A novel strain of Co ronavirus – SARS - CoV - 2 that has not been previously identified in humans was detected in December 201 9 in Wuhan, China which led to sudden outbreak of pneumonia and infection in upper respiratory tract without any obvious cause. The origin of SARS - CoV - 2 is still unclear. COVID - 19 was characterized as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. (Stewart, Connelly & Robinson, 2020). COVID - 19 pandemic is a classic example of a highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous landscape. It is the greatest global health challenge the world has faced. The global economy has gone for a toss amidst the COVID - 19 pandemic. According to International Monetary Fund, the global economy is expected to shrink by 3% in 2020. Similarly, according to Rag huram Rajan, former governor of Reserve Bank of India, Indian economy is witnessing its steepest down turn since independence. The pandemic has triggered several other VUCA factor s impacting the Indian economy. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity in Global Landscape We are living in a world which is dynamic and changing at a fast pace. Similarly, the companies and leaders have been operating in an environment which is highly unstable. The consequences may be adverse. Organ isations are trying to be proactive in this constantly changing and unpredictable world. (Gruwez, 201 7). In their study, Doheny, Nagali and Weig (2012) have highlighted several factors that have been impacting organisations across the globe. These include incremental globalisation, interconnected operations, and disruptive trends such as fluctuating dema nd, labour rates or commodity prices and other factors such as natural calamities. All these obstacles and roadblocks have been rising in the recent years making market conditions even more challenging. Studies show a broad consensus that the whole world i s experiencing Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. It therefore becomes important for leaders and organisations worldwide to think out of th e box in order to stay abreast of the current scenario. (Bennett & Lemoine, 2014) . Volatility, Uncer tainty, Complexity and Ambiguity in Indian Landscape According to a study, India has always existed in a VUCA world. India is a cosmopolitan country with a lot of complexity and it becomes important for corporates to learn from the unpredictable nature aro und us (S abherwal, 2013). According to Economic Survey 2018, India will be facing various challenges in the coming time. Some of the challenges evident fro m the survey are India’s agrarian crisis, rising oil prices, the lending sector and increasing compet ition in technology sector. (Dash, 2018) .A survey report by KPMG found out that India has been operating in a highly volatile and uncertain environment wi th economic, regulatory and political conditions acting as major challenges. (Financial Express, 2015 ) . Presence of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity in Information Technology Sector Although Indian technology sector is one of the fastest growing industries in India and has played a major role in increasing India’s visibility in the globa l market, still this growth is not free from several challenges and VUCA factors that have been impacting the industry. Research conducted by Annapoorna an d Bagalkoti (2015) analyzed the growth, features, reason for growth and c hallenges faced by IT Indust ry. VUCA factors faced by the IT Industry are extreme export orientation (60% of software export is to the Unite d States), emerging competition , inadequate attention to domestic market, high attrition and shortage of manpower. Another study by Tandon (2017 ) states several factors that have been putting pressure on Indian Technology industry. These include lower project revenues, lesser project margin, relian ce on overseas projects, hiring for niche skills is another challenge. The above studies rev

3 eal that the Indian economy has been o
eal that the Indian economy has been operating in an environment which is highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. There are several VUCA factors influenc ing the Indian market including the IT/ITes industry. PROPOSITIONS Researchers have done exhaustive literature review around VUCA environment and various VUCA factors impacting the global as well as Indian economy. There have also been research studies d escribing VUCA factors impacting the Indian IT/ITes industry in specific. However, there is a lack of research that elucidates the pandemic driven VUCA factors impacting the Indian IT industry. After discovering that the exis ting works will be insufficient to draw conclusions, researchers pose the following research questions : • What are the VUCA factors im pacting the Indian IT industry during a pandemic? • How can the identified VUCA factors be helpful in providing directions for future research? RESEARCH OBJ ECTIVES • To identify VUCA factors impacting the Indian IT Industry during a pandemic. • To establish a f ramework based on identified VUCA factors. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study is exploratory in nature and qualitative data has been collected from various pr imary and secondary sources. According to Brown (2006), an exploratory research is usually conducted to study a problem and explore the research questions; it allows for flexibility in movement rather than fixation on predictions or outcomes. Extensive lit erature review was conducted, the research work investigated journals, research papers, organisationa l reports, government reports, media reports and articles available on web which contributed immensely in providing direction to the work. The newness of t he subject demanded an in - depth qualitative analysis which could let the researchers approach the top ic qualitatively while identifying the pandemic driven VUCA factors in the IT industry in a more profound manner. IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Journal of critica l reviews 933 To identify the above on a deeper level, smaller sample sizes were accumulated through semi - structured interviews over telephone. The primary data - based study had participants from organisations across IT industry. 50 people from the IT industry were approached based on their experience in the i ndustry and roles in their respective organisations, participation in IT related conferences, explici t knowledge on forums, presence on social media (such as Link edIn) and such related factors. The list included CEOs, technology head, operations head, mark eting head, sales head, CHRO s, Senior Vice President HR etc . Emails were written to prospective parti cipants. From those who responded affirmatively, 10 participants were chosen on the basis of purposive sampling. Purposive sampling is a sampling technique that allows researchers to select participants who can provide detailed and in - depth information in relation to the study’s research questions and phenomena under investigation. (Yin, 2011, p. 311). The interview sessions with the respondents gave authors the opportunity to get detailed responses. Semi - structured questionnaire had questions pertaining t o their business as usual, impact of current scenario as well as questions pertaining to the research objectives which were reviewed by experts (academicia ns and industry experts) to ensure reliability. The recommendations made by them were appreciated and incorporated. The study is restricted to organisations operating in the Indian IT sector having a revenue size of more than INR 500 Crores and employee st rength more than 1000. Each interview lasted approximately 25 – 30 minutes. To maintain originality and authenticity, all interviews were recorded. For the purpose of data analysis, the interviews were transcribed by the author. All the recorded interviews w ere then compared with written transcripts. During the process, several pandemic driven VUCA factors impacting the IT industry emerged. These were further clustered on the basis of the information received. Finally, a framework was established defining the relative priority of the identified VUCA factors in the IT Industry . DISCUSSION This section prese nts key themes that emerged in the study. Discussion will be accompanied by respondents’ answers in quotes. VUCA factors impacting the Indian IT organizat ions during a pandemic The following section relates to identification of VUCA factors impacting the Indian IT organizations during a pandemic. These factors were identified through responses given by re spondents from the IT Industry. The category of parti cipants included strategic business leaders (Eg. CEOs, Vice Presidents across functions, CHROs etc) o f select IT organisations having revenue size more than INR 500 Cr and employee strength more than 1000. The respondents have been denoted with A1, A2, til l A10 to maintain confidentiality of data. The respondents had requested not to quote their identity and the names of their respective organizations . A summary of responses from respondents A1 to A10 has been described below: Respondent A1 Our organisatio n has been severely impacted by the COVID - 19 pandemic and there are several challenges that have been influencing the organisation in the current scenario Challenges described by Respo ndent A1 have been listed below : • Working virtually/work from home - Bas is the coronavirus, everyone needs a pla

4 tform or a medium to be able to work fr
tform or a medium to be able to work from/with, so managing t he network where earlier employees were working in an organization facility, and now the network is not fully equipped to handle that. • Data Phishing and In formation Security – IT is highly reliant on overseas projects. Data is exposed to greater risks when employees access it from a remote location. Data phishing, cyber - crime and breach of information security have been operating at it’s highest levels. • Limi ted remote working solutions - T he current scenario has generated a need to have more technological s olutions to allow organizations operate remotely more efficiently. • Employee Engagement and Development has become a challenge. Managers have to be fully en gaged with their teams at all times. Also, upskilling sessions such as classroom trainings, team buil ding activities etc are not that impactful while working remotely. • Another challenge is increased Turn - Around Time. While employees are working remotely, it has been a common feedback that normal processes are taking longer than usual time. • Recreating of fice environment at home and discipline at home is another challenge for the organisation. One can hear background noise during virtual meetings. Eg kids s houting, family members chatting. Sensitizing employees to the fact that this may not be acceptable d uring important client • Another important challenge being faced is on recruitment front. Earlier there used to be walk in drives, you could meet candidate s in person, but now, the environment is ambiguous. As a recruiter, one needs to understand people wi thout meeting them Therefore, VUCA factors identified from above discussion with Respondent A1 are working virtually, data phishing, limited remote working solutions, employee engagement and development, recruitment Respondent A2 VUCA factors described by the individual are as follows : • My current organisation is a human intensive company and it has not been able to make people productive at home. They ar e more than 50,000 employees present and we have not been able to make more than 20, 000 productive a t home. • Employees have this constant fear of losing jobs and salary cuts in the current scenario. With the entire nation under lockdown the revenues have dipped drastically. For now our organisation is stable but if this situation prevails we may have to take hard calls. • Data phishing and IT security threats are at it’s highest levels due to which clients are not allowing their data to be accessed from home or locations other than our office facility. • In our organisation 85% of the work force represents fr ont facing or agent level population. They are the ones who are required on the floor most of the times. This work force is stranded i.e. they are at home practically doing lesser tasks but still our organisation has been paying them as we are assuming thi s to be a temporary phase and once the lockdown ends this work force that is stranded as of now will be of prime importance to us. So although it is an add ed cost for us at the moment , we are continuing to pay them • We have clients across aviation, hospital ity, banking sector etc. Now, these sectors have been badly hit and they w on’t be able to pay us in time. Therefore, VUCA factors identified from the above discussion with Respondent A2 are low productivity, limited infrastructure IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Journal of critica l reviews 934 to work from home, employ ee motivation, data security, stranded workforce, delay in client payments. Respondent A3 Responses of respo ndent A3 have been stated below : • Hiring for ni che skills has been a challenge. Given the automation that has been happening, there is limited talen t pool available in the market possessing the relevant skills that may be required to perform niche roles. • Our organisation conducted a mass recruitment d rive across campuses in the month of November 2019 and presented offers to 100 candidates. All these offers have been deferred as a cost cutting measure • High attrition rate is another challenge in general • Our major clients are based in UK and US. Maximum p rojects have been ramped down and nobody is ready to invest ; all development projects have been froz en VUCA factors identified from the above discussion with Respondent A3 are hiring for niche skills, cost cutting measures, new offers deferred, ramping do wn of new projects. Respondent A4 Challenges described by Respondent A4 have been mentioned below : • Productivity of employees has gone down drastically. It has become difficult to replicate office environment at homes. Not only this, the managers are faci ng supervision issues ; one has to be constantly in touch with their subordinates to get the tasks do ne so maintaining that balance of managing v/s micromanaging your staff becomes a challenge • Stringent client requirements have been one of the greatest fac tor. Clients are finicky that projects should be delivered as promised. They are not allowing their d ata to be accessed from homes. • Organisation will have to be careful in devising cost cutting strategies like pay cuts, layoffs etc. as this might attract legal matters at a later stage which can be an added cost to the organisation then. • VUCA factors ide ntified after interviewing respondent A4 are dip in productivi

5 ty of employees, working from home, sup
ty of employees, working from home, supervision of employees , stringent client requirements. Respondent A5 VUCA challenges shared by t he Respondent A5 are as follows : • Business Continuity has be come a challenge - The business projections that were done for 2020 have completely changed. Entire business growth plan will have to restructured. • On the h iring aspect the challenge being faced is that several offers were rolled out in November - December 20 19 , these offers will now have to be deferred as organisation is trying to conserve existing cash P&L. Also, paying salaries to existing employees has bec ome a challenge due to a sudden drop in revenues. • Work from home scenario has led to lower productivi ty of employees • Employee motivation is a challenge. Employees have this constant fear of unknown so staying connected and keeping them motivated at all tim es is important VUCA challenges identified from above discussion are business continuity, conserving existing cash P&L, frozen hiring, declining revenue, lower productivity of employees , keeping employees motivated while working virtually. Respondent A6 R espondent A6 shared the following responses when asked about the current cha llenges facing his organi sation : • Current situation has led to employees working virtually but how the individual operates from his/her personal space poses many challenges. Persona l space means working conditions of employees at home. One doesn’t know the factors at home – discipl ine at home, does one have aged parents, is the person self - dependent , has to cook on his/her own , does he/she have someone to help him/her while they a re logged in, are they having kids at home etc. It is easier said than done that ‘work from home’ but as employers we don’t know what their personal spaces are like and how will they manage that. • The organisation’s hiring will be slower in the coming month s and current employees may be asked to go on leave without pay VUCA factors identified from the abov e discussion are employees working virtually, personal spaces of employees are also a challenge to the organisation, slow rate of hiring, job insecurity, l ow employee morale due to salary cuts . Respondent A7 Respondent A7 is a senior strategy leade r. His responses are as follows : • Dip in the revenue – our Q4 results show a dip of 5.3% which is huge. As a cost cutting measure, we may have to ask our employees to go on leave without pay or let them go depending on how the situation pans out. • Employers expecta tions from employees in delivering the same results becomes a challenge. Managing employee expectations and keeping them motivated also becomes a challenge at the same time. • Our organisation has put over 200 employees on bench , hoping to find new roles for them. However, if the current situation prevails we may have to ask them to leave Challenges identified after interviewing Respondent A7 are decline in re venue, employee expectations, employer expectations, concept of bench . Respondent A8 The respo ndents responses are as follows : • Business as usual is a challenge • As a measure to pause new spends, organisation had to defer offers to new hires. Also, shifting to working remotely has been a major challenge. • Another challenging facing the pandemic times is li mited infrastructure at homes like high internet speed, computer screens VUCA factors identified are business as usual, deferring of offers, working remote ly, limited remote working solutions . Respondent A9 and Respondent A10 Both the respondents are seni or leaders from social media tech giants , the employee strength for their respective companies is more than 1000. VUCA factors impacting the social media giants are as follows: • Increase in online traffic – Managing the online traffic has become a challeng e. The network was designed to handle X load but now it has become 100X. The traffic has no only increased it has rather dispersed and scattered. • Managing costs of additional infrastructure is a complicated exercise - The question that strikes my mind is w hether IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Journal of critica l reviews 935 these usage patterns will be temporary or whether this crisis will result in a more permanent shift to the virtual world. Setting up of additional i nfrastructure needs to be planned very carefully. • Infrastructure related issues – Employees home net works are not able to manage large file transfers. The VUCA factors in the light of the current scenario that have been identified from the above discussio n are increase in online traffic, managing additional costs, infrastructure related issues . FINDI NGS AND ANALYSIS Pandemic driven VUCA factors impacting the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry Figure 1: Framework showing VUCA Factors impacting the Indian IT Industry during a pandemic The framework is divided into two categories based on t he responses g iven by individual participants : 1) High Priority VUCA Factors – This category in the framework denotes those VUCA factors that came up as a commo n challenge in the responses given by interviewed professionals. This implies that these challenges are faced by multiple organizations within the Indian IT industry. Hence, countering them becomes a priority. 2) Low Priority VUCA Factors â€

6 “ This category in t he framework den
“ This category in t he framework denotes those VUCA factors which acted as a challenge specific to certain organization s. This implies combating these challenges might not be a priority for industry as a whole. The framework suggested above can be used as a base model to furt her identify innovative leadership strategies that can be undertaken to counter the VUCA factors id entified in this study. CONCLUSION AND DIREC TIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH The Indian business environment is operating in a VUCA landscape which is being guided by a pandemic environment. There are several VUCA factors that have emerged in this era impacting many organisations and industries. The outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the industries crippling and business for tech indu stry is no different. The study has thus identified various VUCA factors that have not only impacte d IT Industry but can be a potential challenge for various other industries during a time of global crisis like pandemic COVID - 19. The work has takeaways for academicians, researchers and most importantly corporate professionals . Treating this framework as a base model, strategic leadership of corporate organisations can prepare themselves to counter these challenges caused by the VUCA factors and achieve busi ness continuity at all times. This can be useful in further identifying innovative leadership strat egies that can be undertaken to counter the VUCA factors identified in this study. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The limitations of the study have been related to time and biases of opinions gathered from primary and secondary sources. Other limitations inc lude collecting data from respondents by interviewing them over telephone. With the current situation of a nationwide lockdown , it was not possible to conduct personal interviews. The process of data collection was time consuming as it was collected based on appointment dates fixed with individual respondents. The study is limited to a single industry operating in Indian economy (Information Technology) due to time and resource constraints. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to thank Manav Rachna Inte rnational Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, Haryana for its continuous support. REFERENCES 1. Annapoorna, S. & Bagalkoti, S.K. (2015, October). Devel opment of IT sector in India: Analysis of Reasons and Challenges. Journal of Economics and Sustai nable Development. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Mitika%20Nangia/Downloads/Developme nt_of_IT_sector_in_India_Analysisof_Reas.pdf 2. Bennet, N. and Lemoine, J. ( 2014). What VUCA really means for you. Harvard Business Review . Vol 92, No 1/2. pp. 27 – 42. 3. Bennis , W. and Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders : The strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper & Row. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/ hrm.3930240409 4. Brown, R.B. (2006) “Doing Your Dissertation in Business and Management: The Reality of Research and Writing” Sage Publicat ions, p.43 5. Dash, S. (2018, January 30). 5 Challenges that Lie Ahead of India According to the Economic Survey 2018 . Entrepreneur India. Retrieved from https:// www.entrepreneur.com/article/308255 6. Doheny, M., Nagali, V. and Weig, F. (2012, May). Agile operat ions for volatile times. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business - IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY Journal of critica l reviews 936 functions/operations/our - insights/agile - operations - for - volatile - t imes 7. Financial Express. (2015, December 15). Uncertainty and volatility greatest challenge for co mpanies: KPMG. Retrieved from https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/uncertainty - and - volatility - greatest - challenge - for - companies - kpmg/179177/ 8. Gruwez, E. (20 17). VUCA World - a quick summary. Retrieved from https://www.tothepointatwork.com/article/vuca - wor ld/ 9. India Brand Equity Foundation, IT&ITes. (2018). Report of India Brand Equity Foundation on IT & ITes. Retrieved from https://www.ibef.org/download/IT - ITeS - Report - July - 2018.pdf 10. Pandemic. (n.d.). Merriam - Webster Online . In Merriam - Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam - webster.com/ dictionary/ pandemic 11. Sabherwal, S. (2013, October 31). India Has Always Existed In A VUCA World: R Gopalakrishnan. Retrieved from https://www . exchange4media.com/marketing/india - has - always - existed - in - a - vuca - worldr - gopalakr ishnan_53297.html 12. Sahu, M.K. and Panda, Dr. A.K. (2016). A 'VUCA' Metrics Analysis of Organized Retail Sector in India. European Journal of Business and Manage ment , 8(31), 1 - 6. 13. Stewart, K., Connelly, D. & Robinson, J. (2020, April). Everything you should k now about the coronavirus outbreak. Retrieved from https://www.pharmaceutical - journal.com/news - and - analysis/ features/everything - you - should - know - about - the - coro navirus - outbreak/20207629 .article?firstPass=false#What_are_ coronaviruses 14. Tandon, R. (2017, April ). 5 Challenges in the IT Sector. Business World. Retrieved from http://www.businessworld.in/ quickbytes /5 - Challenges - In - The - IT - Sector/26 - 04 - 2017 - 227/ 15. World He alth Organization. (n.d.). Coronavirus. Retrieved April 14, 2020 from https://www.who.int/health - topics/coronavirus #tab=tab_1 16. Yin, R. K. (2011). Qualitative research from start to finish. The Guilford Press.