Sample

In order to collect the necessary information to answer the research question it is necessary to define the right sample for the interviews and questionnaire (Thagaard, 2013). Since the context for the questionnaire is risk management in relation to disruptions in global supply chains, the next step is to identify a case that is suitable for the study and that corresponds with the pre-defined criterions. According to Tjora, it is favorable if there are similarities between the cases, which will make them relevant for the phenomenon (Tjora, 2017). In order for an organization to qualify for participation it had to fulfill the following criteria’s:

• A multinational firm

• The firm is part of a global supply chain

• Division / office in Norway

In addition to these criteria’s, we decided that the selected cases should represent different industries to create width and variation. This was done by performing a strategic selection of which organizations that was seen as potential candidates to include in our study. Preferably the firms included had some type of production and used advanced technology, however, this was not a demand. We contacted each organization to determine if they satisfied all the criterions, since not all information was available from their websites. In some cases, we used our contacts to find out if they are potential candidates for our study, other candidates were contacted by email where we sent an informational letter and questions based on the criteria. We ended up with 10 candidates, which were then divided between firms with < 1.000 employees and firms with > 1.000 employees. The idea was to compare these two groups and explore if the size-difference had any effect on the way each organization handled the COVID-19 pandemic. We established contact with these firms early in January, and our study was accepted by NSD a couple of weeks later. However, we still had to wait a month for permission to perform the interviews in February and March. The following table provides an overview of the firms that participated in our study, which industry they operate in, and if they have more or less than 1.000 employees. After the table, each firm is introduced, with information of where they operate, the number of employees they have and which industry they compete in.

Firms Industry market Nr of employees

1. AirThings Measure air quality < 1.000

2. Allum Engineering Offshore, maritime & industry < 1.000

3. Aker BP Oil and Gas > 1.000

4. DB Schenker Transport > 1.000

5. Glitre Energi Energy < 1.000

6. KDA Defence and Aerospace > 1.000

7. Kongsberg Maritime Subsea > 1.000

8. Moen Marin Subsea < 1.000

9. TechnipFMC Oil and Gas > 1.000

10. Tronrud Engineering Engineering < 1.000

Table 1 Sample

3.4.1.1 AirThings

AirThings is an international technology firm that sells products to measure air quality for both the private and professional market. AirThings consist of more than 100 employees with 25 nationalities, and have 4 offices, with their head quarter in Oslo (AirThings, 2021).

3.4.1.2 Allum Engineering

Allum Engineering delivers engineering solutions and technology to process, marine and

offshore industries. The core business area is engineering, and their products have been developed from the proficient and innovative engineering team. Allum Engineering has its headquarter in Sandefjord and consist of 13 employees (Allum Engineering, 2021).

3.4.1.3 Aker BP

Aker BP is a well-developed oil organization with exploration, development, and production activities on the Norwegian continental shelf. Measured in production, Aker BP is one of the largest independent oil firms in Europe. Aker BP consist of approximately 1 400 employees and has its headquarters in Lysaker, in addition to its offices in Stavanger, Trondheim, Harstad and Sandnes (Aker BP, 2021).

3.4.1.4 DB Schenker

DB Schenker is a global industry leader with close to 150 years of logistics experience through sea, air, and land. DB Schenker has more than 76 000

employees worldwide and over 21 000 locations (DB Schenker, 2021). In Norway, DB Schenker has its headquarter in Oslo with approximately 1 050 employees at 27 terminals/locations (DB Schenker, 2019).

3.4.1.5 Glitre Energi

Glitre Energi produces 100 % renewable energy and is owned by Buskerud

County Council through Vardar AS and Drammen municipality Their headquarter is in Drammen and they have approximately 220 employees (Glitre Energi, 2021).

3.4.1.6 Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA)

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) is a subsidiary of the Kongsberg Group. They are one of the world’s leading suppliers of defense products and systems for tactical communications, surveillance, command and control, space, remote weapon stations and missiles. KDA offers repairs and overhauls of helicopters and aircrafts. Their products and solutions operate both under and on the sea, on the surface, in the air, and space. They are divided into seven divisions with a total of 3.100 employees. Their headquarters are located in Kongsberg (KDA, 2021).

3.4.1.7 Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime is a subsidiary of the Kongsberg Group, that delivers systems for the maritime industry. Their headquarter is in Kongsberg, Norway. Kongsberg Maritime have 117 offices in 34 countries with approximately 7 600 employees (Kongsberg Maritime, 2021) 3.4.1.8 Moen Marin

Moen Marin is one of the world’s largest suppliers of work vessels to the aquaculture industry. Moen

Marin leads the way in electrification and digitalization of the fisheries and aquaculture surface. Their headquarter is situated in Trondheim, and they have local departments across the Norwegian coast. Moen Marin is a small organization with 26 employees and consist of 27 departments in 11 different countries (Moen Marin, 2021).

3.4.1.9 Tronrud Engineering

Tonrud Engineering develops, produces, and delivers customized automotive solutions to its clients both nationally and globally.

Thonrud Enginering consist of 150 employees and has its headquarter close to Hønefoss at Eggermoen Technology Park. In addition, Tonrud Engineering has 50 employees in its subsidiary in Moss (Tonrud Engineering, 2021).

3.4.1.10 TechnipFMC

TechnipFMC is considered one of the global leaders in the energy industry, offering projects, products, technologies, and services. They are split into three different business areas, which is Surface, Subsea and Technip Energies. The first two are concentrated around delivering products for the oil and gas industry, while Technip Energies is more centered around renewable energy solutions. The organization has ruffly 37.000 employees globally and 2.500 located in Norway (Heiberg, 2020). Their headquarters are found in Houston, London, and Paris. In Norway, they have several offices, where the main offices are situated in Kongsberg and Lysaker (TechnipFMC, 2020).

3.4.1.11 Prerequisites

In order to collect knowledge and experience form each firm, it was essential to find units of analysis with great prerequisites to give detailed descriptions of the phenomenon (Tjora, 2017). This can be accomplished by various different sample strategies (Johannessen et al., 2010). We utilized a strategic sample which follows our qualitative research methods. Strategic sample indicates that participants that have some characteristics or qualifications are selected in compliance with the research question and the study’s theoretical perspectives (Thagaard, 2013). The target group are people who have information and knowledge about the logistics activities of the firm, either a logistics coordinator, a supply chain quality manager, or similar roles.

The selection process is a quota sample, since there is a predefined quota of participants that are contacted from each of the categories > than or < than 1.000 employees (Grønmo, 1996). Afterwards, we defined criterions for the sample of participants in the different categories.

The interview candidate must

• Have knowledge of firms’ global supply chain

• Have knowledge of the organization’s risk management strategies

• Be involved with the management group

• Must be familiar with the organization’s logistic activities

By involving participants that fulfilled these criterions, we increased the probability of collecting trustworthy and relevant information about the phenomenon we are studying. Hence, the participants had great prerequisites to contribute to answer the research question, in addition to provide information to design a questionnaire with concrete and relevant questions. Qualitative studies often involve topics that are personal and/or sensitive, that can make it demanding to find candidates that are willing to participate (Thagaard, 2013). We do not consider our topic of discussion to be very personal for potential contestants. However, an important factor is that the candidates have a hectic workday, which can set limitations for their opportunity to participate. In addition, the contestant may not be willing/allowed to share confidential information. To ensure our sample it was vital to perform an accessibility selection based on available participants that have the time to participate in this study. A normal method is the snowball sampling, where we used “snowballs”

for each method, e.g., we were given one contact person that gave us contact information to the right candidates that could answer our questions. Normally the contact person was an employee within H&R, where we asked for contact information of employees that fulfilled our criterions for the interview candidate. The information from the qualitative and quantitative survey constitutes our primary data which was collected by in-depth interviews and questionnaires.