Brexit and COVID-19: An analysis of two challenges in the starting years of an internationally operating start-up

Abstract

The socioeconomic impact of Brexit as well as the COVID-19 pandemic have been far reaching and measurable on a global scale. The present thesis focuses on analysing challenges the finnish company Nordic Access OY faced and solutions found during these two major recent crises. The company was uniquely affected by the combination of COVID-19 and Brexit due to the fact that it operates internationally relying heavily on United Kingdom based subcontractors. The objectives of the present thesis are providing a resource for companies and students to analyse the measures taken and criticize, develop or implement them themselves in their businesses, as well as highlighting any potential positive changes that have been implemented as a result of dealing with these challenges in the last couple of years. Overall the negative consequences of both Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic on the Finnish economy and society as a whole exist, but are limited in terms of negative effects they caused. Finland is not believed to have received unrecoverable economic damages caused by either event. Yet many businesses had to overcome issues or failed outright in the difficult economic climate which was created by those events, most of all companies doing business with the United Kingdom, regarding Brexit, and companies in the hospitality sector, regarding COVID-19. Qualitative research in the form of open interviews with the companies CEO as well as the company’s manager of operations conducted between September 2021 and December 2022 are the main method of research. Additional methods chosen were observation, a written questionaire as well as online research. The company found effective ways to deal with both crises. It is planning to rely more strongly on European Union based technicians, specifically prefering local, Finnish subcontractors, in order to mitigate labour restrictions and worsened labour circumstances for United Kingdom based workers as a consequence of Brexit. Furthermore it closed its main office and switched to a work from home model for the majority of its office related tasks during the Covid 19 pandemic. Its position as a provider of essential maintainence services allowed the company to continue doing business at a time when many businesses in other sectors were not able to. However some, especially offshore contracts were lost and the growth of the business was slowed down substantially.