A STUDY ON BUSINESS STRATAGIES USED DURING THE COVID-19

PANDEMIC
A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the award of the degree
Of
BACHELOR OF COMMERCE

Submitted By
Ms. B. Aarthi (111020407022)
Ms. B. Navitha (111020407012)
Mr. CH. Sanjay Raj (111020407034)
Mr. CH. Sai Bharadwaj (111020407028)

Under the guidance of

Mrs. PRITI ARYA

Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

KESHAV MEMORIAL INSTITUTE OF COMMERCE AND SCIENCES

NARAYANAGUDA, HYDERABAD-5000029
(Affiliated to Osmania university)
(2020-2023)
This is to certify that ‘A PROJECT REPORT ON BUSSINESS
STRAGAIES USED DURING THE COVID -19 PANDEMIC’ has been
submitted by students of B.com Honours final year to Osmania
University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
Bachelor of Commerce from KESHAV MEMORIAL INSTITUTE OF
COMMERCE AND SCIENCES, Narayanguda for the academic year
2020-2023

Ms . B. Aarthi (111020407022)
Ms. B. Navitha (111020407012)
Mr. CH. Sanjay Raj (111020407034)
Mr. CH. Sai Bharadwaj (111020407028)
 DECLERATION
We hereby declare that this Project Report titled “A STUDY ON BUSINESS
STRATEGIES USED DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC” Submitted by us to
the Osmania University , Hyderabad, is a bonafide work Undertaken by us and it is not
submitted to any other University or Institution for the award of any degree diploma /
certificate or published any time before.

Ms . B. Aarthi (111020407022)
Ms. B. Navitha (111020407012)
Mr. CH. Sanjay Raj (111020407034)
Mr. CH. Sai Bharadwaj (111020407028)

Department of commerce
Keshav Memorial Institute of Commerce and Sciences
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that the Project Report titled ‘A STUDY ON BUSSINESS

STRATAGIES USED DURING THE COVID – 19 PANDEAMIC’ is
submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of commerce,
Osmania University, Hyderabad, was carried out by (B. AARTHI, B.
NAVITHA, CH. SANJAY RAJ, CH. SAIBHARADWAJ) under my guidance.
This has not been submitted to any other University or Institution for the
award of any degree / diploma / certificate.

Mrs. Priti Arya Signature of the Guide

Assistant Professor
Department of Commerce
Keshav Memorial Institute of Commerce and Sciences
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We sincerely thank Mrs. Priti Arya, Assistant Professor, Department of

Commerce, Keshav Memorial Institute of Commerce and Sciences,
Hyderabad for her guidance and encouragement in carrying out this project
work.
We also wish to express our gratitude to Professor K.Someshwar Rao
Principal for giving us chance to do this project.

B. AARTHI
B. NAVITHA
CH. SANJAY RAJ
CH. SAI BHARADWAJ
 ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life
worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to any world
government. The economic and social disruptions caused by the
pandemic is devastating. The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed
millions of livelihoods at risk and greater losses are being borne by
businesses around the world, regardless ofthetype of industry. The
result ofithastrulyledtoanew era of modern business strategies, with
businesses reconsidering and changing their business models
toadapttotheever-changing world of technology and the benefits that
come with it. This research dwells into the Effect, Change and Result of
various strategies adapted bybusinesses tosurvive/ minimize the losses
during the pandemic. In addition to that, it also looks at failure of business
to adapt to it and bear the consequences. Further, the study has been
attempted to make a comparison of returns pre-COVID-19 and during
COVID-19 situation and the present situation. Findings reveal that the
businesses in India have experienced volatility during the pandemic period.
While comparing the result during COVID period with that of the pre-
COVID, we found that the returns/incomes were higher in the pre-COVID-19
period than during COVID-19.
 INDEX

S.NO NAME OF THE CONCEPT PAGE NO.

I INTRODUCTION
NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF
THE STUDY
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE
III COMPANY PROFILE
IV THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
V DATA ANALYSIS
INTERPRETATIONS
VI FINDINGS, CONCLUSION,
AND SUGGESTIONS
VII BIBLIOGRAPHY, REFERENCES

1
 CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

2
 CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

Research Problem & Background Study

COVID-19:

i. Brief Summary:

The rapid spread of the unprecedented COVID‐19 pandemic has put the world in jeopardy
and changed the global outlook unexpectedly. Initially, the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, which caused
the COVID‐19 outbreak triggered in Wuhan city, Hubei province of China in December
2019, and with time it spread all over the globe. This pandemic is not only a global health
emergency but also a significant global economic downturn too. As many countries adopt
strict quarantine policies to fight the unseen pandemic, their economic activities are suddenly
shut down. Transports being limited and even restricted among countries have slowed down
global economic activities. Most importantly, consumers and firms have prevented their
usual consumption patterns due to the creation of panic among them and created market
abnormality. Uncertainty and risk created due to this pandemic, causing significant economic
impact all over the globe affecting both advanced and emerging economies such as the
United States, Spain, Italy, Brazil, and India. Losses are being borne by businesses around
the world, regardless of the type of industry. The pandemic has truly changed the way we
operate not only at a corporate level but also as individuals, as many businesses found out the
hard way about the importance of human resource and human connection in a smooth
business operation. Thus, the result of the pandemic has truly led to a new era of modern
business strategies, with businesses reconsidering and changing their business models to
adapt to the ever-changing world of technology and the benefits that come with it.

3
 ii. What is Covid- 19? :

On December 30, 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology was
observed in Wuhan, China, and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s China
bureau in Beijing. By January 2, 2020, the full genome of a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
had been sequenced by Shi Zhengli, a coronavirus expert at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology; just over a week later, the sequence had been published and the Chinese National
Health Commission warned of its potential danger. The virus was initially referred to as
“novel coronavirus 2019” (2019-nCoV) by the WHO – but, on February 11, 2020, was
given the official name of SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of
Viruses (2).

The disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is known as coronavirus disease 2019 – or
COVID-19.

According to the Johns Hopkins Centre for Systems Science and Engineering, as of June 26,
2020, there have been over 10.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 502,589 deaths
worldwide (3) – but these numbers are still growing steadily (see Figure 4). Globally, the
confirmed case fatality rate is above 5 percent – that is, one in every 20 people with a
confirmed positive COVID-19 test has died of the disease.

The first US COVID-19 patient was diagnosed in late January. As of June 26, 2020, there
have been 2,422,312 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country and 124,415 deaths. The
average number of new cases per day in the US peaked at 31,000 on April 10, 2020, and then
slowly declined to a plateau of approximately 22,000 per day. A few weeks after reopening
the economy, however, the number of new cases per day has increased steadily up to 33,000.
Current models estimate that between 3 and 10 percent of Americans (between 10 and 33
million people) have been infected so far.

Fortunately, the number of deaths per day in the US has decreased from over 2,000 per day
in April to approximately 600 per day in mid-June. The decrease in deaths may be explained
by a shift to infections of younger people, continued protection of older people, more testing
of people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and better treatment. Other
countries have not experienced this disconnect between the increase in new cases per day and
the

4
number of deaths per day – but, because deaths lag behind new cases by approximately
three to four weeks, deaths in the US are expected to rise again.

The incubation period before the onset of COVID-19 symptoms ranges from one to 14 days,
with a median of 5–7 days. Patients, who have a median age of 59 years, present with fever,
dry cough, loss of smell or taste, shortness of breath chills, rigor, fatigue, myalgia,
headache, sore throat, and diarrhoea.

COVID-19 has a broad clinical spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic infection or mild upper
respiratory tract illness to multifocal pneumonia, respiratory failure, and death.
Approximately 80 percent of patients experience mild to moderate disease, 15 percent have a
severe course requiring intensive care, and 5 percent require mechanical ventilation. Patients
may develop pneumonia towards the end of the first week of infection. The mean interval
from onset of symptoms to hospitalization is between 9 and 12 days; mean duration from
symptom onset to discharge from the hospital is 25 days.

The most severe cases develop pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Vital signs predictive of a severe course include respiratory rate over 24 breaths per minute,
heart rate over 125 beats per minute, and oxygen saturation over 90 percent on room air.

Risk factors for COVID-19 include:

 older age
 ethnicity
 male gender
 comorbidities (including hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease,
chronic lung/kidney/liver disease, cancer, hematologic malignancy, organ
transplant, or immunosuppression)

People with underlying health conditions are six times more likely to be hospitalized and 12
times more likely to die from the disease compared with patients who had no pre-existing
conditions.

5
 iii. How is Covid-19 Transmitted? :

Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close
contact with each other, for example at a conversational distance. The virus can spread from
an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak,
sing or breathe. Another person can then contract the virus when infectious particles that pass
through the air are inhaled at short range (this is often called short-range aerosol or short-
range airborne transmission) or if infectious particles come into direct contact with the eyes,
nose, or mouth (droplet transmission).

The virus can also spread in poorly ventilated and/or crowded indoor settings, where people
tend to spend longer periods of time. This is because aerosols can remain suspended in the air
or travel farther than conversational distance (this is often called long-range aerosol or long-
range airborne transmission).

People may also become infected when touching their eyes, nose or mouth after touching
surfaces or objects that have been contaminated by the virus.

In health facilities where people are receiving treatment for COVID-19, there is an increased
risk of infection during medical procedures called aerosol generating procedures. These can
produce very small droplets that can stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time and
spread beyond conversational distances (typically 1 meter). This is why health workers
performing these procedures or in settings where these procedures are performed should take
specific airborne protection measures, including using appropriate personal protective
equipment such as respirators. This is also why visitors are not permitted in areas where these
procedures are being performed.

6
iv. Precautions Against Covid-19 :

 Get Vaccinated and stay up to date on your Covid-19 Vaccines:

Covid-19 vaccines are effective at preventing you from getting sick. COVID-19
vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death.
Getting vaccinated is the best way to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that
causes COVID-19.

 Wear a Mask:

Everyone ages 2 years and older should properly wear a well-fitting mask indoors in
public in areas where the Covid-19 Community level is high, regardless of
vaccination status. If you are sick and need to be around others, or are caring for
someone who has COVID-19, wear a mask. If you are at increased risk for severe
illness, or live with or spend time with someone at higher risk, speak to your
healthcare provider about wearing a mask at medium COVID-19 Community
Levels.

 Stay 6 feet away from others:

Inside your home: Avoid close contact with people who are sick, if possible. If
possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other household
members. If you are taking care of someone who is sick, make sure you properly
wear a well-fitting mask and follow other steps to protect yourself. Indoors in public:
If you are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, stay at least 6 feet away from other
people, especially if you are at higher risk of getting very sick with COVID-19.

 Avoid Poorly ventilated areas and crowds:

If indoors, bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors, if possible. If you are at
increased risk of getting very sick from COVID-19, avoid crowded places and indoor
spaces that do not have fresh air from the outdoors.

7
 Test to prevent spread to others:

You can choose from many different types of tests. Tests for SARS-CoV-2(the virus
that causes COVID-19) tell you if you have an infection at the time of the test. This
type of test is called a viral test because it looks for viral infection. Regardless of
the test type you select, a positive test result means that you have an infection and
should isolate and inform your close contacts to avoid spreading disease to others.
Over-the-counter self-tests are viral tests that can be used at home or anywhere, are
easy to use, and produce rapid results. Anyone can use self-tests, regardless of their
vaccination status or whether they have symptoms. COVID-19 self-tests are one of
many risk-reduction measures, along with vaccination, masking, and physical
distancing, that protect you and others by reducing the chances of spreading COVID-
19.

 Wash your hands often:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after
you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or
sneezing. It’s especially important to wash your hands:

- Before eating or preparing food

- Before touching your face
- After using the restroom
- After leaving a public place
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After handling your mask
- After changing a diaper
- After caring for someone sick
- After touching animals or pets

If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at
least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they
feel dry.

 Follow recommendations for quarantine:

If you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19: follow
CDC’s recommendations for quarantine.

8
 Clean and Disinfect:

Clean high touch surfaces regularly or as needed and after you have visitors in your
home. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks,
phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.

 Monitor your health daily:

- Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.

- Take your temperature if symptoms develop.
- Don’t take your temperature within 30 minutes of exercising or after
taking medications that could lower your temperature, like acetaminophen.
- Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.

 Follow recommendations for isolation:

If you test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms follow CDC’s recommendations
for isolation.

 Take precautions when you travel:

Follow CDC’s recommendations for domestic and international travel.

9
Business Strategies:

A business strategy, in simple terms, is a documented plan on how an organisation is setting

out to achieve their goals. A business strategy contains a number of key principles that
outlines how a company will go about attaining these goals. For example, it will explain, how
to deal with your competitors, look at the needs and expectations of customers, and will
examine the long-term growth and sustainability of their organisation.

Or it can also be defined as a set of competitive moves and actions that a business uses to
attract customers, compete successfully, strengthening performance, and achieve
organisational goals. It outlines how business should be carried out to reach the desired
ends.

The reason why having a strategy is so important is because it gives business time to get a
sense of how they are preforming, what their capabilities are, and if these capabilities are able
to help them grow.

The various levels of business strategy are as follows:

1. Corporate level strategy: Corporate level strategy is a long-range, action-oriented,

integrated and comprehensive plan formulated by the top management. It is used
to ascertain business lines, expansion and growth, takeovers and mergers,
diversification, integration, new areas for investment and divestment and so forth.

2. Business level strategy: The strategies that relate to a particular business are known
as business-level strategies. It is developed by the general managers, who convert
mission and vision into concrete strategies. It is like a blueprint of the entire
business.

3. Functional level strategy: Developed by the first-line managers or supervisors,

functional level strategy involves decision making at the operational level
concerning particular functional areas like marketing, production, human resource,
research and development, finance and so on.
10
In business, there is always a need for multiple strategies at various levels as a single strategy
is not only inadequate but improper too as various levels of business have different
objectives, requirements and responsibilities. Therefore, a typical business structure always
possesses three levels.

To further understand the concept of business strategy we have to look at the components that
make it up, the key components are as follows:

1. Mission, Vision & Business Objectives: The main focus of a business strategy is to
fulfil the business objective. It gives the vision and direction to the business with
clear instructions of what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and who all are
responsible for it.

2. Core Values: It also states the ‘musts’ and ‘must nots’ of the business which
clarify most of the doubts and give a clear direction to the top level, units, as well
as the departments.

3. SWOT: A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a

rundown of the company’s current situation. It is a necessary component of a
business strategy as it represents the current strengths and opportunities which the
company can make use of and the weaknesses and threats which the company should
be wary of.

4. Measurement: Unless there are no control measures, the viability of a business

strategy can’t be assessed properly. A good business strategy always includes ways
to track the company’s output and performance against the set targets.

11
Objectives

The main objective of the study is to identify the various strategies used
by businesses during the pandemic in order to survive

• To evaluate change in strategies in various industries.

• To measure the effect as a result of change in strategies.

• To know which industry was most effected by the pandemic.

• To know the cause of failure of businesses due to the pandemic.

Need and Importance

The study is made taking consideration of various industries of India. It investigates

about the cause-and-effect relationship of business strategies and the pandemic. It would
help to understand the true extent of the pandemic on the economy and businesses. The
study will also help to get the knowledge about business strategy in general and power
of strategies over business. Hence the study will lead to new ways to control the
abnormal losses as a result of unprecedented events. This study is needed to find out the
business strategies and its importance in assisting the business in surviving irregular
events.

12
Review of Literature

13
 Review of Literature

1. The impact of COVID‐19 on the financial market as well as the various industries:

The impact of COVID‐19 on the financial market as well as the various industries that have
been subject to many empirical studies both in advanced and emerging economies. Existing
literature found diverse results in these regards. An empirical study on the effect of social
distancing policy that was adopted to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, based on four
continents: North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The study found that 30 days of social
distancing policy or lockdown hurts the economy through its negative impact on stock prices.

- Ozili and Arun (2020)

2. Research on understanding the impact of coronavirus on the businesses in the

United States using quantitative studies:

Research on understanding the impact of coronavirus on the businesses in the United

States using quantitative studies. The results indicate that following the COVID‐19
outbreak the degree of dependence between technology and business has raised in the
higher quantiles. The author also studied the result of stock return relationship and
found that the GSIC return relationship revealed an asymmetric pattern, lower tails
influenced negatively almost twice as compared to the upper tails.

- Azimili (2020)

14
 3. Analysing the nonlinear behaviour of the strategical use of strategies:

Analysing the nonlinear behaviour of the strategical use of strategies in the United States,
Italy, Japan, and China by applying the asymmetric power JSLK model. The study
confirmed that COVID‐19 harm the returns of the firms in more than 500 companies.
However, it revealed an inconsequential impact on the Nasdaq composite index.

- Shehzad et al. (2020)

4. An empirical study on the relationship between COVID‐19 and economic returns:

An empirical study on the relationship between COVID‐19 and economic returns across
the topmost affected countries. By employing a panel quantile regression this study found
that the economy presents asymmetry dependence on COVID‐19 related information.

- Cepoi (2020)

5. Application of quadratic GARCH and exponential GARCH models:

Application of quadratic GARCH and exponential GARCH models with dummy variables
found that the COVID‐19 hurts the stock returns in Nigeria and recommended that a stable
political environment, incentive to indigenous companies, diversification of economy, and
flexible exchange rate regime be implemented to improve the financial market. Baker (2020),
in his study, found that there is a dramatic fall in oil prices by 70–80%. It is severe than the
financial crisis of 2008/2009. This is a serious issue for the economy as the country is highly
dependent on oil revenue. There is a huge gap between the depreciated exchange rate, that is,
20% and the fall in oil prices, that is, 70–80%. According to Herrero (2020), the third wave of
the COVID‐19 pandemic has hit the emerging economy worst resulting decrease in business
activities. This unprecedented shock increases the risk‐averse nature which increases the
financial cost.

- Osagie et al. (2020)

15
 6. A study on the stock market of South Korea:

A study on the stock market of South Korea, another leading country of the emerging
economies. In his analysis, it was found that the economy has shown a roller‐coaster ride. The
monthly export shows a downtrend in January, improved in February, then again dipped
down in March and June. The country's export volume has come down to 11.2% point in
comparison to the previous year.

- Hyun‐Jung (2020)

7. Regional classification of the impact of COVID‐19 on the emerging businesses:

Regional classification of the impact of COVID‐19 on the emerging businesses. Their

findings reveal that the impact of the outbreak has been the highest in Asian emerging
businesses whereas European emerging businesses have experienced the lowest. The
emerging businesses face a credit crunch, also referred to as capital flows.

- Topcu and Gulal (2020)

8. Discussion on the negative effect of COVID‐19 on the emerging businesses:

Discussion on the negative effect of COVID‐19 on the emerging businesses.

Consequently, the returns on emerging businesses spiked debt. Frankel (2020) analysed
the economic effect of the pandemic on the emerging economy. COVID‐19 has reduced
the revenue of those economies by restricting export, tourism receipts, and remittances of
migrant workers.

- Goldberg and Reed (2020)

16
9. A study on COVID‐19 crashing the entire global economy:

A study on COVID‐19 crashing the entire global economy. Indian economy also
experienced sharp volatility due to the collapse of the global economy. Again, fall in
foreign portfolio investments also reduces the return of the Indian economy. By analysing
the history of all unexpected events, the author has considered COVID‐19 also a “black
swan” event. He has further analysed the history of the crash and recovery of the Indian
economy and concluded that the economist cannot predict the recovery of the economy
until a stable public health system.

- Raja Ram (2020)

10. A comparison between the pre‐COVID‐19 and during COVID‐19 situation of

the Indian economy:

A comparison between the pre‐COVID‐19 and during COVID‐19 situation of the Indian
economy. His findings revealed that before COVID‐19, that is, at the beginning of
January, the economy was at its highest levels hitting peaks and showing favourable
stock market conditions. After the outbreak of the COVID‐19, the economy came under
fear as the emerging businesses fell by 38%. It leads to a 27.31% loss of the total stock
market from the beginning of this year. The stock of some other sectors such as
hospitality, tourism, and entertainment has been dropped by more than 40% due to
transport restrictions.

- Ravi (2020)

17
 11. An analysis on the agony of the deadly pandemic on the Indian stock market:

An analysis on the agony of the deadly pandemic on the Indian stock market. Findings reveal
that BSE Sensex has witnessed the biggest single‐day fall of 13.2% that has surpassed the
infamous fall of April 28, 1992. Nifty also has a steep dive of 29%, overtaking the disaster of
1992. As people have compressed their consumption only to necessary products only the
FMCG Company has shown a positive return whereas other companies face a sharp decline

- Rakshit & Basistha, 2020

12. An attempted to determine the relationship between digital products (online

media streaming) and physical products:

An attempted to determine the relationship between digital products (online media

streaming) and physical products, focusing specifically on music from both
records/CDs and online streaming. Their objective was to identify the factor that
impact such decisions. Upon initial examination of the data, the team found that the
numbers were skewed due to the sales, and consequently created an algorithm to
continue the analysis. In addition to a correlation analysis model, they developed an
econometric model to determine the impact of online music streaming and music
record sales. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between
online streaming and record sales

- Lee, choi, Cho and lee

13. The motivations of users to access online media for content over traditional TV:
The motivations of users to access online media for content over traditional TV,
and also considered age, generation, and contextual age (physical health, economic
security, etc.).

- Cha and Chan-Olmsted

18
14. An Analysis of patterns of media usage across multiple media platforms:

An Analysis of patterns of media usage across multiple media platforms while also
considering significant differences in user background characteristics. Regression
analysis was deployed to examine “factor scores” which help to determine which
method of media consumer use, with options including Cable TV, Tabloid
Newspapers, Internet Only, and Traditional Media. The study’s two hypotheses were
supported by the data, and it was determined that age was the most significant
predictor of all individual factors.

- Kim

15. Analysis of the relationship between streaming platforms and the pandemic:

The authors have conducted primary research by doing a survey and focus group
discussion. The first study has focused on the impact of various factors such as time,
content, convenience, satisfaction, and work from 4 home (WFH) on OTT platforms
during the COVID-19 crisis and the second study has focused on change in behavior
of people before and during lock down using visual representation. The findings of
this study show that lock down has played a major role in the increase in viewership
of OTT platforms, as people working from home are also using OTT platforms more.
The average hours spent on OTT have increased from 0–2 to 2–5 h and average
spending that users are willing to make on OTT platforms is Rs 100–300 (per month).
The satisfaction level of customers is directly related to space to watch with family,
time to use OTT platforms, the quality of content on OTT platforms and preference
of OTT platform over television. Also, factors such as age group, occupation, city,
and income groups also determine the usage of the OTT platform.

- Divya Madnani and Semila Fernandes

19
 16. A study on price changes in tv vs streaming:

A recent study performed by the U.S. FCC found the price of basic cable has risen by
5.8% in the last five years (Snyder, 2016). According to a report by Parks Associates, a
market research firm, 63% of U.S. households with broadband connections subscribed to
at least one streaming service at the end of September, 2015, up from 57% at the
beginning of 2015 (Snyder, 2016). Many consumers pay for additional channels that
provide no benefit, which results in these consumers ending their current contracts in
favor of streaming platform

- Snyder

There is various literature available on the impact of COVID‐19 on different sectors such as
health, agriculture, industry, trade, and commerce, but a limited specific study has been
conducted on its impact on business strategies. The Business strategies plays an important
role in the survival of any business. As India is one of the dominant parts of the emerging
economy, this paper tries to interpret the impact of COVID‐19 on the Indian economy.
Besides, there are very few literatures that compares the result of business strategies before
and during the COVID‐19 situation. Accordingly, our study has made our conclusions based
on the provided studies and the time frame.

20
Research and Methodology

21
 Research and Methodology

Hypothesis
“There has been a major overhaul on the outlook of businesses in relation to its strategies as a
result of the Covid-19 pandemic”

Statistical tools

The following statistical tool used in the formation of this project:

1. Microsoft Excel

Data Source
There are two types of data collection:
• Primary data
• Secondary data Primary Data

Primary data:
It is personally developed data and it gives latest information and offers much greater
accuracy and reliability.
Sources of Primary Data:
There are various sources for obtaining primary data i.e.
 Mail survey
 Personal interview
 Field survey
 Panel research and observation approach

Though it is a more reliable source of collecting data it comes at an expense of being time
consuming and expensive.

22
Secondary Data:
Secondary data is the published data. It is already available for using and its saves time. The
mail source of secondary data is published market surveys, government publications
advertising research report and internal source such as sales, sales records orders, customer’s
complaints and other business record etc. the study has also depended on secondary data to
little extent, which is collected through internal source.

Sources of Secondary Data:

 Internet
 Magazines
 Newspapers
 Journals

For the purpose of formation of this project secondary data was used.

Scope of Study

This study acts as a guide to have a better understanding of business strategies adopted
during the Covid-19 pandemic and highlights the changes which occurred as a result of it.
This research helps to know in details about development in business strategies with
advancement in technology and a rare generational phenomenon. It also helps in
understanding the general purpose and importance of business strategies. Ultimately this
would help in understanding the ramifications of the pandemic on businesses and how they
adapted to it.

Period of Study
The study period is from February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022

23
 CHAPTER-2
INDUSTRY
PROFILE

24
 CHAPTER-2
INDUSTRY
PROFILE

1. Travel And Tourism Industry

The terms travel and tourism are often used side by side and are closely linked. However,
there are differences between the two. In this blog, we will find out more about the difference
between both travel and tourism and the activities that set them apart.

 What is tourism industry? – Tourism is the act of traveling to a different

location for either business or pleasure for more than one consecutive year
 What is travel industry? – Travel refers to moving from one location to another. It
can be long-distance, short-distance, overseas or domestic travel and can cover a
wide variety of different travel purposes.

It is completely understandable that many find it hard to figure out the distinction between
both the terms because there seems to be a significant overlap. Many of the businesses
and service providers seem to carter for both travel and tourism.

The travel and tourism industry are one of the biggest and fastest-growing industries in the
world. We are still witnessing the continued interest of many people preferring to spend
their spare time on travel. This has given an enormous opportunity for travel and tourism-
related business-like travel agencies and tour operators to cater to the needs of this emerging
demand.

But it also comes at a disadvantage, as seen during the recent pandemic due to the travel
restriction this specific industry was hit the hardest and suffered enormous losses unseen in
recent times. Many reputed businesses went into short term liquidity to deal with the
consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

25
Company: Thomas Cook (India) Ltd

26
Overview:

Thomas Cook (India) Limited is the largest integrated travel and travel-related financial
services company in the country. The brand offers a broad spectrum of services including
leisure and corporate travel, foreign exchange, insurance and MICE operations. With an
impressive array of international packages covering customized holidays for individuals and
group escorted tours, its product portfolio includes short break getaways, family sightseeing
tours, adventure holidays, eco-friendly and wildlife packages, culture-cuisine experiences,
romantic honeymoons and more. The leisure travel team offers more than 200 products to
suit the preferences of the discerning Indian traveler. The MICE division serves a diverse
range of clientele, covering dealers, distributors and corporates. It is to Thomas Cook's credit
that it can make light of this responsibility and offer 360-degree solutions to large and small
groups, including placing at their disposal a professional in-house event management
capability. Corporate travel management offers travel management solutions to business
travelers from large MNCs, Indian corporate houses, home grown businesses and small and
medium enterprises. Despite several competitors Thomas Cook India retains its position as
the market leader in the foreign exchange business. Its suite of products includes bank notes,
traveler’s cheques, currency, pay orders, swift money transfers, prepaid cards and Money
Gram. It is an Indian travel agency, headquartered in Mumbai, India providing travel
services including Foreign Exchange, International and Domestic Holidays, Visa, Passport,
Travel Insurance and MICE. Founded in 1881 by Thomas Cook, the founder of the defunct
British brand Thomas Cook & Son, who established its first office in India and eventually
extended to over 233 locations, in 94 cities across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Thomas
Cook India is a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, through its wholly owned
subsidiary, Fair bridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited, and its controlled affiliates which holds
67.63% of the company

27
History:

Thomas Cook had many ventures including the invention of the world's package tour in 1841,
the first pre-paid hotel coupon in 1868, creation of the first holiday brochure in 1858, and
conceptualization of the first Travellers Cheques in 1874.

In 1881, Thomas Cook started its India operations in Bombay (later renamed Mumbai), and
in October 1978, saw it christened Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. The company made its first
public issue in February 1983, and commenced operations in Mauritius in 2000. In the same
year, they acquired the Sri Lanka business from Thomas Cook Overseas Ltd, UK.

In 2006, Thomas Cook India Limited acquired LKP Forex Limited and Travel Corporation
(India) Pvt. Ltd. (TCI).

In May 2012, Fair bridge Capital (Mauritius) Limited acquired Thomas Cook India, and
became a part of Fairfax Group, Canada.

In 2013, Thomas Cook India Limited acquired Quess Corp (formerly known as Ikya Group -
HR, IT Services, Facilities Management, Food Services, Skill Development), and Sterling
Holiday Resorts.

In 2015, Thomas Cook Lanka Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Thomas Cook India Limited)
acquired Luxe Asia Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka, a regional Destination Management Company
handling inbound tourists from globally generating markets to its destinations. In the same
year, TCIL announced the acquisition of Kuoni Travel (India) Private Limited, a travel
operator in India, and Kuoni Travel (China) Limited, a travel operator in Hong Kong.

In September 2017, Thomas Cook acquired Tata Capital's forex and travel business. In the
aftermath of the collapse of Thomas Cook in the UK, the Indian namesake was considering
rebranding itself to avoid the negative perception caused by the collapse of the UK travel
company.

28
Services Offered:

Services can be defined as following: 'A service is any activity or benefit that one party can
offer to another, which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. Business services is a
general term that describes work that supports a business but does not produce a tangible
commodity. Following are services rendered by Thomas cook:

1. International Travel:
Thomas Cook’s international travel programme spans 25 countries and 5
continents. With the collaboration from many banks, it offers special offers and
discounts to its travel options.

2. Domestic Travel:
It also provides some excellent domestic tour packages with breath-taking and
aesthetic views and an opportunity to experience the vast cultures that India
offers.

3. Flights:
Thomas Cook is not limited to just offering the packages of travel and tourism but
it also offers transportation service to all its destinations.

4. Hotels:
Thomas Cook has some of the most luxurious and well-maintained hotels at offer
which provide not only comfort but some of the best views to enjoy a relaxing
stay at any of its destinations.

29
Key Ratios:

1. Basic Eps:

YEAR RATIO
2019 0.71
2020 -0.67
2021 -0.39
2022 -3.0

2. Debt to Equity:

YEAR RATIO
2019 1.21
2020 1.12
2021 1.32
2022 1.4

3. Current Ratio:

YEAR RATIO
2019 0.71
2020 -0.67
2021 -0.39
2022 -3.0

30
 4. Asset Turnover:

YEAR RATIO
2019 8.48
2020 6.13
2021 0.49
2022 0.6

5. Return on Capital:

YEAR RATIO
2019 4.26
2020 2.53
2021 -1.92
2022 -1.07

Company Details:

Company Size: 1001-5000 employees

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra,
India Type: Public Company
Specialties: Integrated Travel, Leisure Travel, Corporate Travel, Foreign Xchange,
MICE, and Insurance

31
Awards:

- Times Travel Awards 2018

- Best Outbound Tour Operator – Travel Agent and Operator Sector
- Editor’s Choice – Leading Tour Company with cutting edge travel innovations
- Best Foreign Tour Operator (South Asia) for Malaysia Tourism
- Best Foreign Tour Operator (South Asia) for Malaysia Tourism Awards 2016/17
- Amazing Thailand Award 2018
- Amazing Thailand Award 2018 organized by the tourism authority of Thailand-
T he agency that promoted Thailand as a leisure destination
- French Ambassador’s Award
- The prestigious Diamond Award for registering the highest number of French
vis a deliveries in 2017 was conferred on Thomas Cook India Ltd.
- SATTE Awards
- Excellence in Domestic Tour Operations – Operations more than 5 Years
Award’ at the prestigious SATTE Awards, 2018
- CNBC TV18 India Risk Management Awards 2018. – in the travel and
leisure category
- Best Risk Management Practices at the 4th edition of The ICICI Lombard

32
 2. Entertainment Industry

The media and entertainment industry is an enormous consumer powerhouse, with revenues
amounting to about $2 trillion worldwide. More than a third of the industry's business
originates from the media and entertainment companies in the United States. While business
is booming and expanding into new sectors, there are some warning signs to look out for.

An analysis of Media & Entertainment trends by Deloitte identified video streaming as an

explosive and disruptive trend in the M&E industry.

Streaming refers to on-demand video services such as Netflix, which dominated the sector
not long ago. However, competition from giants such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV,
YouTube and Disney, along with apps and services from the likes of Roku, Discover, and
many others, have created uncertainty regarding who will emerge as leaders in the long run.
Deloitte anticipates that mergers and acquisitions and perhaps several business failures will
continue to reshape this sector in the years ahead.

The global video streaming market size was valued at USD 59.14 billion in 2021 and is
expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3% from 2022 to 2030.
Innovations such as blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are used to
improve video quality. AI is playing an essential role in editing, cinematography, voice-
overs, scriptwriting, and several other aspects of video production and upload. These
innovations are anticipated to positively influence the growth of the market. In the recent
past, the popularity of such platforms over broadcast media such as YouTube and Netflix
have increased considerably. In May 2016, Netflix implemented AI to create a superior
personalized experience for its subscribed consumers.

When all the other industries suffered during the pandemic due to lack of demand or
customers the entertainment industry bloomed to its peak by the abundance in number of its
users and demand for their products. Some major providers like Netflix, Google (YouTube),
Amazon Prime, Disney Plus saw their userbase grow expeditiously and tenfold within
months. Even though some parts of the entertainment industry like theatre’s suffered the
repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of the entertainment industry remained
unharmed and profited from the pandemic.

33
Company: Netflix, Inc.

34
Overview:
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription streaming service and production company.
Launched on August 29, 1997, it offers a film and television series library through
distribution deals as well as its own productions, known as Netflix Originals.

As of March 31, 2022, Netflix had over 221.6 million subscribers worldwide, including 74.6
million in the United States and Canada, 74.0 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa,
39.9 million in Latin America and 32.7 million in Asia-Pacific. It is available worldwide
aside from Mainland China, Syria, North Korea, and Russia. Netflix has played a prominent
role in independent film distribution, and it is a member of the Motion Picture Association
(MPA).

Netflix can be accessed via internet browser on computers, or via application software
installed on smart TVs, set-top boxes connected to televisions, tablet computers,
smartphones, digital media players, Blu-ray Disc players, video game consoles and virtual
reality headsets on the list of Netflix-compatible devices. It is available in 4K resolution. In
the United States, the company provides DVD and Blu-ray rentals delivered individually via
the United States Postal Service from regional warehouses.

Netflix was founded on the aforementioned date by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in
Scotts Valley, California. Netflix initially both sold and rented DVDs by mail, but the sales
were eliminated within a year to focus on the DVD rental business. In 2007, Netflix
introduced streaming media and video on demand. The company expanded to Canada in
2010, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. Netflix entered the content-production
industry in 2013, debuting its first series House of Cards. In January 2016, it expanded to an
additional 130 countries and then operated in 190 countries.

The company is ranked 115th on the Fortune 500 and 219th on the Forbes Global 2000. It is
the second largest entertainment/media company by market capitalization as of February,
2022. In 2021, Netflix was ranked as the eighth-most trusted brand globally by Morning
Consult. During the 2010s, Netflix was the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 stock
market index, with a total return of 3,693%.

35
History:
On August 29, 1997, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings founded Netflix in Scotts Valley,
California. Hastings, a computer scientist and mathematician, was a co-founder of Pure
Atria, which was acquired by Rational Software Corporation in 1997 for $700 million, then
the biggest acquisition in Silicon Valley history. Randolph had worked as a marketing
director for Pure Atria after Pure Atria acquired a company where Randolph worked.
Netflix.com launched as the first DVD rental and sales site in 1998 with only 30 employees
and 925 titles available—almost the entire catalogue of DVDs at the time. Randolph and
Hastings met with Jeff Bezos, where Amazon.com offered to acquire Netflix for between $14
and $16 million. Fearing competition from Amazon, Randolph at first thought the offer was
fair but Hastings, who held a major 70% of the company, turned it down on the plane ride
home.

In 2004, Blockbuster introduced a DVD rental service, which not only allowed users to check
out titles through online sites but allowed for them to return them at brick-and-mortar stores.
By 2006, Blockbuster's service reached two million users, and while trailing Netflix's
subscriber count, was drawing business away from Netflix. Netflix lowered fees in 2007.
While it was an urban legend that Netflix ultimately "killed" Blockbuster in the DVD rental
market, Blockbuster's debt load and internal disagreements hurt the company.

In January 2007, the company launched a streaming media service, introducing video on
demand via the Internet. However, at that time it only had 1,000 films available for
streaming, compared to 70,000 available on DVD. The company had for some time
considered offering movies online, but it was only in the mid-2000s that data speeds and
bandwidth costs had improved sufficiently to allow customers to download movies from the
net. The original idea was a "Netflix box" that could download movies overnight, and be
ready to watch the next day. By 2005, Netflix had acquired movie rights and designed the
box and service. But after witnessing how popular streaming services such as YouTube were
despite the lack of high-definition content, the concept of using a hardware device was
scrapped and replaced with a streaming concept.

And the rest is history, Netflix would go on to become the most successful streaming
platform in regards to movies and shows at offer and the userbase.

36
Services Offered:

Services can be defined as following: 'A service is any activity or benefit that one party can
offer to another, which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. Business services is a
general term that describes work that supports a business but does not produce a tangible
commodity. Following are services rendered by Netflix Inc:

1. Tv Shows:
Netflix’s Tv shows spans over 1,800. Which include tv shows from other
networks as well as shows produced exclusively by Netflix and are only available
on Netflix.

2. Movies:
Netflix also provides more than 3,600 movies in collaboration with multiple
studios and also few movies exclusively produced by Netflix.

3. Documentaries:
Netflix is not limited to just offering movies and tv shows, it also offers many
documentaries at the fingertips of its users with diverse categories and languages.

4. Offline Viewing:
Netflix also offers its users the luxury of viewing the content available on
Netflix offline by downloading it, Users can access the downloaded content
anytime and the content can be viewed multiple times without any restriction.

37
Key Ratios:

1. Basic Eps:
YEAR RATIO
2019 1.32
2020 1.16
2021 1.92
2022 5.66

2. Debt to Equity:

YEAR RATIO
2019 1.95
2020 1.47
2021 0.97
2022 0.83

3. Current Ratio:

YEAR RATIO
2019 0.90
2020 1.25
2021 0.95
2022 1.05

38
 4. Asset Turnover:

YEAR RATIO
2019 0.66
2020 0.67
2021 0.71
2022 0.77

5. Return on Capital:

YEAR RATIO
2019 29.8
2020 30.5
2021 47.9
2022 46.0

Company Details:

Company Size: 12,135 employees (2021)

Headquarters: Los Gatos, California, United
States Type: Public Company
Specialties: Video Streaming, Entertainment

39
Awards:

Netflix has garnered such a reputation in the entertainment industry that to state the accolades

received by Netflix would mean diverging from the aim of the project. So some of the

awards received by Netflix are stated below:

1. Editor’s Choice Award- Best Streaming Service

2. Best Picture

3. Best Score

4. Best Cinematography

5. Google Plays Choice award for Best Streaming App

6. Largest Collection on Shows and Movies Award

7. A combine 189 nominations at the Emmy Awards

8. Company of the Year 2017

9. Best Drama Series

10. Most Nominated Network

40
 CHAPTER-3
Data Analysis and Interpretation

41
 CHAPTER-3
Data Analysis and Interpretation

Analysis of data means studying the tabulated material in order to determine inherent facts or
meanings. It is the process of extracting, compelling, and modelling raw data for the purpose
of obtaining constructive information that can be applied to formulating conclusions,
predicting outcomes, or supporting decisions in business, scientific or social science settings.
Interpretation of data has become a particularly important and essential process. It enables
the researcher to have an in-depth knowledge about the abstract principle behind his own
findings. The researcher is able to understand his findings and reasons behind their existence.
More understanding and knowledge can be obtained with the help of further research. It
provides an exceptionally good guidance in the studies relating to research work.

Data :

Netflix Profit/Loss

Revenue (Billion)
$35.00
$29.69 $30.10
$30.00 $27.80

$25.00
$20.15
$20.00

$15.00

$10.00

$5.00

$- 2019 2020 2021 2022

Fig 1

42
 Thomas Cook Profit/Loss

Revenue (Billion)
$3.00 $2.64
$2.50
$2.00
$1.50

$0.94
$1.00
$0.50
$-

2019202020212022
$-0.50
$-1.00
$-1.50 $-0.62
$-2.00
$-1.45

Fig 2

Percentage hold in the Tourism Market

Percenatge Hold in the Market

7%
14%
42% Thomas Cook Cox & Kings Ltd
Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd
MakeMyTrip

37%

Fig 3

43
 Percentage hold in the Streaming Market

Percenatge Hold in the Market

10%
Netflix Amazon Prime Hotstar
Others
40%
25%

25%

Fig 4

Interpretation:
Figure 1 depicts that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Netflix was growing at a normal rate,
but there is a massive leap from 2019 to 2020, a 37.9 percent increase, a 9.7 percent increase
the following year, and a 1% increase this year. As a result, Netflix benefited directly from
the pandemic.

Figure 2 depicts that Thomas Cook was a relatively decent business prior to the pandemic,
but due to the pandemic, it suffered significant losses and had to settle for short-term
liquidity to survive the pandemic. It suffered a 64 percent loss during the pandemic and
another 153 percent loss the following year, but it is slowly recovering, with a 57 percent
gain this year.

Figure 3 shows that Thomas Cook controls 42 percent of the Tourism Market, Cox & Kings
controls 37 percent, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts controls 14 percent and MakeMyTrip
controls 7 percent.

Figure 4 shows that Netflix controls 40 percent of the Streaming Market, Amazon
Prime controls 25 percent, Hotstar controls 25 percent and other streaming services
control the remaining 10 percent.

44
Analysis:
Business analysis is a professional discipline of identifying business needs and determining
solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a software-systems development
component, but may also consist of process improvements, organizational change or strategic
planning and policy development.

1. Thomas Cook Ltd:

The following is the result of the analysis conducted with regard to changes in strategy that
took place as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its effect on the revenue and
aim/objective of the business:

Pre Covid-19 Pandemic:

- Profits: $2.64 Billion

- Aim/ Objective: To expand its business into South-East Asia

During Covid-19 Pandemic:

- Profits: $510 Million Loss (Aggregate of 2 years)

- Aim/ Objective: Use short term liquidity to survive the Pandemic

At present:

- Profits: $830 Million Profit (Forecasted)

- Aim/ Objective: Recover from the financial losses occurred during the pandemic

45
 2. Netflix Inc:

The following is the result of the analysis conducted with regard to changes in strategy that
took place as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its effect on the revenue and
aim/objective of the business:

Pre Covid-19 Pandemic:

- Profits: $2.94 Billion

- Aim/ Objective: To Increase its collection with a deal with Disney

During Covid-19 Pandemic:

- Profits: $9.54 Billion (Aggregate of 2 years)

- Aim/ Objective: Meet the consumer demand and business objectives

At present:

- Profits: $940 Million Profit (Forecasted)

- Aim/ Objective: Attain the long-term objectives of the business

46
Change in Strategies:

1. Thomas Cooks Ltd:

To adapt to the unforeseen events which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic and to
survive the unprecedented scale of the tourism crisis. The unprecedented shock to the tourism
economy is being compounded by the evolving sanitary situation. In order to survive the
results of Pandemic the following strategies were adapted by Thomas Cook:

i. Rely on Short Term Liquidity:

Thomas Cooks had to sell its assets and raise cash in order to pay off its debtors and bills.
This resulted in the company changing its objectives from long term to short term.

ii. Shift focus on domestic travel:

Due to the international travel ban Thomas Cooks had to shift its focus from international
travel services to domestic travel services as it was the only operation to be operational
during the pandemic.

iii. Use existing assets in alternative ways:

Thomas Cooks Ltd used many of its Non-Current Assets like buildings and houses,
which were non-operational during the pandemic as Covid Isolation Zones. Which in
turn helped it to generate some revenue from it.

47
 2. Netflix Inc:

Netflix unlike Thomas Cooks did not suffer any losses during the Pandemic. Rather, it made
huge profits and expanded their user base. Not only Netflix but all the streaming services as a
result of pandemic made tremendous profits. So, in order to maintain their market, hold and
userbase they used the following strategies:

i. Price Strategy:

The first step upon seeing the demand was to capitalize on it. Netflix raised its prices slowly
throughout the pandemic and as no theatres were operational and no other streaming service
had the amount of collection the demand was not affected.

ii. Product Strategy:

Netflix capitalized on its market holding by convincing the movie industry to release new
movies online as most theatres were non-operational and this resulted in increasing the
collection as well attracting more users.

iii. People Strategy:

Netflix did not spend much on advertising during the pandemic as it relied on people’s word
of mouth to do the promoting. As everyone were bored and locked in their houses wanting
an escape from the situation, the word of mouth did the talking. As it is evident from our
analysis that the userbase increased during the pandemic.

iv. Place Strategy:

Netflix who had to spend little no amount on their physical offices/ factories for their
products to be sold benefitted in pandemic by being an online service which required fewer
charges to maintain, thus another reason why it benefitted from the pandemic.

48
 CHAPTER-4
Summary & Conclusion

49
 CHAPTER-4
Summary & Conclusion

Findings:

A study on “A study on business strategies used during the Covid-19 pandemic” with the
help of data available has led to the following findings:

1. The analysis shows that the industry most effected was Travel and Tourism.

2. Netflix benefitted from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

3. Analysis shows that people subscribed to streaming services m during the covid-

19 pandemic.

4. Reason for people subscribing to streaming services during the pandemic was due

to them being stuck at home.

5. Netflix was the most preferred streaming service followed by Amazon Prime

Video and Hotstar.

6. Thomas Cook was the most preferred travel and tourism service followed by Cox

and King Ltd, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Ltd, MakeMyTrip respectively.

7. International Travel suffered about 73% decline as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

8. Domestic Travel suffered about 57% decline as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

9. Analysis shows that majority chose to subscribe to Netflix based on availability

of content and easy accesses.

10. Analysis shows that majority chose Thomas Cook based on its rich history and

experience in travel and tourism industry as well as having a wide span of

destinations to choose from.

50
11. Analysis shows that tourism rebounded in 2021 but was still at lower levels

compared to that of pre pandemic years.

12. Netflix grew unprecedently during the pandemic, is steady now and it seems

to decline in the future.

13. Thomas Cook is looking for a rebound as international travel ban is lifted and it

is recovering its losses occurred during the pandemic.

14. Analysis shows that being an online platform Netflix was able to retain its

userbase and even grow as a result of it.

15. Thomas Cook though being the industry leader barely survived the pandemic

without occurring major losses.

16. People who subscribed to streaming services during the covid-19 pandemic

would prefer to continue subscribing to streaming services and thus increasing the

competition in the Entertainment industry.

51
Conclusion:

This project on the topic “A study on business strategies used during the Covid-19

pandemic”, helped to analyze and reveal the change in businesses both financially and

strategically which occurred as a result of the pandemic. According to the findings of the

study there has undoubtedly been an increase in the popularity of streaming and on demand

video services during the covid-19 pandemic whereas the travel and tourism industry suffered

massively as result of it. The study also pointed out that, the allure of seemingly infinite

video content available at their fingertips through various streaming services is appealing to

large number of users and was the major reason for Netflix’s raise during the pandemic

whereas Thomas Cooks were relying on short term liquidity to survive the pandemic as their

services were non-operational for a major part of the pandemic. This study has also shown

the

importance of technology and internet in today’s world and the future as it is derived that

Netflix did so well due to the fact of it being an online product. Thus, to conclude, this

project has shown the effect, result and change in 2 major industries which occurred as a

result of the Covid-19 pandemic and how businesses adapted to it in order to survive it.

52
Suggestions:

In consideration of major findings emerged from the study, set of suggestions proposed are
as follows:

• To “Go Online” i.e., bring the business operations online.

• To have flexible strategies, that is to form and implement.

• To value Human Resource the most as its incomparable.

• To be flexible in nature i.e., can adapt quickly to circumstances.

53
Bibliography

54
 Bibliography

Websites:

1. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Stock_Exchange_of_India

2. Google: https://www.google.com/

3. Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/

4. Nature Articles: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00630-8

5. WHO: https://www.who.in

6. Business Jargons: https://businessjargons.com/business-strategy.html

7. Business Standards: https://www.businessstandard.com

8. Financial Express: www.financialexpress.com

9. Scribd: www.scribd.com

10. Shod Ganga: www.shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

55
Research Papers:

1. International tourist arrivals for 2019 and 2020 (globally and by country)

2. Global international tourist arrivals from 2000 to 2020

3. Global international tourist receipts from 2000 to 2020

4. Employment loss in the travel, tourism and aviation industries in 2020

5. Losses in travel, tourism and aviation industries in 2020

6. Scheduled departure flights in January–December 2019 and January–July

2020 (globally and by country).

7. Bonda-Brown, Beverly A., Rice, Ronald E. & Pearce, Katy E. (2012) Influences on
TV viewing and online user-shared video use: Demographics, generations, contextual
age, media use, motivations, and audience activity. Journal of Broadcasting &
Electronic Media, 56(4), 471-49

8. Burroughs, B. (2018). House of Netflix: Streaming media and digital lore.

Popular Communication, 17(1), 1-17.

9. Magnani, D., Fernandes, S., & Magnani, N. (2020). Analyzing the impact of
COVID-19 on over-the-top media platforms in India. International Journal of
Pervasive Computing and Communications, 16(5), 457-475. Doi: 10.1108/ijpcc-
07- 2020-0083.
10. Reynolds, John” A retrospective data examination of business strategies in
the Entertainment industry: Strategies for new successes (2020)

56