Effectuation During Conflict: Entrepreneurial Thinking to Provide Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine

By October 2024, Andriy Nemyrovskyy, the chief executive officer and co-owner of Regno Italy UA LLC had spent 10 years growing his company into western Ukraine’s largest importer and distributor of food products and wine from around the world. As news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spread on February 24, 2022, Nemyrovskyy and his wife Marianna mobilized Regno staff members and hundreds of volunteers to rapidly create and scale a new organization called the Volunteering and Help Center. The new organization would receive, manage, and distribute aid to people in need throughout Ukraine. However, as the war dragged on, the flow of international aid and support gradually dwindled and Nemyrovskyy considered shutting down the Volunteering and Help Center. As a potential solution to the desperate need for funding, Nemyrovskyy created Mylanka, a social enterprise designed to provide financial support to the Volunteering and Help Center. Could the new business help the Volunteering and Help Center maintain its attention and focus on providing aid, by engaging partners and collaborators to join the effort?

This case is intended for use in courses on entrepreneurship, organizational behaviour, leadership, and general management at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It can also be used in courses that focus on social entrepreneurship or that compare social ventures with for-profit enterprises. The concept of effectuation highlights the mindset and decision-making process many entrepreneurs use to navigate the uncertainty and constraints of building a new venture. Few contexts have the uncertainty and constraints that war presents. The case highlights the transferability of business, management, and entrepreneurial skills across different contexts and multiple organizational forms. These insights can help students be more versatile and adaptable in a dynamic job market. The case can also provide a compelling opportunity for students to explore the impact of war on several of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Students can learn to devise business models that are not only economically viable but also socially beneficial. After working through the case, students will be able to<ul><li>explore the impact of extreme uncertainty in the context of war on the launch and growth of an organization;</li><li>compare entrepreneurship and strategy in the context of charities and social foundations versus for-profit organizations (the typical focus of business courses), exploring both similarities and differences; and</li><li>examine the application of the principles of effectuation in the creation and evolution of a new social venture, including some of the key challenges faced by these enterprises, especially in the early days of their organizational life cycle.</li></ul>

• effectuation, entrepreneurship, Ukraine