engleski

Influence of COVID-19 on business environment – example of Croatian SME Gourmet CO2

Understanding the environment in which a company operates is an important determinant of the company's sustainable success. The company's management must constantly conduct an adequate and continuous analysis of the environment and respond to its dynamic and rapid changes. By scanning the environment, the company can keep up with the competition, ensure continuous growth and be adequately prepared for unexpected and sudden changes, such as those caused by the COVID -19 virus. The current crisis is a typical example of the "black swan", a concept that manages to disrupt and interrupt "normal" business operations. Although no company was immune to the crisis, companies that were open to technology and had adaptive business models could maintain their business performance. The paper aims to analyze the pandemic's impact caused by the COVID -19 virus on Croatian small and business enterprises. It analyzes the changes in sales and profits in 2020 in relation to 2019 and how SMEs responded to the changes and challenges in the business environment during the pandemic. This paper focuses on the business environment's key characteristics and its impact on business performance during the pandemic with a special overview of the global pandemic's impact on Gourmet CO2's business. Gourmet CO2's main business activity is the distribution of all types of industrial gasses. Due to environmental factors, demand for some gasses is higher than ever, while demand for other gasses has never been lower. Therefore, strategic management's role and its timely response to environmental impacts have never been more important. The paper provides research findings and implications for future research.

business environment ; pandemic ; crisis ; business management

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