engleski

Business of small and medium enterprises during a pandemic and their challenges

The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical and practical overview of the business crisis during the corona pandemic in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A business crisis is a condition that can cause irreparable damage to an individual, organization and society. Therefore, it is very important for the company to make good business decisions on time, solve problems and recognize that the company is exposed to a business crisis. If a crisis occurs, the management has a decisive role in solving problems and their readiness to react quickly can save the company from bad business results. Successful managers must recognize the signs and weaknesses in business that precede the business crisis and need to know how to act in such a situation. It is very important to recognize the crisis as early as possible in order to react in time. Then it can be said that crisis communication is crucial for successfully overcoming crisis situations in the company and strengthening its reputation thanks to the public attention it is exposed to during the crisis. For every company, the process of overcoming the crisis is a great challenge for management because it requires a complete change in the way of doing business, and in most cases a complete restructuring of the company. The main goal of the paper is to theoretically present the symptoms of the business crisis in the company, how to overcome and continue to operate successfully, and show the impact of the business crisis on the example of small and medium enterprises in the city of Virovitica. The methodology of data collection refers to a survey of small and medium enterprises on the opportunities that have contributed to resolving the consequences of the corona crisis. The results of the research are expected to determine the perception of entrepreneurs about doing business during the crisis caused by Covid-19, how the crisis affected revenues and costs, and what impact support measures had during the corona crisis. By refuting or confirming the research hypotheses, the impact of the business crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises will be critically highlighted and the attitude of companies on measures to help the economic situation due to the corona crisis will be emphasized.

company, business crisis, causes of crisis, crisis communication, corona pandemic

Zbornik je indeksiran u Web of Science, EBSCOhost, RePEc, EconPapers, Socionet