Business interruption management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia

From the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021, a nationwide survey was conducted to examine business interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the impact of the pandemic on SMEs in the Slovak Republic. It also focused on identifying areas such as risk management with BCM, and crisis management within individual enterprises. The survey was carried out using a questionnaire distributed to SMEs operating in the country. Based on the questions from the questionnaire, four research hypotheses were developed. Based on the results of our investigation, we found that enterprises cannot correctly assess their capability level and manage risks effectively, potentially exposing themselves to further threats arising from such a relationship. There is a correlation between the business sector and the extent to which an enterprise has been affected by a pandemic. Enterprises with implemented risk management areas had operations halted for shorter periods than enterprises without implementation. There is a relationship between business sectors and the extent to which they were affected by the pandemic. The discussion concludes that the pandemic posed a type of threat for which several SMEs were unprepared. At the same time, no established risk minimization procedures would address this issue. Effective implementation of risk management as prevention or crisis management as response and application of BCM principles is one of how enterprises could prepare for risks and crises and increase their resilience.

AKTUÁLNE PROBLÉMY NARUŠENIA PLYNULOSTI PODNIKANIA MSP NA SLOVENSKU

Within the article, we want to draw attention to the necessity of prevention and preparation of enterprises for changes in the environment, as well as the necessity of continuous training of employees. V ďalšej kapitole porovnáme výsledky vlastného celoslovenského prieskumu s výsledkami zo štatistického prieskumu Allianz Risk Barometer, Identifying the Major Business risks for 2021. Tento prieskum sa zameriaval na najvýznamnejšie hrozby vo svete a najdôležitejšie globálne podnikateľské riziká za rok 2021. Prieskum bol spracovaný spoločnosťou Allianz (Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty) (Allianz 2021). V rámci celoslovenského prieskumu sme zisťovali, ktoré z uvedených faktorov externého prostredia podniky považujú za najvýraznejšie ovplyvňujúce ich prevádzkyschopnosť za rok 2020. Výsledkom tejto otázky bolo identifikovanie 3 najvýraznejších faktorov externého prostredia, ktoré pôsobili na prevádzkyschopnosť podnikov za rok 2020. Výsledkom prieskumu boli identifikované najviac dôležité globálne podnikateľské riziká za rok 2020.

The Perception of Market and Economic Risks by Owners and Managers of Enterprises in the V4 Countries

The aim of the paper is to assess the impact of the length of entrepreneurship on the perception of the most important business risks in Slovakia and the Visegrad Group of Countries (V4 countries). The empirical research was conducted in 2019-2020. It was focused on assessing the state of enterprise risk management (ERM) application. The research file contained 422 online questionnaires completed by owners and managers of enterprises (OMEs). The results of this case study were compared with the results of similar studies performed in the V4 countries in 2017-2018. In total, 1,781 OMEs participated in the surveys mentioned. The following statistical methods were used to assess the data: ANOVA, Bartlett’s test, Agostini test, good fit test, and Grubbs test. The overall results of the empirical research highlight the significance and importance of the assessment of business risks in the V4 countries. The results in Slovakia in 2019-2020 and the research results in the V4 countries in 2017-2018 show that OMEs still consider market and economic risks to be most important in their business. Market and economic risks are related to sources that exert the most negative influence on enterprise success. The results are valuable for entrepreneurs, enterprise managers and institutions that provide comprehensive entrepreneurship support in the V4 countries. The overall results are significant at the regional, national, and international levels of the V4 countries and have the ability to strengthen the competitiveness of entrepreneurs within the EU common market.

INCREASING THE RESILIENCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES WITH THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES WITH REGARD TO RISK MANAGEMENT

Risk management as an integral part of project management increases the possibility of achieving project goals and the overall success of projects and business. Project management in large enterprises is usually based on current standards, but in small and medium-sized enterprises it is often implemented only partially in the form of processing and realization of orders without a standardized approach.The same approach is taken to the issue of risk management in projects, whether they are innovative, development projects, implementing changes or new business plans. Business failure due to poor planning can be avoided, but it is necessary to develop an adequate business plan, respectively a feasibility study of planned changes, which are usually of a project nature and should therefore include an adequate risk assessment and risk management. Recent events have exacerbated the need to prevent crises due to the negative effects of internal or external factors in the business environment. The COVID 19 pandemic only emphasized the importance of risk management and critical processes in both projects and enterprises, because if a enterprise knows its risks and opportunities, it can also respond flexibly to unpredictable changes in the business environment and their consequences. In general, enterprises that underestimate planning, they plan failure and especially if enterprises underestimate risk management, whether in optimization, restructuring, innovation or development activities. The aim of the article is to point out the importance of risk management in project management as a tool for increasing the resilience of business in small and medium-sized enterprises.

CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT AS A TOOL FOR PREVENTION TO ORIGIN OF CRISIS SITUATIONS AND INCREASING THE RESILIENCE OF THE ENTERPRISE

The current state of the world's social and business environment is affected by the occurrence of the COVID 19 pandemic. Negative influences of the pandemic on countries business activity like a whole constantly persist and interruption of operation is one of the worst impacts, which enterprises to fight. Because interruption of business triggers the next of negative domino effects with the impact not only on the business environment and interested party's, but also on the community and regions and social environment. Business activities influence a lot of factors from the external and internal environment. On the one of the side is needed, to enterprises flexible react on the influences and changes of environments, on the two of the side are musttry about constantly improving their processes, to satisfy the requirements of customers, which gradually changes too. The combination of the introduction of risk management, process management, and continuity management to business management, possible to harmonized business activities so, to reach good results, increased resilience, and sustainable growth. Every one of the revealed causes of the failures and errors of business processes is helpful to improvement to processes. However, not every enterprise and his management know harmonize all approaches to activities. The purpose of this article is to refer to the possibility to use the risk management and continuity management as a tool the avoid interruption of operation and increasing of the resilience of the enterprise.