ABSTRACT
The economic prosperity of many countries of the world directly depends on the share of the gross domestic product, which is made up of products and services of small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, new risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic have emerged in the external environment of their functioning. This study identifies and analyzes these risks, identifies the main measures that contribute to their leveling, supplements the classification of internal and external risks that influence the economic sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) significantly. The developed conceptual aspects of risk management at SMEs enable to identify, minimize and effectively prevent the impact of risks that can negatively affect the main business processes, considering the peculiar functioning of enterprises. At the same time, an emphasis is made on the dual influence of risks, because small and medium-sized enterprises can open new positive opportunities and directions for business development in the crisis. It was concluded that timely and reliable identification of possible risk situations will help the management of small and medium-sized enterprises to organize or adjust business processes affected by the coronavirus pandemic, ensure the sustainability of activities in the risky economic environment and stay in occupied market niches. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.