DIGITALIZATION AND CRISIS ADAPTATION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES: EVIDENCE FROM CZECH ENTERPRISES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent managerial problem for small and medium-sized enterprises, as firms had to maintain business continuity under operational restrictions, demand instability, supply-chain disruption and pressure to move activities online. The aim of this paper is to analyse how selected crisis-response strategies were associated with the adaptation of Czech SMEs during the pandemic, with particular attention to digitalization, online transition and firm market tenure. The study is based on a quantitative survey of 251 Czech enterprises collected in 2022-2023 within a research project focused on digitalization and business process management. Correlation analysis, logistic regression, Pearson's chi-square test and analysis of variance were applied. The results show that firms with longer market tenure achieved higher adaptation scores, although the categorical relationship between tenure and adaptation was not statistically significant. Analysis of variance provided stronger support for the role of accumulated experience, established processes and institutional memory. Logistic regression confirmed that moving activities online was the only statistically significant predictor of accelerated digitalization (OR = 2.827; p = 0.0071). The study interprets digitalization as a managerial and organizational adaptation mechanism. The practical output is a five-step framework for digital crisis adaptation in SMEs.