Abstract

In the face of an unexpected crisis, managers often act in a hurry and take quick, unplanned decisions to protect the company from the adverse effects of the crisis. Similarly, the crisis related to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the lockdown of most economies has forced organizations to look for quick ways to deal with difficult times.

The paper presents research on the first managerial reactions and decisions taken after the economy lockdown, indicating which of the elements proved to be most crucial for survival. In the first section, the theoretical background is presented, which describes which decisions were made in companies around the world during previous crises. This made it possible to identify a list of the most often taken decisions and prepare a questionnaire. Further, the article presents the results of surveys carried out among the managers of 178 enterprises in Poland, demonstrating which decisions were made most often and which of them were perceived as a prerequisite for survival.

Keywords: coronacrisis, managerial decisions, survival factors, COVID-19, key decisions in crisis

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