Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SME sector in the Republic of Croatia

Na početku 2020. godine, COVID-19 pandemija je zahvatila gotovo sve zemlje i više od 50 milijuna ljudi diljem svijeta. U to vrijeme, vlade i vođe država su djelovale u kontekstu radikalne neizvjesnosti i bile suočene s teškim kompromisima s obzirom na zdravstvene, ekonomske i socijalne izazove koje je pandemija postavila. Uzevši u obzir utjecaj pandemije na cijeli svijet, postavilo se zanimljivim ukazati na uspješnost poslovanja malog gospodarstva u Republici Hrvatskoj s obzirom na sektor u kojem mikro i mala poduzeća djeluju. Stoga, stručni doprinos rada ogleda se u razlučivanju dimenzija krize koja je pogodila Republiku Hrvatsku, odnosno njeno malo gospodarstvo. Predmet rada odnosio se na utjecaj pandemije na malo gospodarstvo u Republici Hrvatskoj, dok je cilj bio utvrditi i analizirati utjecaj pandemije, odnosno krize na poslovanje mikro i malih poduzeća uslijed COVID-19 krize. Istraživanje provedeno nad 50 poduzetnika ukazalo je na snažan utjecaj krize na određene segmente poslovanja poduzeća poput pada prihoda, dobiti i povećanja zaduživanja, ali i na ranjivost određenih djelatnosti poput pružanja usluge smještaja i hrane te ostalih uslužnih djelatnosti. Pokazalo se i kako ispitanici nisu bili zadovoljni Vladinim mjerama, a posebice oni ispitanici koji dolaze iz spomenutih djelatnosti.At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost all countries and more than 50 million people worldwide. At the time, governments and state leaders were operating in a context of radical uncertainty and were faced with difficult trade-offs given the health, economic and social challenges posed by the pandemic. Considering the impact of the pandemic on the whole world, it was interesting to point out the success of small businesses in the Republic of Croatia, considering the sector in which micro and small businesses operate. Therefore, the professional contribution of the paper is reflected in the discernment of the dimensions of the crisis that has hit the Republic of Croatia, that is, its small economy. The subject of the paper referred to the impact of the pandemic on the small economy in the Republic of Croatia, while the goal was to determine and analyze the impact of the pandemic, that is, the crisis on the operations of micro and small businesses due to the COVID-19 crisis. Research conducted on 50 entrepreneurs pointed to the strong impact of the crisis on certain segments of the company's operations, such as a drop in income, profits and increased indebtedness, but also on the vulnerability of certain activities, such as the provision of accommodation and food services and other service activities. It was also shown that the respondents were not satisfied with the Government's measures, especially those respondents who come from the mentioned activities