Causes and typology of crises in SMEs and differences based on sector and company size: Evidence from the Czech Republic

PURPOSE: The main aim of this article is to identify differences in the causes and types of crises in SMEs across variations in size and sector in the Czech Republic. The research aims to enhance understanding of how organizational characteristics influence crisis occurrence and management within SMEs. METHODOLOGY: The aim was achieved through a questionnaire survey of SME representatives. Data reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and relationships were determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by a post hoc test, as well as correlation analysis using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. A total of 1008 companies in the Czech Republic were contacted, yielding a response rate of 10.9% and 110 respondents. FINDINGS: It was found that the most common symptoms of crises are production outages, material shortages, and personnel problems. Personnel, market, and technical-technological factors were identified as the most common causes of crises. The most frequent types of crises are personnel, operational, and organizational. The results show predominantly non-significant differences at the 95% confidence level, with only selective and dimension-specific effects. At the 95% significance level, company size was statistically significantly associated only with the perception that poor management decisions were the cause of the crisis. Other differences by size were not consistently confirmed at this level of significance. In the case of sectoral differences, the effects were not statistically significant at the 95% significance level, although indicative trends were observed, particularly in agriculture. IMPLICATIONS: The study suggests that the influence of company size and sector on the causes and types of crises is limited and specific to selected dimensions, with most expected effects not confirmed at the 95% significance level. It offers valuable insight into crisis preparedness and the management of SMEs. Specific recommendations are provided for business managers to increase resilience and preparedness for crises. ORIGINALITY & VALUE: This research contributes to the limited scientific discussion on crisis management in small and medium-sized enterprises in Central Europe. It links company characteristics to crisis typologies and provides a comprehensive view of individual crisis determinants.