Dynamics of the Approach to Enterprise Risk Management in the Context of Economic Growth and Global Crises

The primary objective of this research is to identify, analyse, and compare the development of risk management approaches adopted by Slovak industrial enterprises in two distinct economic periods: during a phase of economic growth (2019) and during a period of global crises and regional crises with significant global implications, which have had substantial global economic, energy, and security impacts, as well as the increasing intensity of cyber threats affecting enterprises in Slovakia (2022–2023). Emphasis is placed on identifying key factors influencing the effectiveness of risk management implementation, as well as on assessing the use of individual stages of the risk management process in business practice. The research has a quantitative character and consists of two empirical surveys conducted through questionnaire-based data collection. The first survey was carried out in 2019 under conditions of economic growth, while the second was conducted in 2022–2023 in the context of multiple global crises and regional crises, particularly the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global energy crisis, the military conflict in Ukraine, and increasing cyber threats. The first study obtained 450 valid responses, and the second obtained 390 responses from enterprises operating across various sectors of the private economy in Slovakia. The results of the study confirmed the existence of significant differences in companies’ approaches to risk management depending on the economic context. During the period of economic growth, the main reason for insufficient attention to risks was low staff motivation, with enterprises focusing primarily on risk identification, analysis, and assessment, and less on designing specific mitigation measures. In contrast, during the period of global crises and regional crises, companies’ attitudes shifted, with stronger resistance to implemented measures but, at the same time, increased attention to the development of risk-reduction actions. Neglecting systematic preventive steps increases companies’ vulnerability to crises, which may result in operational, financial, and reputational losses, delayed responses, and a decline in competitiveness. The two-phase nature of the research made it possible to capture the dynamics of managerial behaviour under different economic conditions and to formulate practical recommendations for integrating risk management into both strategic and operational levels of management.