Critical business processes of processing companies in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic

Purpose: The aim of this research is to identify the most exposed business processes in the pandemic era and investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected these processes in the processing companies in Brod-Posavina County. Methodology: The questionnaire was sent electronically to the official e-mail addresses of 49 processing companies in Brod-Posavina County according to the FINA register. The questionnaire was filled in by 102 respondents from 35 processing companies. The survey included employees of companies with more than 3 years of work experience in the considered company who are employed in management, commercial, financial or technical positions. The study uses descriptive statistical analysis and multivariate factor analysis. Results: The most exposed business processes were selected. Based on respondent’s perceptions, research results confirm the exposure of all mentioned business processes to the coronavirus pandemic. “Work organization” and “commercial and financial area” are recognized as the most exposed business process and business area significantly exposed to the risk of unsustainability in Brod-Posavina County processing companies, respectively. Conclusion: The research findings confirmed the hypotheses of the paper, which propose that the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on all business processes in processing companies and there was a business area significantly exposed to the risk of unsustainability in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. The identified business process and business area may serve as a basis for comparison in similar future cases.