CAUSES OF CORPORATE CRISIS: AN INVESTIGATION ON SMES TO SUPPORT THE LEARNING PROCESS

The study is an invitation to reflect on the leading (internal and external) causes of the crisis for SMEs while taking their corporate age into account, and act as a useful tool when identifying the critical areas that require intervention to prevent or mitigate the crisis. A questionnaire was administered to the legally appointed bankruptcy trustees that managed 228 bankruptcy procedures. Descriptive statistical analysis and exploratory factor analysis have been employed. Data shows that planning activities, governance, and ownership issues (as internal factors), in addition to economic and industrial crisis (as external determinants) are recognized as a prerogative for a firm bankruptcy procedure activation. The main limit concerns the reduced sample size due to challenges in the data gathering process while also considering the “bankruptcy status” and the reference context; these are characterized by small-sized enterprises, hilly and mountainous landscapes, and fairly secluded locations with poorly developed infrastructures.