ISSN 1822-6515 ISSN 1822-6515 EKONOMIKA IR VADYBA: 2011. 16 ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT: 2011. 16 789 COMPANIES’ MANAGEMENT DURING ECONOMIC CRISIS Vilmante Kumpikaite 1 , Andrius Grybauskas 2 , Mantas Juodelis 3 , Dovydas Strumyla 4 1 Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, vilmante.kumpikaite@ktu.lt 2 Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, andrius.grybauskas@ktu.lt 3 Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, mantas.juodelis@gmail.com 4 Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania, dovydas.strumyla@ktu.lt Abstract Lots of companies faced recent economic crisis. It was generated by global markets deregulation and it triggered relevant situation to emerge other types of crisis. Many scientists all over the world analyses how crisis affected global economy and changed companies’ management actions. Scientists exclude these types of crisis: economic, informational, physical, human resource, reputational, psychopathic acts production and financial. This paper examines economic crisis generated negative effects, how it started companies’ human resources and reputational crisis. Analysis is made by using triangular Crisis Management model (Alas, 2009) and Gao (2009) triangular of Main Types of Crisis. Two retail business companies were selected from Baltic countries: Lithuania and Estonia, to compare their financial results and managerial plans variation during pre- crisis, crisis and post-crisis periods. Keywords: economic crisis, retail business, crisis management, Baltic countries. JEL Classification: A10, L81, H12, F14. Introduction Our entry to the 21st century was marked with a huge development of technologies (information technology, communication technologies, global positioning system, nano technologies), international organizations (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Union, World trade organization). These achievements had a great impact on world‘s economy and changed its general framework. It becomes more dynamic, temporary, common and more associated with various types of economics. The purpose of this paper is to analyze changes in companies’ management during economic crisis. Research methods used in this paper are statistical analysis, scientific literature analysis and comparable analysis. This article is divided into three main parts. The first part gives theoretical background of recent economic crisis affect to global economy and changes in companies’ management actions. Based on Sher (2006), Mitroff (2005), Alas (2009) Valackiene (2010) we can highlight economic, informational, physical, human resource, reputational, psychopathic acts production and financial types of crisis. Gao (2010) developed Alas’ (2009) triangular Crisis Management model defining the main three types of crisis: economic, reputational and human resources, by explaining the interference between them and giving the instructions how to make proper managerial plans to mitigate the negative crisis effects. Going back to the Soviet Union existence, Baltic countries were a part of it and had the same type of economy. After the collapse of this geopolitical regime countries developed their economies in a little bit different ways (separate government policies), but also there were many similar political objects like NATO, EU, WTO and fixed exchange rate. Therefore a comparable analysis of these two countries’ retail business companies is provided in the second part of the paper. Analysis is about companies’ managerial plans variation before crisis, during and after it. Data set for comparable analyses was taken from retailing companies’ quarterly and annually reports, which are in Baltic stock exchange market. Evaluated companies managerial actions are compared in current companies’ management style during economic crisis. The third part gives suggestions to companies’ managerial plans based on triangle model of Alas (2009) and Gao (2010). These suggestions show how companies could act differently during the taken period of time and how they could reduce the negative impact of crisis in several ways. Theoretical background Types of crisis In scientific literature most commonly there are marked these types of crisis: natural (caused by nature), industrial, terrorist’s attacks, economic, informational, financial, human resource and reputational (Mitroff, 2005, Sher 2006). Table 1 gives the main types of crisis of some scholars.