COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Challenges in the Construction Sector: A Case Study of Slovak Enterprises

Abstract

The corona crisis has affected not only the economic sphere, but also the sphere of health, health care, employment, safety, and health protection in the workplace, shopping habits, and future expectations, to which people adapt their decisions in various areas of daily life. The COVID-19 pandemic, called a global health crisis, was an unpredictable risk of global proportions that paralyzed the entire world. The main aim of this paper is to quantify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction sector, which is considered a crucial sector of the Slovak economy, to evaluate changes in the development of key indicators using adequate quantitative methods. First, a sample of 2000 businesses were analyzed using the 12 financial indicators that were chosen. Second, using the non-parametric Friedman test, a more thorough study was carried out with a focus on analyzing the existence of statistically significant variations in the values of computed indicators as a result of changes in the development of key financial ratios. The Bonferroni adjustments were employed to pinpoint the areas of stochastic dominance at the conclusion of the study. A detailed analysis of the calculated financial indicators showed that the arrival of the pandemic had a negative impact on many aspects of business in the construction sector and affected the financial and economic situation of companies in the construction sector of the Slovak Republic. However, due to the fact that this sector is characterized by slower reactions to changes in the economy, the most significant impacts will be even more noticeable in the future.