Crisis management under an economic recession in construction: the Greek case

Construction is an important sector in promoting competitiveness and economic growth. It runs high risks and it is vulnerable to internal and external events. The construction industry in Greece has been severely hit by the financial crisis of recent years. Crisis management plans are therefore essential for minimising economic losses and for company survival. Limited research currently exists on crises in construction, as the majority of research focuses on understanding how crises occur rather than studying responses to them. In this respect, a combination of crisis, risk and disaster management methods and applications are examined as background information for the proposed research framework. This research study consists of two parts. First, it briefly examines the performance of the Greek construction sector over recent years against crises by means of a questionnaire survey. The survey results and literature findings are used to propose a crisis management framework for construction companies with the aim of preparing companies against unwanted events, such as an economic recession, with guidelines on how to react before, during and after the crisis.