The financial situation, capacity to compete in the SMEs sector of the Hungarian construction industry in the crisis period (The lessons of an empirical study)

In the last twenty-five years the Hungarian economy has been undergoing profound changes that companies have had to keep up with in order to survive. The rapidly changing economic environment, and the world crisis impacting Hungary as well, forced companies to make constant adaptation and radical changes. The pre-condition of effective activity and of the survival of Hungarian small- and medium-sized companies is the possession of a suitable and well-conceived financial strategy; for its implementation they have to be ready to make structural changes following a new way of thinking. The targeted goal is not limited to being cost efficient and technologically-orientated. The general financial crisis, which originated from the American mortgage credit cataclysm, must now be considered a global phenomenon, and the consequent uncertainty in the financial situation shows its multifaceted effects. This study examines the financial difficulties, the possibilities for growth, and the survival chances of the small- and medium-sized companies, and analyses their situations and problems with special regard to one of our industries in crisis, i.e. the construction industry.