THE IMPACT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON THE FINANCIAL SITUATION OF ENTERPRISES OF THE QUALITY OUTSOURCING SECTOR

The article describes the impact of the economic crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic on enterprises from the service outsourcing industry operating in 11 European countries. The following research objectives have been indicated: 1) learning the opinions of managers on the crisis and its impact on the company, 2) indicating positive and negative features of the economic situation related to the global pandemic, 3) the analysis of the financial situation during the pandemic. The methodology adopted in the research is based on the descriptive approach, using the case study analysis. For the purposes of the research, the structured interview questionnaire was used. The questions asked concerned the description of the specificity of the business, the company's location, the impact of the economic crisis on the situation of enterprises, the description of the positive and negative impact of the crisis on the operation of enterprises. The area of interest covered the subjective opinions of managers on the existing economic situation, which is metaphorically compared to the black swan in the article. The research conducted in the companies from 11 European countries indicated that in the period of March-August 2020, due to the strong dependence of the sector on the automotive industry, the companies were affected by the crisis. The turnover and the number of employees decreased dramatically. The slow recovery of contractors from the crisis as well as the change in customer approach to staff employment have changed the operating conditions of the quality outsourcing sector companies. Flexible adaptation to customer requirements has brought about that all the analyzed companies recorded an increase in the sales of their services, counting on the further good prosperity of the industry.