# ERM Report 2025: Why Most Crises Start Within

> Der Beitrag fasst den ERM Report 2025 der Hochschule Luzern (HSLU) und der HAW Kiel zusammen. Er richtet sich an Verwaltungsräte und Geschäftsleitungen im DACH-Raum und zeigt, dass die meisten Unternehmenskrisen intern entstehen. Anbieter ist Swiss GRC.

- URL: https://swissgrc.com/en/erm-report-2025-why-most-crises-start-within/
- Publisher: SwissGRC®
- Published: 2025-12-05
- Last updated: 2026-09-17

## Key facts

- Der ERM Report 2025 wurde von der Hochschule Luzern (HSLU) in Zusammenarbeit mit der HAW Kiel veröffentlicht.
- Die Studie analysiert 669 börsenkotierte Unternehmen im Zeitraum 2018 bis 2024. Fast jedes dritte Unternehmen erlebte innerhalb eines Monats einen Kurseinbruch von 25% oder mehr.
- Betroffene Unternehmen brauchen im Durchschnitt fast zwei Jahre, um das Niveau vor der Krise wieder zu erreichen, und liegen deutlich hinter dem Gesamtmarkt.
- Der Report führt 41% der Krisen auf strategische Fehler und 19% auf vermeidbare interne Schwächen zurück. Externe Risiken machen rund 40% der Krisenereignisse aus.
- Rund ein Drittel der betroffenen Firmen erleidet wiederholte Krisen.
- Technologieunternehmen sind unter den starken Kurseinbrüchen überrepräsentiert, Industrieunternehmen zeigen sich stabil. Schweizer Unternehmen erweisen sich insgesamt als widerstandsfähiger als deutsche.
- Gentian Ajeti und Yahya Mohamed Mao von Swiss GRC verfassten den Gastbeitrag «Strategic Value Creation Through Organizational Resilience» im Report.

The [**ERM Report 2025**](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiGscm-o6aRAxWUhv0HHVjsBk4QFnoECBsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hslu.ch%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fcampus%2Fcommon%2Ffiles%2Fdokumente%2Fh%2F1-medienmitteilungen-und-news%2F2025%2Fw%2Ferm-report-2025.pdf%3Fsc_lang%3Dde-ch&usg=AOvVaw1OQjdme4F6GGc9Jz_cqcU4&opi=89978449), published by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) in cooperation with HAW Kiel, delivers a clear message to boards and executives across the DACH region: severe corporate crises are far more common—and far more internal—than many leaders assume. The study analyzes 669 publicly listed companies from 2018 to 2024 and finds that nearly one in three experienced a share-price collapse of 25% or more within a single month. Recovery is slow and costly; on average, affected firms require almost two years to return to pre-crisis levels, trailing significantly behind the broader market.

The Silent Drivers: Strategy Missteps and Internal Weaknesses

What stands out most in the data is that **the majority of crises originate inside the organisation**.
The report attributes:

- **41% of crises to strategic failures**, including excessive leverage, flawed capital allocation, overreliance on key customers, or misjudged market dynamics.
- **19% to preventable internal shortcomings**—reporting delays, governance lapses, compliance failures, and operational mismanagement.

These findings confront a long-standing misconception in corporate risk discussions: that crises are primarily triggered by unpredictable external shocks. Instead, the *ERM Report 2025* shows that internal decisions—not the macroeconomic environment—pose the greatest threat to corporate stability. Even more telling, roughly one-third of affected firms suffer repeated crises, indicating vulnerabilities that remain unresolved over years.

External Shocks Reveal What Was Already Weak

External risks—geopolitical tensions, inflation, supply chain disruptions, financial-market volatility—certainly matter. They account for about 40% of crisis events and are especially visible during periods such as 2022, when inflation spiked and the war in Ukraine intensified pressures across industries. But the report makes clear: external shocks become catastrophic only when internal resilience is weak.

The sector comparison illustrates this vividly. Technology companies were significantly overrepresented among severe declines, while industrials displayed notable stability thanks to diversified structures, disciplined governance, and long-term project management. Swiss companies overall demonstrated greater resilience than German peers, supported by more stable sector composition and stronger governance frameworks.

A Strategic Imperative: Elevate ERM Beyond Compliance

Taken together, the findings point to a decisive conclusion: Enterprise Risk Management must evolve from a compliance-driven activity to a strategic leadership instrument.

High-performing organisations increasingly use ERM to refine capital allocation, test strategic assumptions, understand [customer](https://swissgrc.com/en/clients/) dependencies, and prepare for geopolitical and macroeconomic shifts. ERM becomes valuable not when it documents risks, but when it influences decisions.

This strategic lens is also reflected in the guest contribution included in the *ERM Report 2025*, authored by **Gentian Ajeti**, Chief Customer & Commercial Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Swiss GRC, and **Yahya Mohamed Mao**, Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Board of Directors at Swiss GRC. Their essay, «*Strategic Value Creation Through Organizational Resilience,»* extends the report’s empirical findings into practice, arguing that resilience must be viewed not only as protection against downturns but as a driver of long-term competitiveness.

Ajeti and Mao highlight that organisations capable of anticipating disruption, adapting quickly, and maintaining strong governance structures do more than survive crises—they use uncertainty to strengthen customer trust, accelerate strategic clarity, and unlock new opportunities. Their perspective reinforces a central theme of the report: resilience is not a defensive posture; it is a strategic capability that shapes performance over time.

A Call to Boards and Executives

The *ERM Report 2025* arrives at a moment when volatility has become the norm rather than the exception. Its findings urge leaders to reassess long-held assumptions about [risk](https://swissgrc.com/en/risk-management-software/). Crises are seldom sudden. They build slowly—in the blind spots of strategy, governance, and culture.

The organisations that prosper in this environment will be those that treat ERM as a forward-looking discipline and resilience as a strategic investment. As the report and Swiss GRC’s contribution jointly emphasise, value creation and risk management are no longer separate conversations. They are one and the same.

## Frequently asked questions

### Was ist der ERM Report 2025?

Der ERM Report 2025 ist eine Studie der Hochschule Luzern (HSLU) in Zusammenarbeit mit der HAW Kiel. Sie untersucht 669 börsenkotierte Unternehmen von 2018 bis 2024 und richtet sich an Führungsgremien im DACH-Raum.

### Woher kommen die meisten Unternehmenskrisen?

Laut dem Report entsteht die Mehrheit der Krisen innerhalb der Organisation. 41% gehen auf strategische Fehler zurück, 19% auf vermeidbare interne Schwächen wie Berichtsverzögerungen, Governance-Lücken oder Compliance-Verstösse.

### Wie lange dauert die Erholung nach einem Kurseinbruch?

Betroffene Unternehmen brauchen laut Report im Durchschnitt fast zwei Jahre, um das Niveau vor der Krise wieder zu erreichen. Sie bleiben dabei deutlich hinter dem breiteren Markt zurück.

### Welche Rolle spielen externe Schocks bei Unternehmenskrisen?

Externe Risiken wie geopolitische Spannungen, Inflation oder Lieferkettenstörungen machen rund 40% der Krisenereignisse aus. Der Report hält fest, dass sie vor allem dann katastrophal werden, wenn die interne Widerstandsfähigkeit schwach ist.

### Welchen Beitrag leistet Swiss GRC zum ERM Report 2025?

Gentian Ajeti und Yahya Mohamed Mao von Swiss GRC verfassten den Gastbeitrag «Strategic Value Creation Through Organizational Resilience». Darin wird Resilienz als Treiber langfristiger Wettbewerbsfähigkeit beschrieben und nicht nur als Schutz vor Rückschlägen.