Share:


Opinions of owners and managers on the business risks of SMEs sustainability: does gender matter?

    Jan Dvorsky Affiliation
    ; Judit Olah Affiliation
    ; Joanna Bednarz Affiliation
    ; Maria Hudakova Affiliation

Abstract

The aim of the article is the quantification of the effect size of business risks in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) sustainability according to gender. Data collection was carried out in the period 12/2022–01/2023 using the CAWI methodology. 1,090 owners and managers from the business environment of the SME segment participated in the research in the Visegrad group countries. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was implemented on the evaluation of the hypotheses of research. The statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics and AMOS vs. 28 were used in the data analytics. The management of business risks, just like market, financial and personnel risks, has a strong positive impact on the sustainable development of SMEs. Personnel risk management is the most important determinant which has a strong positive impact on the sustainable development of SMEs with male entrepreneurs. Financial risk management has a medium positive effect on the sustainable development of SMEs for female entrepreneurs. The research findings illustrate the important role for key individuals in national development and for strategic documents dealing with how to help the SME segment.

Keyword : business risk, case study, gender, effect, SMEs, sustainable development, Visegrad group countries

How to Cite
Dvorsky, J., Olah, J., Bednarz, J., & Hudakova, M. (2023). Opinions of owners and managers on the business risks of SMEs sustainability: does gender matter?. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 24(4), 732–753. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2023.20232
Published in Issue
Nov 21, 2023
Abstract Views
392
PDF Downloads
450
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Achim, M. V., Safta, I. V., Văidean, V. L., Muresan, G. M., & Borlea, N. S. (2022). The impact of Covid-19 on financial management: Evidence from Romania. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 35(1), 1807–1832. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.1922090

Alem, D., Oliveira, F., & Peinado, M. C. R. (2020). A practical assessment of risk-averse approaches in production lot-sizing problems. International Journal of Production Research, 58(9), 2581–2603. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1620364

Allahar, H. (2019). Inovation management and value chain design: Case of a small professional services firm. International Journal of Innovation, 7(2), 192–209. https://doi.org/10.5585/iji.v7i2.380

Arnold, S. F. (1980). Asymptotic validity of F tests for the ordinary linear model and the multiple correlation model. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 75(372), 890–894. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1980.10477568

Arsic, M., Jovanovic, Z., Tomic, R., Tomovic, N., Arsic, S., & Bodolo, I. (2020). Impact of logistics capacity on economic sustainability of SMEs. Sustainability, 12(5), Article 1911. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051911

Bartoš, P., Rahman, A., Horák, J., & Jáčová, H. (2015). Education and entrepreneurship in the SME segment in economic transformation. Economics & Sociology, 8(2), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2015/8-2/16

Bednarz, J., Schuster, C., & Rost, M. (2023). Impact of Industry 4.0 Technology on international posting of workers. SAGE Open, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231163488

Becker, K., & Smidt, M. (2016). A risk perspective on human resource management: A review and directions for future research. Human Resource Management Review, 26(2), 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.12.001

Belas, J., & Rahman, A. (2023). Financial management of the company. Are there differences of opinion between owners and managers in the SME segment? Journal of Business Sectors, 1(1), 1–9.

Belas, J., Skare, M., Gavurova, B., Dvorsky, J., & Kotaskova, A. (2022). The impact of ethical and CSR factors on engineers’ attitudes towards SMEs sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 149, 589–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.056

Belas, J., Gavurova, B., Cepel, M. & Kubak, M. (2020). Evaluation of economic potential of business environment development by comparing sector differences: Perspective of SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Oeconomia Copernicana, 11(1), 135–159. https://doi.org/10.24136/oc.2020.006

Bernile, G., Bhagwat, V., & Yonker, S. (2016). Board diversity, firm risk, and corporate policies. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2733394

Boeske, J., & Murray, P. A. (2022). The intellectual domains of sustainability leadership in SMEs. Sustainability, 14(4), Article 1978. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14041978

Bosma, N., Content, J., Sanders, M., & Stam, E. (2018). Institutions, entrepreneurship, and economic growth in Europe. Small Business Economics, 51(2), 483–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0012-x

Bratianu, C. (2020). Sustainability risk management of firms. Amfiteatru economic, 22(55), 635–637. https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2020/55/635

Bratianu, C., Nestian, A. S., Tita, S. M., Voda, A. I., & Guta, A. L. (2020). The impact of knowledge risk on sustainability of firms. Amfiteatru economic, 22(55), 639–652. https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2020/55/639

Bufarwa, I. M., Elamer, A. A., Ntim, C. G., & AlHares, A. (2020). Gender diversity, corporate governance and financial risk disclosure in the UK, International Journal of Law and Management, 62, 521–538. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLMA-10-2018-0245

Canamares, S. M., Villena Escribano, B. M., Gonzáles García, M. N., Barriuso, A. R., & Sáiz, A. R. (2017). Occupational risk-prevention diagnosis: A study of construction SMEs in Spain. Safety Science, 92, 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.09.016

Çera, G., Belás, J., & Strnad, Z. (2019). Important factors which predict entrepreneur’s perception in business risk. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 17(2), 415–429. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.17(2).2019.32

Dodd, O., Kalimipalli, M., & Chan, W. (2021). Evaluating corporate credit risks in emerging markets. International Review of Financial Analysis, 73, Article 101610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101610

Dumitrescu, A., & Deselnicu, D. C. (2018). Risk assessment in manufacturing SMEs’ labor system. Procedia Manufacturing, 22, 912–915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2018.03.129

Dvorský, J., Petráková, Z., & Polách, J. (2019). Assessing the market, financial, and economic risk sources by Czech and Slovak SMEs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 7(2), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v7i2.91

Dvorsky, J., Belas, J., Gavurova, B., & Brabenec, T. (2021). Business risk management in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 34(1), 1690–1708. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1844588

Eriksson, S. (2018). Temporary relocation in an academic setting for human rights defenders at risk: Good practice lessons and challenges. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 10(3), 482–507. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huy023

Faccio, M., Marchica, M., & Mura, R. (2016). CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation. Journal of Corporate Finance, 39, 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.02.008

Filippin, A., & Crosetto, P. (2016). A reconsideration of gender differences in risk attitudes. Management Science, 62(11), 3138–3160. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2294

Fraser, J. R. S., & Simkins, B. J. (2016). The challenges of and solutions for implementing enterprise risk management. Business Horizons, 59(6), 689–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2016.06.007

Gede Riana, I., Suparna, G., Gusti Made, I., Kot, S., & Rajiani, I. (2020). Human resource management in promoting innovation and organizational performance. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 18(1), 107–118. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.18(1).2020.10

Gorondutse, A. H., Arshad, D., & Alshuaibi, A. S. (2021). Driving sustainability in SMEs’ performance: The effect of strategic flexibility. Journal of Strategy and Management, 14(1), 64–81. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-03-2020-0064

Gurrea-Martinez, A., & Daly, E. L. (2022). Navigating insolvency risks in emerging markets. Journal of Portfolio Management, 48(8), 95–108 https://doi.org/10.3905/jpm.2022.1.381

Heenkenda, H. M. J. C. B., Xu, F., Kulathunga, K. M. M. C. B., & Senevirathne, W. A. R. (2022). The role of innovation capability in enhancing sustainability in SMEs: An emerging economy perspective. Sustainability, 14(17), Article 10832. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710832

Henseler, J., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). Goodness-of-fit indices for partial least squares path modeling. Computational Statistics, 28(2), 565–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00180-012-0317-1

Hernandez-Diaz, A., Calderon-Abreu, T., Castro-Gonzales, S., & Portales-Derbez, L. (2021). Exploring the sustainability of SMEs: the Puerto Rican case. Environment Developmet and Sustainability, 23(6), 8212–8233. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00960-2

Hudáková, M., & Masár, M. (2018). Assessment of the key business risks of the SMEs in Slovakia and their comparison with other EU countries. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 6(4), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2018.060408

Hudáková, M., & Dvorský, J. (2018). Assessing the risks and their sources in dependence on the rate of implementing the risk management process in the SMEs. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 13(3), 543–567. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2018.027

Hudakova, M., Gabrysova, M., Petrakova, Z., Buganova, K., & Krajcik, V. (2021). The perception of market and economic risks by owners and managers of enterprises in the V4 countries. Journal of Competitiveness, 13(4), 60–77. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2021.04.04

Chen, L. H., Gramlich, J., & Houser, K. A. (2017). The effects of board gender diversity on a firm’s risk strategies. Accounting & Finance, 59, 991–1031. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12283

Christensen, B. J., Nielsen, M. O., & Zhu, J. (2015). The impact of financial crisis on the risk-return. Trade off and the leverage effect. Economic Modelling, 49, 407–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2015.03.006

IdSurvey. (2023). CAWI methologogy – computer assisted web interview. https://www.idsurvey.com/en/cawi-methodology/

Journeault, M., Perron, A., & Vallières, L. (2021). The collaborative roles of stakeholders in supporting the adoption of sustainability in SMEs. Journal of Environmental Management, 287, Article 112349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112349

Karas, J., Skypalova, R., Tomsík, P. (2022). Human capital in agriculture: barriers to industry 4.0. Ad Alta: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 12(2), 298–301.

Kasirang, A., Ekasari, K., Sidabalok, I., Fudjaja, L., Jusoff, K., Akhsan, Nurland, F., & Halimah, A. S. (2013). Gender dimension of ethnic bugis and Makassar women empowerment. World Applied Sciences Journal, 26, 17–23.

Khan, K. A., Akhtar, M. A., Vishwakarma, R. K., & Hoang, H. C. (2023). A sectoral perspective on the sustainable growth of SMEs. Empirical research in the V4 countries. Journal of Business Sectors, 1(1), 10–19.

Kim, Y., & Vonortas, N. S. (2014). Managing risk in the formative years: Evidence from young enterprises in Europe. Technovation, 34(8), 454–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2014.05.004

Ključnikov, A., Belás, J., Kozubíková, L., & Paseková, P. (2016). The entreprenurial perception of SME business environment quality in the Czech Republic. Journal of Competitiveness, 8(1), 66–78. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2016.01.05

Kotaskova, A., Lazanyi, K., Amoah, J., & Belás, J. (2020). Financial risk management in the V4 Countries’ SMEs segment. Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 17(4), 228–240. https://doi.org/10.21511/imfi.17(4).2020.21

Kozubíková, L., Belas, J., Bilan, Y., & Bartos, P. (2015). Personality characteristics of entrepreneurs in the context of perception and management of business risks in the SME segment. Economics and Sociology, 8(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.14254/2071-789X.2015/8-1/4

Logan, T. M., Aven, T., Guikema, S., & Flage, R. (2021). The role of time in risk and risk analysis: Implications for resilience, sustainability, and management. Risk Analysis, 41(11), 1959–1970. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13733

Lopez-Torres, G. C. (2023). The impact of SMEs’ sustainability on competitiveness. Measuring Business Excellence, 27(1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/MBE-12-2021-0144

Ma, R., Anderson, H. D., & Marshall, B. R. (2019). Risk perceptions and international stock market liquidity. Journal of International Finncial Markets Institutions & Money, 62, 94–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intfin.2019.06.001

Metzker, Z., Marousek, J., Hlawiczka, R., Belas, J. Jr., & Khan, K. A. (2021). The perception of the market and operational area of business by service sector and tourism companies in terms of CSR implementation. Journal of Tourism and Services, 23(12), 217–236. https://doi.org/10.29036/jots.v12i23.328

Mikušová, M. (2017). To be or not to be a business responsible for sustainable development? Survey from small Czech businesses. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 30(1), 1318–1338. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2017.1355257

Neary, B., Horák, J., Kovacova, M,. & Valaskova, K. (2018). The future of work: Disruptive business practices, technology-driven economic growth, and computer-induced job displacement. Journal of Self-Governance and Management Economics, 6(4), 19–24. https://doi.org/10.22381/JSME6420183

Norris, M., & Lecavalier, L. (2010). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in developmental disability psychological research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40(1), 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0816-2

Obeng, C. (2021). Measuring value at risk using GARCH model – evidence from the cryptocurrency market. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 9(2), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v9i2.133

Olah, J., Kovacs, S., Virglerova, Z., Lakner, Z., Kovacova, M., & Popp, J. (2019a). Analysis and comparison of economic and financial risk sources in SMEs of the Visegrad Group and Serbia. Sustainability, 11(7), Article 1853. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11071853

Olah, J., Virglerova, Z., Popp, J., Kliestikova, J., & Kovács, S. (2019b). The assessment of non-financial risk sources of SMES in the V4 countries and Serbia. Sustainability, 11(17), Article 4806. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174806

Palvia, A., Vähämaa, E., & Vähämaa, S. (2020). Female leadership and bank risk-taking: Evidence from the effects of real estate shocks on bank lending performance and default risk. Journal of Business Research, 117, 897–909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.057

Pflueger, C., Siriwardane, E., & Sunderam, A. (2020). Financial market risk perceptions and the macroeconomy. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(3), 1443–1491. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa009

Peng, G., Meng, F., Ahmed, Z., Oláh, J., & Harsányi, E. (2022). A path towards green revolution: How do environmental technologies, political risks, and environmental taxes influence green energy consumption? Frontiers Environmental Science, 10, Article 927333. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.927333

Post, C., Lokshin, B., & Boone, C. (2022). what changes after women enter top management teams? A gender-based model of strategic renewal. Academy of Management Journal, 65(1). https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2018.1039

Prochazkova, K., & Micak, P. (2023). CEO gender and its effect on corporate social responsibility and the perception of business ethics. Ekonomicko-manazerske spektrum, 17(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.26552/ems.2023.1.29-38

Rozsa, Z., Minčič, V., Krajčík, V., & Vránová, H. (2022). Social capital and job search behavior in the services industry: Online social networks perspective. Journal of Tourism and Services, 25(13), 267–278. https://doi.org/10.29036/jots.v13i25.481

Sikyr, M., Skypalova, R., & Vavrova, J. (2023). What HR decisions are crucial in turbulent times? An analysis of differences in manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(2), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(2).2023.56

Slusarczyk, B., & Grondys, K. (2019). Parametric conditions of high financial risk in the SME Sector. Risks, 7(84), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/risks7030084

Smith, H., Discetti, R., Bellucci, M., & Acuti, D. (2022). SMEs engagement with the sustainable development goals: A power perspective. Journal of Business Research, 149, 112–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.021

Valls Martínez, M. C., & Soriano Román, R. (2022). Women in monitoring positions and market risk. Are the stocks of companies with gender diverse boards less volatile? Frontiers in Psychology, (13), Article 1049175. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1049175

Vandlíčková, M., Marková, I., Hollá, K., & Gašpercová, S. (2021). Evaluation of marblewood dust’s (Marmaroxylon racemosum) effect on ignition risk. Applied Sciences, 11(15), Article 6874. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11156874

Virak, K., & Bilan, Y. (2022). The role of formal and informal remittances as the determinants of formal and informal financial services. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 17(3), 727–746. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2022.025

Virglerova, Z., Ivanova, E., Dvorsky, J., Belas, J., & Krulický, T. (2021). Selected factors of internationalisation and their impact on the SME perception of the market risk. Oeconomia Copernicana, 12(4), 1011–1032. https://doi.org/10.24136/oc.2021.033

Wahid, A. S. (2019). The effects and the mechanisms of board gender diversity: Evidence from financial manipulation. Journal of Business Ethics, 159, 705–725. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3785-6

Wang, Y. (2016). What are the biggest obstacles to growth of SMEs in developing countries? – An empirical evidence from an enterprise survey. Borsa Istanbul Review, 16(3), 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bir.2016.06.001

Yang, J. S. (2017). The governance environment and innovative SMEs. Small Business Economics, 48(3), 525–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-016-9802-1

Zieba, M., Durst, S., & Hinteregger, C. (2022). The impact of knowledge risk management on sustainability. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(11), 234–258. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-09-2021-0691

Zhang, X., Husnain, M., Yang, H., Ullah, S., Abbas, J., & Zhang, R. (2022). Corporate business strategy and tax avoidance culture: Moderating role of gender diversity in an emerging economy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 827553. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.827553