International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics (Apr 2019)
Investigating the Potential Economic Impact of Brexit Decisions on Business Performance in the United Kingdom: A Case Study of the UK Construction Industry
Abstract
The looming argument on the decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to leave the European Union (EU) popularly referred to as Brexit is UK's greatest concern today. While business experts and economic analysts have been trying to decipher the potential effects of this decision, many businesses are beginning to prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario. This study is primarily aimed at investigating the potential economic impact of Brexit on business performance in the United Kingdom with specific reference to the construction industry which serves as one of the UK’s major contributor to output. The methodology, therefore, is based on an epistemological assumption grounded in positivistic philosophy with the use of a deductive and applied research approach. Additionally, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed using secondary sources of data. The data was further estimated using a t-Test statistical model to test the significance level between the population means of the variables measured along a time period that covers 2014 to 2018. The variables measured include industry labour employment, interest rate, inflation and exchange rate, output, imports, and exports. The research findings suggest that there are potential adverse effects of Brexit on labour activities within the industry if a favourable deal is failed to be struck. Additionally, external economic factors were deemed to have a very high negative influence on business performance. It was also reported that trading activities which were the core performance measures in the industry were not significantly reactive to Brexit since the leave vote although there are potential threats after the implementation period.
