The Assessment of Key Business Risks for SMEs in Slovakia and Their Comparison with other EU Countries

Abstract

Objective: The essence of this article is to identify statistically the most serious entrepreneurial risks defined by SME owners and managers in Slovakia based on the empirical research conducted in 2017 and to identify the most serious market risks and their sources (causes) depending on the company size and the duration of doing business. Research Design & Methods: Using empirical research methods and statistical methods, the authors investigate the dependence between the risks perceived by managers and owners of SMEs and the duration of business activity and the size of an enterprise. Findings: Based on the results, we can say that market risks that negatively affect the SME entrepreneurial environment are considered to be the most serious risks in all countries. The overall research results in individual countries underline the importance of dealing with the assessment of entrepreneurial risks and their sources in SMEs. Implications & Recommendations: The owners or managers of SMEs should be able to apply the risk management process in enterprises using appropriate methods and tools to identify changes timely in case of adverse development of business environment. The application of enterprise risk management leads to an improvement in business performance and also cost saving. Contribution & Value Added: The task of this article is to make the need of implementing the risk management in SMEs through a relevant study more transparent, to compare and evaluate the results of the area being solved in individual countries.

Keywords

• risk
• risk source
• risk management
• risk assessment
• small and medium-sized enterprises