ACTUAL PROBLEMS OF BUSINESS RISK IN SME SEGMENT. CASE STUDY FROM SLOVAKIA

Abstract

The aim of this article was to define, quantify and compare the significant attributes of business risk for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the selected regions of Slovakia. The data was collected through a questionnaire. The whole research was conducted in the Bratislava region on a sample of 102 SMEs, in the region of Trencin on a sample of 105 SMEs and in the Zilina region on a sample of 168 SMEs. Thus we compared important factors of business risk in the most economically developed region of the Slovak capital to the average regions of Trencin and Zilina. On the basis of the results of our research, we can conclude that the most important business risk is market risk in all regions. The average value of perceived market risk was higher than 50%. For this reason entrepreneurs have indicated the existence of negative trends in performance and profitability of their companies.