DIFFERENCES IN THE CONCEPT OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN V4 COUNTRIES

Abstract

Risk management is one of the entrepreneurial knowledge to reduce business risks. The aim of the article is to compare the access to risk management in SMEs in the Visegrad countries (V4). The attention is focused on the differences in a perception of the importance of various risks, the choice of the person responsible for risk management and the frequency of discussion on the current risks in the company. The article deals with the partial results of the empirical questionnaire survey which was completed in 2018 at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín in the Czech Republic. The survey was made among SMEs in the Czech Republic (408 respondents), Slovakia (487), Poland (489) and Hungary (388). The questionnaire included questions about the importance of risks and the concept of risk management in the company. Three research questions were set. To test the formulated research questions, the following statistical tools, such as pivot table, relative and absolute frequency, the Chi-Square calculator for 5 x 5 Contingency Table and Z-score, were used. Finally, the result indicates a different perception of the key risks in Hungary (in comparison with other V4 countries).  There are also statistically significant differences in the frequency of discussion on the current risks in relation to the size of the company among V4 countries. The differences among the companies from V4 countries in the choice of the person responsible for risk management were proved as well. The article concludes with a discussion on the comparison of the previous international researches.