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A successful businessman is not a gambler. Risk attitude and business performance among small enterprises in Nigeria

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  • Willebrands, Daan
  • Lammers, Judith
  • Hartog, Joop

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of risk attitudes of firm owners on business performance among small enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria. We find that there is no robust support for a positive effect of willingness to take risk through compensation for risk taking. Perception of risk does have a positive effect, suggesting that recognizing and cautiously dealing with risk is beneficial. The effect is robust under alternative specifications.

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  • Willebrands, Daan & Lammers, Judith & Hartog, Joop, 2012. "A successful businessman is not a gambler. Risk attitude and business performance among small enterprises in Nigeria," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 342-354.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:33:y:2012:i:2:p:342-354
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2011.03.006
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    2. Sharma, Smriti & Tarp, Finn, 2018. "Does managerial personality matter? Evidence from firms in Vietnam," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 432-445.
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    4. Martijn Adriaan Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2017. "Entrepreneurship, risk perception and firm performance," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 31(4), pages 557-569.
    5. Martin Koudstaal & Randolph Sloof & Mirjam van Praag, 2016. "Risk, Uncertainty, and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(10), pages 2897-2915, October.
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    7. Iman Aghaei & Amin Sokhanvar, 2020. "Factors influencing SME owners’ continuance intention in Bangladesh: a logistic regression model," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 391-415, September.
    8. Rodriguez Torres, Omar, 2021. "How different are necessity and opportunity firms? Evidence from a quantile analysis of the Colombian microenterprise sector," MERIT Working Papers 2021-019, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Martijn A. Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2018. "Financial Constraints Matter: Empirical Evidence On Borrowing Behavior, Microfinance And Firm Productivity," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(02), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Rodríguez Torres, Omar, 2022. "The productive role of social policy," MERIT Working Papers 2022-010, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Jianmu Ye & KMMCB Kulathunga, 2019. "How Does Financial Literacy Promote Sustainability in SMEs? A Developing Country Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-21, May.
    12. Hanna J. Ihli & Syster C. Maart-Noelck & Oliver Musshoff, 2014. "Does timing matter? A real options experiment to farmers' investment and disinvestment behaviours," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(3), pages 430-452, July.
    13. Murat Yalcintas & Oyk㜠Iyigãœn & Gokhan Karabulut, 2023. "Personal Characteristics And Intention For Entrepreneurship," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 68(02), pages 539-561.
    14. Nikolaos Theriou & Vassilis Aggelidis, 2014. "Management Accounting Systems, Top Management Team’s Risk Characteristics and Their Effect on Strategic Change," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 3-38.
    15. Syster C. Maart-Noelck & Oliver Musshoff, 2013. "Investing Today or Tomorrow? An Experimental Approach to Farmers’ Decision Behaviour," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 295-318, June.
    16. Lavlu Mozumdar & Geoffrey Hagelaar & Valentina C. Materia & S. W. F. Omta & Gerben Velde & Mohammad Amirul Islam, 2023. "Fuelling Entrepreneurial Orientation in Enhancing Business Performance: Women Entrepreneurs’ Contribution to Family Livelihood in a Constrained Context, Bangladesh," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(3), pages 623-655, June.
    17. Martijn Boermans & Daan Willebrands, 2012. "Financial constraints, risk taking and firm performance: Recent evidence from microfinance clients in Tanzania," DNB Working Papers 358, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; Risk perception; Risk behavior; Business performance; MSEs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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