The Impact of Demographic Factor on Malaysia’s Small and Medium-Sized Family Enterprises Performance: Insights from a Partial Least Squares Analysis

Small and Medium-sized Family Enterprises (SMFEs) encounter significant challenges in optimizing their business performance. Therefore, this research aims to explore the impact of demographic factors on the performance of these enterprises. The research utilizes Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) as the analytical approach that based on data gathered from 399 respondents from the general populace in sampled regions with stratified sampling 2023. The results show that the demographic factors namely owner position, gender, age, and formal education had an insignificant relationship with SMFE performance on whole model basis but independently, owner position significantly influenced SMFE performance during the period under review. The position of the owner, gender, age, and formal education were not assessed directly but were looked at as factors affecting SMFE performance. They further suggest adopting training development approaches integrating education, mentoring, and intergenerational collaborations to create a demographic mythology. Policymakers should align these with the Twelfth Malaysian Plan, which focuses on education for future leadership development in rural areas and qualitatively raising SMFE contributions to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hence, future studies should explore the regional and cultural differences that may affect demographic impacts on business performance, particularly in family-owned SMEs.