Emergency situations in SMEs: Are entrepreneurs prepared?

Els Kleijn, Enno Masurel*, Kees Van Montfort

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Acute emergency situations in the personal life of the entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can play an important role in the premature, involuntary cessation of businesses. In this paper, it is empirically investigated how entrepreneurs prepare for these emergency situations (disablement, death, prolonged illness, and divorce). Only a small minority of the entrepreneurs in our sample had prepared well for all four emergency situations. The age of the entrepreneur and firm size both influence this preparation. Furthermore, previous experience of a certain emergency situation leads to better preparation for such an emergency situation in the future.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)159-172
Number of pages14
JournalInternational Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management
Volume16
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Keywords

  • Emergency situations
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Planning
  • Preparation
  • SMEs

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Emergency situations in SMEs: Are entrepreneurs prepared?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this