RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF SME'S IN THE HAMBANTHOTA DISTRICT. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BY FIRM'S CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine the level of risk management practices of small and medium enterprises in Hambanthota District and comparative analysis by firm's characteristics. Hence, this study examines the influence of three dimensions of risk management practices, namely risk identification, risk assessment & risk monitoring. To ensure the success and potential benefits of risk management implementation, firms characteristics should be considered when risk management programs are undertaken. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of firms age and firms size on risk management implementation in SME's in Hambanthota District. To achieve this objective, quantitative data were elicited from a questionnaire survey and structured interviews, respectively. The study is mainly considering the primary data. The primary data were collected through a closed structure questionnaire from 1p0 respondents from small and medium enterprises in Hambanthota district and comparative analysis was performed based on firms age and firms size and used univariate analysis techniques in order to analyze data and find the results of study objectives. The analysis results indicated that firms age and firms size had highly level on risk management practices implementation of SME's in Hambanthota District. Furthermore, findings revealed that risk identification, risk assessment & risk monitoring are highly prevailing. The study concluded that the overall risk management practices of SME's sector in Hambanthota District is at a high level.