The influence of managers’ characteristics and perceptions on their assessments of risks related to strategic decisions: a multiple case study of SMEs adopting international outsourcing

Abstract

The business environment in which SMEs operate is increasingly uncertain and strategic decisions require managers to take into account numerous risks in order to meet their objectives. This is the case with the internationalization decisions of SMEs whose success is not guaranteed. How are the risks of such activities assessed in SMEs knowing that this assessment is based on the perception of evaluators? The study of five Canadian SMEs that decided to subcontract part of their production to China sheds light on this issue that is little addressed in the literature. Interviews with two managers, including the owner confirm the influence of each person's attitude towards risk as well as their experience with the evaluated risk and the feeling of control over risky situations. This study enriches the work on risk management in SMEs and suggests, from a practical point of view, that this management should be carried out collegially