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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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    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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