The impact of selected environmental factors on the perception of a company’s financial performance in the SME segment

Abstract

The environmental dimension is a significant part of a firm’s development, which is crucial to retaining and increasing competitiveness. The aim of the paper was to define and quantify the influence of selected environmental aspects on perceiving the financial performance of a company in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in V4 countries. The empirical research included 1,398 respondents who expressed their opinions on statements by means of which the influence of selected environmental aspects on the perception of a company’s financial performance was examined. The formulated statistical hypotheses were verified using a linear regression model. The results of the research confirmed the statistically significant positive influence of all the researched environmental factors on the perception of financial performance of SMEs in V4 countries and the survival of SMEs in the markets in the upcoming five-year period. SMEs in V4 countries positively perceive environmental responsibility as a significant part of company management, within which this responsibility is also considered. SMEs in V4 countries also agreed with the fact that including environmental practices in company management is associated with higher costs. The relatively strongest dependency was determined between the factors of considering environmental responsibility and the statement that responsibility brings about higher costs.