Introduction

The present PhD thesis presents an empirical approach to risk management practices in selected industries of German small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Section 1.1 of this introductory chapter discusses risk management in Germany. SMEs are of great importance in Germany. Therefore it is surprising that they have been neglected in empirical investigations on risk management (Section 1.1.1). Currently (2006), legal and other regulations with their effects on the handling of risks are making insecure German SMEs (Section 1.1.2). Section 1.2 classifies the terms of risk and risk management and presents the reactive and proactive risk management paradigms. When facing the management of individual projects companies have to deal with both local and global risk considerations, which means the consolidation of single project risk assessments into the company-wide risk management. Section 1.3 distinguishes SMEs with respect to quantitative and qualitative criteria. Here a variety of definitions exist, in the national as well as in the international context of SME research. Section 1.4 outlines the research aim and objectives of this thesis. Finally, Section 1.5 summarizes the research approach and the outline of the subsequent chapters.

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