Considering the proportion of small business owners in the Korean economy and the difficulties they faced due to the economic downturn, their business performance was a very important factor for their survival. Accordingly, this study conducted an emp...
Considering the proportion of small business owners in the Korean economy and the difficulties they faced due to the economic downturn, their business performance was a very important factor for their survival. Accordingly, this study conducted an empirical analysis of factors affecting the management performance of small business owners. For the empirical analysis, innovation, management ability, desire for achievement, and technical ability among the personal characteristics of small business owners were set as independent variables, and competition intensity, market growth, and market uncertainty were also considered as environmental characteristics. In addition to analyzing the impact of these variables on the management performance of small business owners, the mediating effect of the intention to accept SNS was also analyzed. For this purpose, a survey was conducted targeting small business owners across the country, of which a total of 300 valid questionnaires were used in this study. SPSS 26.0 and Process Macro 4.2 were used for the empirical analysis. The results of the empirical analysis are as follows. Among the CEO characteristics of small business owners, management ability and desire for achievement had a significant positive influence on the intention to accept SNS, and among the environmental characteristics, market growth appeared to have a significant positive influence. In addition, in a situation where CEO characteristics and environmental characteristics were controlled, the intention to accept SNS was found to have a positive influence on small business management performance. On the other hand, the significance of the relationship between innovation, technological ability, competitive intensity, and market uncertainty on the intention to accept SNS was not tested. Small business owners' management ability and desire for achievement were found to have a significant positive impact on small business management performance. On the other hand, the significant influence of innovation and technological ability was not tested. Among the environmental characteristics of small business owners, competition intensity and market uncertainty were found to have a significant negative impact on the business performance of small business owners. Market growth was found to have a significant positive effect on the management performance of small business owners. By comparing the absolute values of standardized coefficients, we compared the size of the relative influence of sub-variables of CEO characteristics and environmental characteristics on management performance. As a result, market growth was found to have the greatest impact on management performance, and management ability, desire for achievement, and market uncertainty and competitive intensity appeared in that order. As a result of analyzing the mediating effect of SNS acceptance intention between small business CEO characteristics, environmental characteristics and small business management performance, SNS acceptance intention was found to play a mediating role between small business management ability, desire for achievement, market growth, and management performance. The strength of the mediation effect appeared in the order of market growth, desire for achievement, and management ability. Meanwhile, the significance of the mediating role between innovation, technical capabilities, competitive intensity, market uncertainty, and management performance was not tested. This study emphasized the multifaceted nature of factors affecting the business performance of small businesses, including the complex interaction of small business owners' individual capabilities, desires, and external market conditions. This suggests that for small businesses to thrive, especially during economic downturns, it is essential to focus on strengthening management skills and motivation, understand market growth dynamics, and effectively utilize digital tools such as social media to navigate competitive pressures and uncertainties.