PERCEIVED MACROECONOMIC DEPENDENCY AND BUSINESS WELLBEING AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN TERENGGANU
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEMP.935044Keywords:
Business Wellbeing, Economic Diversification, Oil And Gas Dependency, Resource Curse, SME ResilienceAbstract
Terengganu’s economy remains closely connected to petroleum-related activity, yet limited evidence explains how this structural dependency is experienced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study examined the relationships among perceived oil and gas dependency, perceived vulnerability to oil-price and fiscal volatility, perceived economic diversification, and business wellbeing among SME owners and managers in Terengganu. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 205 usable responses, and the data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. Perceived vulnerability emerged as a significant negative predictor of business wellbeing (b = -0.399, p < .001), while perceived dependency was not significant after vulnerability was controlled. Perceived economic diversification had a significant positive direct effect on wellbeing (b = 0.187, p = .010), but the interaction effects involving diversification were not statistically significant. The findings indicate that SME wellbeing is associated more strongly with perceived exposure to instability than with structural petroleum dependency itself. Diversification appears beneficial as an independent source of business opportunity rather than as a confirmed buffer against petroleum-related vulnerability.
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