HUMAN RESOURCES AS A RISK FACTOR OF THE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES ACTIVITIES

Human resources in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) present a significant research area of scholarship. Researchers have stressed the importance of human resources in SMEs to enhance these enterprises' competitiveness and economic performance. Human resources also play an inevitable role in strategic management as well. The main aim of the paper is to evaluate the perception of the selected aspects of human resources as risk factors that could affect the activities of 172 Slovak agricultural SMEs. The results of this research showed, that the most important risk factor for SME entrepreneurs, is the qualification of employees. The differences in the perception of selected aspects of human resources according to the size category of SMEs, the region in which they operate, and the educational level of entrepreneurs were not confirmed.