FINANCING OF WOOD-PROCESSING FAMILY BUSINESSES: A SURVEY IN SLOVAKIA

In the current global economy, family businesses play an important role as one of the main driving forces of economic growth and employment. Their unique nature and approach to financial decisions sets them apart from non-family businesses. This study identifies the critical forms of financing in the family business segment in the wood-processing industry in Slovakia. The introduction to the issue addresses the importance of the business community. It highlights that family businesses often consider not only economic factors but also emotional and cultural aspects in their financial decisions. Various factors that influence the financial decision-making processes of family businesses are examined, including their tendency to prefer their funding sources and their risk aversion. The available literature focuses on the importance of family businesses in the global context and their recent legislative support in Slovakia. It also analyses the status and challenges of the Slovak wood-processing industry and its link to the support of family businesses. The methodological aspects of this study combine the analysis of secondary sources with primary research conducted through questionnaire methods. Up to 491 enterprises participated in the survey, of which 392 were family businesses in the wood-processing industry in Slovakia. The survey results show that family businesses prefer internal funding sources and only use external sources to a limited extent. In contrast, a significant number of companies like a combination of both. There has yet to be a predominance of credit use in the form of working capital loans. Recommendations for future research include a more detailed examination of why family businesses prefer internal funding sources and how external sources could be used more effectively.