THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT OF SME

Numerous research studies deal with the issue of researching the impacts on credit risk determinants in the SME segment. The study of economic factors that are easier to quantify from methodological point of view, and which prevent complex evaluation of causality of interest rate risk and the discovery of various social barriers dominate. This consistent fact forms a platform in designing the research to introduce a model of dependency of effective credit risk management in the SME segment on significant social and economic factors. Empirical research was carried out in the Czech business environment in 2017 on a sample of 352 enterprises. The structural analysis modeling (SEM) was the main analytical method. The research results confirmed the fact that an effective approach to managing the SME's credit risk is determined by a number of factors of a non-economic nature. The most important are education and family environment. These are followed by economic factors, such as a relationship with banks, financial knowledge in the area of capital and payment discipline. The multi-spectral dimension of the findings and causality also opened up a wide discussion and prepared a high-quality data research base for further deeper exploration of this issue.