Enterprise Risk Management and Performance Improvement: A Study with Brazilian Nonfinancial Firms

Abstract

Purpose – This research aimed to study the relationship between Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and performance improvement.

Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection that was passed to managers of nonfinancial companies listed among the 500 largest and best firms in Brazil. The data from this study were analyzed with descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of correlation and association.

Findings – The results showed that the main drivers of risk management were regulation, stakeholder demands, and business competitiveness. Among the practices that have been used, managers spotlight the utility of basic methods, more subjective, while technical methods, more quantitative, were of secondary importance. It was evidenced that the risks were weighted in the main activities of the organization. As a result, it was demonstrated that improved performance is associated with the maturity level of risk management and the level of stakeholders’ involvement in risk management.

Research limitations/implications – Other researches could examine how this process was developed in other countries and expand the number of organizations studied.

Practical implications – This study provides empirical evidence about theorist assumptions about the relationship between ERM and performance improvement.

Social implications – This study demonstrates the importance of human aspects for the processes of risk management and how external factors can influence this process.

Originality/value – It gives a broader and deeper comprehension of the process of risk management at nonfinancial firms in Brazil.

Citation

Silva De Souza, R., Da Silva Gomes, S.M., Leal Bruni, A., Garcia De Oliveira, G., Santos Sampaio, M. and Almeida De Faria, J. (2012), "Enterprise Risk Management and Performance Improvement: A Study with Brazilian Nonfinancial Firms", Davila, A., Epstein, M.J. and Manzoni, J.-F. (Ed.) Performance Measurement and Management Control: Global Issues (Studies in Managerial and Financial Accounting, Vol. 25), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 275-298. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3512(2012)0000025014