The Role of Small and Medium Businesses in the Formation of Pleasure Economy

Abstract

Purpose: This paper is aimed at determining the role of small and medium businesses in the formation of pleasure economy. Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes the regression analysis method, which is used to determine the influence of the share of small and medium businesses on the level of happiness in the economy. In addition, the authors use the method of experiment in the form of a survey which is intended to determine the differences in the level of happiness of small and medium businesses compared to that of big business. Findings: Significant differences have been identified in the needs of big, small and medium business owners. When doing big business, its owners have the needs that are referred to in this paper as “lucratively inclined”, because their satisfaction makes only business owners happy and in many cases causes costs for stakeholders. In contrast, small and medium business owners have fundamentally different needs referred to as “not lucratively inclined”, because their satisfaction makes business owners happy and does not cause any costs for stakeholders, but rather can provide benefits for them. Originality/value: it has been substantiated that small and medium businesses have significant potential to help build pleasure economy, no less than that of big business. However, as exemplified by present-day Russia, an adverse market environment forces small and medium business owners to abandon the idea of ​​doing business that brings pleasure with a view to making it break-even and maintaining their market positions. As a result, currently small and medium businesses are of little importance in building pleasure economy. A set of recommendations has been put forward that will help maintain the efficiency and competitiveness of small and medium businesses while bringing pleasure to its owners. This will provide a significant increase in the contribution of small and medium businesses to the formation of pleasure economy.