Abstract Using a cross-sectional survey of 1552 small and medium-sized enterprises in Sweden, we investigated the impact of crime on entrepreneurs’ attitudes and behaviors. Almost half of the respondents reported that their companies had suffered at least one crime in the prior five years. Businesses were particularly affected by theft/burglary, vandalism, invoice fraud, and cybercrime, but 24.7% of the respondents had not reported to the police the crimes committed against their companies. Entrepreneurs who employed a higher number of employees and who suffered higher economic losses were more likely to report. Many entrepreneurs indicated they lacked trust in authorities and public administration and chose to implement different crime prevention measures at their own expense. Crime also related to entrepreneurs’ opinions regarding prevention policies. Those directly affected by crime were in favor of more police patrolling the streets and tougher penalties for offenders. The results are discussed, considering the necessities and priorities in crime prevention, which must include entrepreneurs as stakeholders.
Bielik et al. (Tue,) studied this question.