INTEGRATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS: A STUDY OF ZAMBIA

The goal of this study was to use Zambia as a case study to investigate the adoption of risk management integration, or RMI for short in this paper. The study took into account both financial institutions (FI) and non-financial institutions (NFI) when comparing the parameters relevant to the scope of the RMI. The research problem was that while all businesses are getting increasingly exposed to high risk, they are not responding proportionately by increasing their RMI. Despite the fact that many studies on the benefits of RMI in organisations have been published, this has persisted. There is a gap between what should be embedded in risk management and what has been implemented. Since many businesses have suffered as a result, it is important to ascertain the scope and factors affecting RMI in businesses. Data were collected using a mixed-method approach with a sample size of 158 people, including questionnaires for quantitative data and interviews for qualitative data. Data were analysed using Megastat, and all tests of hypotheses at 4 degrees of freedom (df) produced an average P-value of 1.57e-0.7 (P 0.05), indicating that the observed results were not the product of chance alone. The average Phi coefficient and Cramer’s V statistic were 0.486 and 0.343, respectively, indicating a moderate to substantial relationship between the variables. The findings revealed that RMI in Zambian FIs ranges from basic to mature but not yet advanced, that RMI is high in banks and rather basic in other FIs, and that NFIs lag behind in RMI. Twelve factors were discovered to impact risk management, including resources, firm size, industry type, managers’ motives and attitudes, environmental risks, regulators, internal-external fit, risk frameworks, and risk tools. Organisations, especially those without a formal risk framework, spend money on risk management. The findings have consequences for regulators, researchers, and decision-makers. Business organisations, including FIs and NFIs, are recommended to enhance RMI in order to establish a solid RMI system and allocate resources. Regulators are advised to prioritise RMI among important compliance concerns. More study is needed to determine how helpful each factor is at reducing risk.