Analysis of the Characteristics Conditioning the Implementation of the GDPR by Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs
Analysis of the Characteristics Conditioning the Implementation of the GDPR by Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs

Summary/Abstract: Theoretical background: As of 25 May 2018, every entrepreneur doing business in the EU is obliged to adapt the operation of the business to the requirements under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (hereinafter: GDPR). The objective of the EU is to provide uniform protection for the per- sonal data of individuals (hereinafter: personal data) residing in the EU. Entrepreneurs with larger than medium-sized operations have successfully adapted their operations to comply with the legal requirements.However, it has been observed that micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs have faced challenges in implementing the changes brought about by the GDPR regulation.Purpose of the article: The paper aims to answer the question of what is the relationship between the adaptation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises from the Opolskie Voivodeship to the GDPR and characteristics of the entrepreneur such as the size of the enterprise, the location of the entrepreneur, the predominant activity and the gender of its managers.Research methods: This research paper provides an analysis of the outcomes of an empirical study. The study was conducted using a questionnaire technique on a sample of 425 micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs from the Opolskie Voivodeship. It aimed to investigate the influence of particular individual characteristics of an entrepreneur on the ability of their enterprise to adapt to the legal environment on the example of the GDPR. The study selected four characteristics for analysis: enterprise size, entrepre- neur’s location, prevailing economic activity, and gender of enterprise managers. Hypothesis verification was performed using Pearson’s non-parametric χ^2 independence test and the V-Cramér correlation coefficient. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted.Main findings: Based on the analysis, it has been confirmed that the adaptation of micro, small and medium-sized businesses from Opolskie Voivodeship to comply with the GDPR is subject to the unique characteristics of the entrepreneur. However, the verification of the hypothesis that the characteristics de- termining enterprise adaptation to GDPR by micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the Opolskie Voivodeship are their size, predominant business activity, location, length of business activity and gender of enterprise managers, showed that it is only partially correct.

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