Perceived regulatory compliance in micro-firms: The case of English accommodation providers

Abstract

Business regulation is only successful when firms comply. Compliance is determined by several factors, including knowledge-of/attitude-towards regulation, which we suggest consists of both burden and value. Existing literature generally ignores regulatory value and focuses on larger firms in “high-risk” industries. We explore Perceived Own-Firm and Perceived Competitor Compliance in English accommodation micro-firms. Perceived Own-Firm Compliance exceeds Perceived-Knowledge of regulation, and has the strongest (positive) association with Perceived-Value. Perceived Competitor Compliance is thought to be very low and is (negatively) associated with Perceived-Value and Perceived-Burden. Furthermore, the factors associated with greater Perceived Own-Firm Compliance are associated with lower Perceived Competitor Compliance.