Journal Article
Encouraging micro-enterprises to prepare for disasters

Worldwide, enterprises are affected by disasters such as cyclones and floods. Despite these negative impacts, many do not prepare for future disasters. Research on pro-environmental behavior suggests that changing the factors influencing people’s actions can lead to changes in behavior. However, it remains unclear if this applies to disaster preparedness, and what specific factors determine it. 

Our study seeks to identify quantitatively factors that influence enterprises’ disaster preparedness. First, it examines whether certain socio-psychological traits of entrepreneurs relate to how their enterprises prepare for disasters. Second, it tests whether showing enterprises visual information about six simple disaster preparedness activities affects their attitudes toward preparedness and their actual preparedness. We use data from a 2022 panel of Mozambican micro-enterprises and apply fixed effects regressions and randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluations. 

Our findings show that knowledge of climate change, descriptive norms, and egoistic values are linked to disaster preparedness. This is especially true for enterprises run by their owners compared to those with hired managers, and for larger micro-enterprises versus smaller ones. Providing information does not, on average, change disaster preparedness, though it does significantly improve preparedness among carpenters. 

Future interventions should explore combining information provision with addressing the socio-psychological determinants of disaster preparedness, such as enhancing specific social norms and increasing knowledge about climate change.