Managing Enterprise Risks for Sustainability: A Study on Commercial State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Namibia

The COVID-19 pandemic affected organisations worldwide, underscoring the need for effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). This study explores how pandemic-related challenges affected Namibian commercial state entities, examining existing risk processes, key requirements, and obstacles to ERM implementation. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a quantitative survey of 384 cSOE employees assessed risk management capacity and ERM understanding, followed by interviews with 10 management participants on ERM implementation challenges and recommendations. Using Pearson’s correlation in SPSS, relationships between variables were assessed, and linear regression was used to assess impact. Qualitative data analysis used ATLAS. ti for thematic and gap analyses. Findings revealed that challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic had small-to-medium negative effects on the performance of cSOEs in Namibia (p<0.001). A strong positive relationship was found between RM effectiveness and risk communication (r=0.68, p<0.001), risk documentation (r=0.52, p<0.001), ERM execution and a competent leadership team (r=0.75, p<0.001) and skilled personnel (r=0.68, p<0.001). Shortage of risk-trained staff, limited stakeholder engagement, resource constraints, and outdated technology hinder ERM implementation; hence, future studies should explore the financial impact of ERM implementation, particularly in resource-limited settings.