In their own words, the perceived constraints to declared goal attainment by SME owners: a view from New Zealand

In SME governance, previous studies examined either motives for starting a business (financials, lifestyle, independence) or obstacles faced by SME owners. This study integrates these aspects, exploring self-set goals for starting businesses and perceived constraints hindering attainment of these goals. Internal and external constraints are distinguished, representing owners/managers’ limitations versus external impositions. Utilising partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), a contemporary analytical approach, we employ the PLS algorithm and bootstrapping analysis on surveyed New Zealand SMEs to investigate the link between SME goals and constraints. Our findings reveal two external constraints (government, compliance costs) and two internal constraints (business capability, partnership) impacting owners/managers’ achievement of independence and financial goals. Notably, external and internal constraints demonstrate comparable influence on business objectives. Moreover, independence emerges as a more significant and affected goal compared to financials, aligning with prior research emphasising owners’ pursuit of independence rather than growth.