It found having the right staff, leadership, management processes and funding were the key success factors for Kiwi businesses.
But it also found that 78 per cent of businesses surveyed valued work-life balance as much as growing their business, while 58 per cent said they would rather focus on productivity and efficiency over growth.
Of those surveyed just a third were actively growing although another 28 per cent said they were looking to grow.
A further 31 per cent said they would maintain their current size while 4 per cent planned to re-trench.
Businesses that were actively growing or looking to grow were more likely to be mid to large size companies while smaller businesses were more keen to maintain their current size according to the research.
Smeaton said the findings were even stronger for small to medium enterprises with more than one-third saying they are not looking to grow at all, 62 per cent being focused on productivity and efficiency and 80 per cent having a clear goal of work-life balance.
Smeaton said the findings provided an important insight into the attitudes of small and medium businesses which represented 97 per cent of New Zealand businesses.
"The SME [small and medium enterprise] sector is a significant growth engine for the New Zealand economy, but this research highlights a number of potential barriers to traditional success," he said.
"When we think about growth, we tend to think about hiring more staff, leasing more office space, and expanding our physical presence into new markets, but this research suggests it's time to redefine 'growth' on our own terms."
Smeaton said many businesses believed growth came at the expense of quality of life, which was a prized asset for New Zealanders.
"This attitude is likely to be limiting the aspirations of some businesses, however, we question whether things like success, growth and lifestyle really need to be mutually
exclusive."
Smeaton said there may be more that SMEs, in particular, can do to identify and manage risks that will enable them to overcome challenges and succeed on their terms.
People were seen as the key to business growth and success with 87 per cent rating staff with the right skill set as a top factor followed by 83 per cent pointing to the quality and reliability of staff.
But hindrances to success also included lack of quality staff as well as competitor activity, access to funding and economic stability.
"Business want help to connect with the right people, access to appropriate talent, access to technology and support with capital raising," the report noted.
The research also found Kiwi businesses tend to take a conservative approach to taking on risk with 42 per cent saying they had taken on moderate risk and only 11 per cent taking on larger risks when making business decisions.
Larger businesses were more likely to take larger risks but confidence in taking the risk was low across all business sizes with just 48 per cent saying they had a reasonable amount of confidence.
Stephen Mills, executive director of UMR which carried out the research on behalf of Suncorp, said there was some conservatism shown among businesses when talking about risk, with risks taken often framed as being "calculated or measured" risks.
"This careful, conservative approach is often attributed to 'Kiwis' so is it a surprise that its exhibited by a number of our businesses?"
Mills said some in the qualitative research had also been burned in the past or seen others fail.
"The impact of the GFC was still evident, with businesses quite cautious about the so-called recovery - which also impacted on willingness to take risks.
"For the 'risk-takers' in the research, they were clearly of the view that for a business to succeed they needed to take risks, so if a business was to take no risk, it was unlikely to reach its potential. So while it may be a success, it would not be as successful as it could be."
The index will be updated every two years.
