In an era marked by multi-crisis environments, the significance of corporate finance and credit ratings amplifies, especially for German small- and medium-sized family firms, often constrained in accessing capital markets. This thesis investigates how family firms employ impression management...

Start-ups, especially those in high-tech industries, are an important force for innovation. They contribute to the competitive success of the economy, and help to create new jobs. Bank financing is the most important source of external credit for newly established firms. In the last two decades,...

Start-up firms often face difficulties in raising external funds. Employing a unique panel dataset covering 9,715 start-up firms over the period 2007-2009, we find that high-tech startups are less likely to use bank finance and face more difficulties in raising bank finance than low-tech...

Ratings agencies have currently been strongly criticised for what role they have played before and during the 2008 global financial crisis. One implication was that rating agencies operating in the European Union must now be registered by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)....

This study tests for financial constraints on Ramp;D investment and how they differ from capital investment. To identify constraints in the access to external capital, we employ a credit rating index. Our models show that internal constraints, measured by mark-ups, are more decisive for Ramp;D...