The principal aim of this paper is to test how firm characteristics affect Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) capital structure. We carry out an empirical analysis over a panel data of 6482 non?financial Spanish SMEs along the five-year period 1994?1998, modelling the leverage ratio as a function...

This paper proposes a historically-grounded mechanism-design model of corporate finance, with two-side risk aversion under limited contract enforceability, where (inside) equity held by entrepreneurs, debt and (outside) equity coexist. This capital structure shares optimally the...

In this paper, we explore two of the most relevant theories that explain financial policy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs): pecking order theory and trade-off theory. Panel data methodology is used to test the empirical hypotheses over a sample of 6482 Spanish SMEs during the five-year...

The objective of this work is to analyse the factors motivating firms to follow a conservative (or low-leverage) financial policy over several years. We carry out a study on a sample of 1,396 Spanish firms in the period 1993-2001. Using logit regression and various difference of means analyses,...

This paper analyzes the relationship between the dividend and debt policies, firm risk and the director’s ownership. Firstly, the results show that the payment of dividends reduces the risk and the leverage, and increases the ownership. Secondly, the firm risk presents a negative effect on the...

In the advent of Customer Relationship Management, a more accurate profile of the consumer is needed. The objective of this paper is to show the usefulness of knowing consumer¿s complete utility function through his/her marginal utilities. This approach allows one to form groups of individuals...

This paper analyzes changes in capital structure behavior in a sample of Spanish venture capital (VC) backed companies that may occur after a VC investment due to the certification effect provided by VC investors. Our results show significant changes in determinants such as tangibility, size and...

This paper examines whether Working Capital Management (WCM) is sensitive to market imperfections such as asymmetric information, agency conflicts or financial distress. We find that firms have a target investment in working capital and that they take decisions in order to achieve this. In...

This paper analyses the debt maturity structure of the small and middle sizedfirms using the trade-off reward risk associated to the use of short-term loans.Therefore, a sample of 11.533 small and middle Spanish manufacturing firms from year1997 through 2001 was used. The results of our study...

Inferences about the coefficient values of a model estimated with a linear regression cannot be made when both the dependent and the independent variable are part of an accounting (semi) identity. The coefficients will no longer indicate a causal relation as they must adapt to satisfy the...