This paper presents an empirical examination of firm characteristic determinants of the capital structure of a sample of 299 Irish small and medium sized firms (SMEs). Hypotheses formulated from pecking order and agency theories incorporating a financial growth life cycle approach are tested on...

We examine the three interlinked Irish crises: the competitiveness, fiscal and banking crises, showing how all three combined to lay a lethal trap for Ireland. Starting from a point of economic balance, a series of poor government decisions led to the country once dubbed the Celtic tiger become...

This study examines the decision by firm owners to apply, or not, for intermediated debt. Based on a sample of SMEs in 9 European countries over the period 2009-2012, drawing on the ECB SAFE database, we examine firm characteristics, institutional and cultural factors. We focus our analyses on...

This paper presents an empirical description of the capital structures of a sample of 299 Irish small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs hereafter). The sources of finance used by respondents are delineated by internal and external sources and viewed through a life cycle model. Recognising the...

This study examines the decision by firm owners not to apply for intermediated debt due to a perception that their application will be rejected for a sample of small firms in 9 European countries - these are “discouraged” borrowers. Compared with firms that applied for bank loans,...

Employing 90,000 firm-level observations from 13 countries over a seven year period, and controlling for an extensive set of firm-level characteristics, industry effects and country-level institutional variables, we provide a conceptual framework and empirical analysis of how culture influences...

This paper presents an empirical examination of firm characteristic determinants of the capital structure of a sample of 299 Irish small and medium sized firms (SMEs hereafter). Hypotheses are formulated from pecking order and agency theories incorporating a financial growth life cycle approach,...

This paper examines the financing of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs hereafter) through a financial growth life cycle paradigm. Reporting the financing patterns of 299 Irish SMEs across six age categories, the relative importance of sources of debt and equity finance for each age...