Herding relates to behaviour by investors that involves mimicking the public actions and decisions of others rather than following privately held views and information. Herding is widely believed to be an important behavioural feature of financial markets, particularly in times of crisis, but...

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...