small business

On the basis of focused interviews with managers of foreign parent banks and their affiliates in Central Europe and the Baltic States, the development of small-business lending by foreign banks is analysed. It is found that the acquisition of local banks by foreign banks has not led to a persistent bias in these banks credit supply towards large multinational corporations. Instead, increased competition and the improvement of subsidiaries lending technologies have led foreign banks to gradually expand into the SME and retail markets.

This paper studies fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans to see how small firms manage their exposure to interest rate risk. The author concludes that the "fixed versus adjustable" dimension of financial contracting helps small U.S. firms ameliorate interest rate risk, and discuss the implications for risk management theories and the credit channel of monetary policy.

This paper analyzes the concept of barriers to entry. It explains that the concept is a static one and explores the inadequacy of the concept in a world with sunk costs, adjustment costs and uncertainty.

This paper aims at understanding the determinants of Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises’ competitiveness. By developing a conceptual model, the authors identify the sources of competitiveness of Italian SMEs. The model is tested using a unique database which collects data, for the year 2004, over a sample of 2,600 SMEs.

This paper aims at understanding the determinants of Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises’ competitiveness. By developing a conceptual model, the authors identify the sources of competitiveness of Italian SMEs. The model is tested using a unique database which collects data, for the year 2004, over a sample of 2,600 SMEs.

Based on an analysis of empirical articles published in the academic literature between 1999 and 2003, the authors examined the current state of the small business and entrepreneurship research in terms of its validity. The aim was to gain insight into the dominant methodological and statistical practices that currently shape the field, shed light on possible gaps, and compare these observations with the findings in the management literature.

The Office of Advocacy creates estimates of the number of employer and nonemployer businesses for recent years, since the newest available data have around a two-year lag. Advocacy estimates the number of nonemployers using growth rates from Internal Revenue Service’s sole proprietor count estimates.

Banking consolidation has continued to accelerate over the past several years, assisted by technological innovations in information management and statistical modeling, and by the large merger and acquisition (M&A) deals of the late 1990s. This paper provides a review of recent major studies conducted over the past several years.

The study identifies and analyses the factors that influenced the adoption of new technologies in SMEs. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been used as proxy of new technologies. The findings of the study suggest that industry-specific characteristics such as skill- and export-intensiveness have bearings on the type of ICT adoption.

The research is based on the empirical survey conducted among the members of Estonian Association of SMEs. The study involved goal setting, development and implementation of strategies, competitive advantages striven for, orientation toward growth, and factors hindering enterprises’ development.