Linking financial ecosystem and the growth of young SMEs: evidence from Spanish regions

This study analyses the effect of the financial ecosystem on the growth of young firms at the regional level. This subject is relatively new in entrepreneurial finance research since most of the previous studies have failed to consider all the alternative sources of external financing to which young...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Vega Pascual, Manuela, Di Pietro, Filippo, Palacín Sánchez, María José, Alfalla Luque, Rafaela
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/164241
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/164241
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-024-00815-4
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Firm growth
Young SMEs
Regional financial development
Entrepreneurial finance
Descripción
Sumario:This study analyses the effect of the financial ecosystem on the growth of young firms at the regional level. This subject is relatively new in entrepreneurial finance research since most of the previous studies have failed to consider all the alternative sources of external financing to which young firms have access. This study highlights the relevance of alternative resources and actors in the financial environment beyond traditional banks, such as crowdfunding, business angels, peer-to-peer lending, accelerators, incubators and venture capital. Specifically, our research incorporates a proxy of the development of the financial ecosystem based on survey data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Moreover, our investigation uses a sample of young small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) representing every Spanish region between 2008 and 2015. The empirical analysis applies panel data methodology. The results show that the growth of young enterprises depends on developing a regional financial ecosystem, evidencing that better access to external finance favours the growth of young firms. This relationship is even more relevant among early-stage firms, which suggests that firm age moderates the relationship between the regional financial ecosystem and the growth of young SMEs.