DigitalUM :: Browsing by Subject "SMEs"

Browsing by Subject "SMEs"

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Open Access
A stakeholder-Theory approach to environmental disclosures by small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
(2008) Husillos, Javier; Álvarez-Gil, María J.
The aim of this article is to analyse the reasons that drive Spanish Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to disclose environmental information. The contribution of the present research to the literature on corporate social reporting is threefold: (i) it widens the scope of Stakeholder Theory; (ii) it analyses the environmental reporting disclosures of SMEs; and, for the first time in this field, (iii) it applies Structural Equation Modelling. The results show that stakeholder salience, manager strategic posture and resource availability, though insufficient in themselves, are necessary to explain the environmental performance of SMEs. Moreover, an analysis of the disclosures they make in their annual accounts brings to light the impossibility of gaining insight into the real environmental behaviour of these firms, which raises reasonable doubts over the effectiveness of the relevant environmental reporting regulation in Spain
Embargo
Bank concentration and SME borrower discouragement: the moderating influence of banking system stability
(Taylor and Francis Group, Routledge, 2025-08-19) Hernández-Cánovas, Gines; Mol-Gómez-Vázquez, Ana; Martínez-Solano, Pedro; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
This study uses a multilevel analysis to examine how banking system stability influences the relationship between bank concentration and borrower discouragement. The analysis uses 26 rounds of the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises for 11 Eurozone countries between 2010 and 2022. We find that banking system stability reduces or even reverses the negative effect of bank concentration on borrower discouragement for small and medium-sized enterprises. Specifically, increased bank concentration reduces borrower discouragement when banking system stability, measured using the Z-score, is above certain thresholds: 20.6 for term loans and 21.97 for credit lines. These thresholds correspond to the 90th–95th percentiles of banking system stability in the data, meaning that only about 5–10% of firms operate in banking systems sufficiently stable for concentration to reduce discouragement. Micro firms benefit the most from bank concentration in stable banking systems but suffer the most in unstable ones. Additionally, increased bank concentration discourages credit line borrowers more than term loan borrowers in unstable systems, with the opposite effect in stable systems. Overall, maintaining banking system stability is essential for realizing the potential benefits of bank concentration, especially for small firms.
Open Access
Common distress and reorganization patterns by sector and country for SMEs in six European countries using PDFR
(Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2023) Tascón, María-Teresa; Laitinen, Erkki K.; Castaño, Francisco J.; Castro, Paula; Jokipii, Annukka
This study contributes to identifying common distress patterns in financial indicators by sector and country in Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain as well as ex-post signals of reorganization success. We use PDFR that provides a distance-to-failure measure and allows us to track the behavior of different features of the firm proxied by accounting ratios. Our results show that indicators of financial structure, followed by working capital, profitability on assets, margin over sales and cash flow to assets, are the most discriminant variables of failed SMEs across all sectors and countries analyzed. By contrast, during reorganization, return on assets and its components are the main initial drivers of recovery, whereas the financial structure factors show a progressive but slow recovery. Boosting and Z-scores are used for robustness.
Open Access
Corporate Social Responsibility as a vehicle for ensuring the survival of construction SMEs. The mediating role of job satisfaction and innovation
(2021) Palacios Manzano, Mercedes; León Gómez, Ana; Santos Jaén, José Manuel; Economía Financiera y Contabilidad
The purpose of this article is to analyze the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on performance through the mediating role of job satisfaction and innovation in a sample of 503 Spanish SMEs construction. Developing a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test our hypotheses, the results provide evidence that performance is influenced by CSR, job satisfaction, and innovation. These effects are not only direct and positive but, indirect effects which allow the positive effects of CSR to be enhanced are also obtained. This article by empir ically examining the relationship between CSR, job satisfaction, innovation, and performance provides an essential contribution to the literature by filling a gap related to the direct effect of CSR on performance, and the indirect effect by the mediation of job satisfaction and innovation. The findings show significant implications for policymakers and managers. The findings can help managers to invest in CSR, which, by improving the well-being of their employees and the innovative capacity of their company, will lead to better performance and the capacity to adapt to the current changing environment. In addition, our results provide evidence that SMEs with fewer resources should be able to count on public support to carry out CSR practices.
Open Access
Does tax avoidance affect productivity in SMEs?
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2024-05-23) Sánchez-Ballesta, Juan Pedro; Yagüe, José; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
Purpose The present paper examines whether tax avoidance practices affect productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study also analyses whether this association is moderated by firm size, firm financial constraints, management control of cash flows, or information risk. Design/methodology/approach This study used a sample of Spanish SMEs for the period 2006-2020. Tax avoidance was measured as the difference between the statutory tax rate and the effective tax rate, and three proxies for productivity were used: overall productivity, capital productivity and labour productivity. Firm fixed effects regressions, propensity score matching and change regressions were used to address the potential sample selection bias and endogeneity between tax avoidance and productivity. Findings The results of the empirical analysis suggest that tax avoidance increases productivity in SMEs. This beneficial effect of tax avoidance was found to be higher in small firms than in medium-sized firms, but smaller in firms that faced financial constraints. Furthermore, the findings showed that the tax avoidance effect on productivity was stronger in firms where managers had less control over the cash flow –i.e. dividend-paying firms–, and weaker in firms with lower quality of financial information – i.e. firms with qualified audit reports. Research implications This study contributes to the research on the economic consequences of tax avoidance by examining its impact on firm-level productivity in SMEs. From additional analyses, the findings of the study suggest that the positive effect of tax avoidance on firm productivity depends on firm size, the financial slack of the firm, and the costs of agency conflicts and information problems associated with tax avoidance. Practical implications The results of this study have implications for SMEs, suggesting that cash flows obtained through tax avoidance, if properly used, may increase firm productivity. In planning their tax avoidance practices, SME managers could take advantage of specific tax incentives designed for SMEs, which is particularly relevant given the low productivity levels of these firms. The findings also highlight the importance of maintaining high-quality information and implementing mechanisms to mitigate the agency risks associated with tax avoidance to enhance the productivity of SMEs. Social implications This study provides important insights to policymakers on SME tax policy, supporting the special tax rules for SMEs − in force in many OECD and EU countries− which aim to create an environment conducive to SME growth. The findings of the study also have macroeconomic implications, given the importance of firm productivity as a determinant of economic growth and the relevance of SMEs in most national economies. Originality/value This study provides novel empirical evidence on the effects of tax avoidance on firm-level productivity in SMEs. Despite the prevalence of SMEs as the predominant type of organization in most countries, no prior research has comprehensively examined this issue for this type of firm. This research question was addressed by considering proxies for overall, capital, and labour productivity and by examining how SME characteristics affect this relationship.
Open Access
Effects of open climate on innovation radicality in SMEs: relevance of hidden innovation
Barba Aragon, María Isabel; Jimenez Jimenez, D.; Valle Mestre, L.; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
 Purpose: Open innovation is an issue that has aroused great interest in recent years. The need to create an environment that facilitates the creation of ideas is essential for the implementation of a series of changes in organizational practices and routines that lead to the launch of new products. However, due to the more behavioral nature and the lesser externalization of these changes introduced in the company's internal processes, how this process occurs has not been studied in depth. However, there are few empirical studies on the climate of open innovation in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The objective of this study is to analyse the effect of an open innovation climate on both incremental and radical product innovation. Moreover, it specifically analyses the mediating role played by hidden innovation in this relationship.  Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used in this study was based on a survey of 213 Spanish SMEs, subsequently applying the structural equation methodology to contrast the results.  Findings: The results indicate that the open innovation climate offers significant competitive advantages to SMEs. First, the open innovation climate in SMEs favorably influences product innovation (both incremental and radical). Secondly, it is observed that hidden innovations are essential to obtain product innovations. Finally, evidence of the mediating effect of hidden innovation has been obtained.  Originality: The main interest of this work is based on the importance of hidden innovation for the development of innovations. Our study shows how organizations must make a series of organizational changes prior to the implementation of more visible innovations materialized in products. For this task, the creation of a favorable climate for the development of new ideas becomes a fundamental task. On the other hand, this study has focused on SMEs, which tend to have fewer means for the development of the right conditions for innovation and are often more neglected by scientific research.  Research limitations/implications: Although the literature often focuses on visible innovation, materialized in product development, this study once again demonstrates the importance of other types of innovations that are necessary to launch new products. This is especially relevant for SMEs that, with limited resources, must be creative enough to involve their personnel in introducing changes that will lead to new products. This paper attempts to strengthen the previous literature on hidden innovation by contributing to the understanding of how SMEs improve their innovative processes. However, the study has the limitations inherent to cross-sectional studies.  Practical implications: Managers of companies involved in innovation processes should pay more attention to creating conditions that facilitate the creation of new ideas or the implementation of less visible but necessary practices to develop innovation.
Open Access
Financial reporting incentives, earnings management, and tax avoidance in SMEs
(2020) Sánchez Ballesta, Juan Pedro; Yagüe, José; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
This paper examines earnings management and tax aggres siveness in SMEs. First, we find a discontinuity around zero in the distribution of earnings but not in the distribution of earnings change, and provide evidence that SMEs engage in accrual and real earnings management to beat zero earn ings, to achieve a stable net income over the years, and also when in situations of financial constraints. We also find an overall negative association between income-increasing earnings management and non-conforming tax avoidance. In addition, we show that SMEs are less tax aggressive in those settings where we have previously found that they engage in upward earnings management (i.e., small profits, smoothed net income, financial constraints). This suggests that under financial reporting incentives to report higher earnings, upward earnings management clearly prevail over tax aggressiveness. On the contrary, in settings without the pressure to report higher earnings, our findings suggest that SMEs may simultaneously engage in conforming and non conforming tax avoidance to reduce taxes paid
Open Access
Redes empresariales en el sector turismo y servicios para la mejora de competitividad en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México: caso Parque Central Hermanos Escobar y PYMES aledañas
(Murcia: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia, 2016) Urrutia de la Garza, Jesús Alberto; Cuevas Contreras, Tomás Jesús
La presente investigación, muestra la cooperación y relación que existe entre las pequeñas y medianas empresas (Pymes) del sector turismo y servicios circunvecinos al Parque Central Hermanos Escobar (PCHE) en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (CJS), y su colaboración con este último. Se destacan las relaciones derivadas entre empresas y actores de la zona bajo el marco de la competitividad. En los resultados se presenta la red informal existente, así como la red que se generaría si estas empresas trabajaran bajo condiciones de cooperación, coordinación e intercambio de información y clientes entre los actores involucrados. También, se destaca la iniciativa empresarial para la creación de una red que formalice las relaciones, pero una falta de liderazgo para dirigirla, así como un distanciamiento con el gobierno. Sin embargo, se perciben oportunidades para potenciar las capacidades de aprendizaje e innovación, la reproducción de iniciativas empresariales exitosas y la conformación de redes.
Open Access
Simplificación en el suministro de información financiera por parte de las pymes, diferencias entre los planes generales de contabilidad
(2018) Santos Jaén, José Manuel; Alcalá Gázquez, María del Mar; Economía Financiera y Contabilidad
Con el objetivo de conseguir la tan ansiada convergencia europea en cuanto a información financiera se refiere, tuvo lugar en España en el año 2007 la aprobación del nuevo Plan General de Contabilidad (PGC) con el que se adaptó nuestra legislación contable a las Normas Internacionales de Contabilidad y a la Normas Internacionales de Información Financiera. Siguiendo con los mandatos europeos que persiguen reducir las cargas de información financiera a suministrar por las pymes, nuestra legislación adoptó la solución de establecer dos PGC uno para las pymes y otro para las grandes empresas. El objetivo del presente estudio ha sido analizar cuáles son las principales diferencias existentes entre ambos realizando para ello un examen exhaustivo de ambos textos normativos. De este trabajo se deduce que las diferencias entre ambos planes contables radican principalmente en la supresión y/o modificación de determinadas normas de registro y valoración, que debido al tamaño de las pymes se espera no sean objeto de su intervención normal, como sería el caso de las transacciones con pagos basados en instrumentos de patrimonio o las combinaciones de negocios, así como en la información que contendrán las cuentas anuales. Códigos JEL: M41, M20, K20.
Open Access
Social capital and earnings management in small and medium firms
(2021-07-01) Sánchez Ballesta, Juan Pedro; Yagüe, José; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
In this study we examine the association between social capital and earnings management in small and medium firms (SMEs). Social capital, i.e. the community’s norms and networks, may play a role as an informal and external disciplining mechanism of managers and, therefore, affect earnings management practises in small and medium firms, less subject to formal internal and external monitoring than larger firms. We implement a cross-region analysis by using a sample of Spanish SMEs and employ three measures that consider sociological and economic dimensions of social capital: an index of social capital based on economic relationships and proxies for trust and civic engagement. We find a negative association between the proxies for social capital and earnings management. Hence, our findings suggest that managers of small and medium firms headquartered in regions of higher social capital are less likely to manage reported earnings. However, our findings also reveal that the relationship between social capital and earnings management practises in private SMEs depends on firm size.
Open Access
Subsidies for investing in energy efficiency measures: Applying a random forest model for unbalanced samples
(Elsevier Ltd., 2024-04-01) Álvarez Díez, Susana; Baixauli Soler, Juan Samuel; Lozano Reina, Gabriel; Rodríguez Linares Rey, Diego; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa
Investing in energy efficiency measures is a major challenge for SMEs, both for environmental and economic reasons. However, certain barriers often make it difficult to invest in such measures. Although public financial support helps to overcome economic barriers, public bodies face the challenge of identifying which SMEs display the greatest potential to invest in energy efficiency measures. By applying a random forest technique and by using sampling balancing techniques, this paper identifies the profile of industrial SMEs that might be potential beneficiaries of public aid, thereby helping public institutions to target their calls and direct their efforts towards this group of SMEs. Specifically, liquidity and indebtedness are found to be the most useful predictors for SMEs in the industrial sector. The results are robust and reveal that applying a random forest approach for unbalanced samples offers greater predictive capacity and statistical power than applying traditional estimation techniques. By identifying potentially benefiting firms, this work helps to boost the effectiveness of public subsidies and to improve the channeling of public funds, which ultimately favors investment in energy efficiency.
Open Access
Survival of financially distressed SMEs and out-of-court versus in-court reorganization: explanatory internal factors
(Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2021) Manzaneque, Montserrat; Merino, Elena; Sánchez, Jesús Antonio
The Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of 20th June 2019 on preventive restructuring frameworks, have highlighted the need to evaluate, the possibilities of restructuring insolvent companies, but viable in the future. Based on the Theory of Resources, this research aims to identify those internal factors that contribute to explain the differences in the outcome of failure SMEs. To do this, a sample of 6,285 Spanish SMEs that failed in the 2008-2010 period was used and the evolution of each of them during the 2011-2013 period is observed. We have two aims: (1) to identify the internal differences influencing the path of reorganizations versus liquidation of failed SMEs, allowing a diagnosis of the firmt’s economic and financial situation in order to prevent its disappearance; and (2) to recognize significantly internal differences between reorganized outof- court and those reorganized in-court. Specifically, our results reveal that the ability of the firm to create value and to manage the receivable and working capital financial design and the level of historical slack contribute to understand the differences between SMEs that are able to overcome difficult situations and survive of those that are liquidated. In addition, our results also reveal that the level of assets and debts are the main difference between firms that opt for an out-of-court reorganization and those that follow a judicial reorganization process
Open Access
Sustainability, corporate social responsibility, non-financial reporting and company performance: Relationships and mediating effects in Spanish small and medium sized enterprises
(2022-11-22) Ortiz Martínez, Esther; Marín Hernández, Salvador; Santos Jaén, José Manuel; Economía Financiera y Contabilidad
Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and non-financial reporting and their relationships with company performance are burning topics. Although all these terms are familiar to companies, specifically large ones, most European companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and studies explicitly addressing SMEs are limited. For this reason, this paper aims to fill the existent gap in the literature concerning SMEs by analyzing the relationship between sustainability, CSR, non-financial information, and performance. The objective of this study is to analyze several aspects: (1) The influence of pressures, incentives, and barriers on sustainability, (2) The influence of sustainability, CSR, and non-financial disclosure on performance, and (3) The mediating effect of CSR and non-financial disclosure. For this purpose, there has been an e-mail survey to managers, financial directors, or administration managers of Spanish SMEs. In addition, a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) model has been used on a final sample of 126 Spanish SMEs. The study's main outcome is that sustainability positively influences CSR and non-financial reporting in the case of SMEs. Therefore, regardless of the specific characteristics derived from the size of the company and the possible lack of resources, the results for SMEs align with those of large companies obtained by previous studies. This study has important academic/theoretical implications for SME managers and policymakers because implementing policies encouraging CSR practices and sustainability strategies will create a better society and positively impact SMEs' performance. © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access
Open Access
Tax avoidance and debt maturity in SMEs
(Wiley, 2024-01-30) Sánchez Ballesta, Juan Pedro; Yagüe, José; Economía Financiera y Contabilidad
We investigate how tax avoidance affects the maturity structure of debt in firms where tax avoidance costs are presumably low, namely SMEs. Previous research has shown that creditors of listed tax‐avoiding companies impose shorter maturities to more frequently reassess the tax avoidance risks in debt contracts. Using a sample of 110,690 firm‐year observations of Spanish SMEs over the period 2007–2020, we examine the relationship between tax avoidance and debt maturity and the channels driving this relationship. We find that tax‐avoiding SMEs show a longer debt maturity. This effect is stronger for SMEs with higher profitability, lower earnings management incentives, and higher reliability of financial reporting. We also find that tax avoidance reduces leverage and short‐term debt, increases future cash flows, and decreases future cash flow volatility. Overall, these findings suggest that, unlike large firms, SMEs use cash tax savings to reduce leverage and short‐term debt in their financial struc ture and that tax avoidance is positively valued by their lenders.
Open Access
Tax avoidance and the cost of debt for SMEs: Evidence from Spain
(2023) Sánchez Ballesta, Juan Pedro; Yagüe, José; Organización de Empresas y Finanzas; Facultades, Departamentos, Servicios y Escuelas::Departamentos de la UMU::Organización de Empresas y Finanzas
We investigate the effect of tax avoidance on the cost of debt for SMEs. Tax avoidance may increase a firm’s cash flows on one hand, but also increase the agency costs, the information risk, and the risk of scrutiny by tax authorities on the other, affecting the cost of debt in opposing ways. Using a sample of Spanish SMEs for the period 2007-2019, our findings show that tax-avoiding SMEs face lower debt costs, suggesting that the positive effects of tax avoidance prevail over the negative ones for SMEs. This finding is consistent with a more favourable assessment of SMEs’ tax avoidance activities by their key finance providers (banks), given SME unique characteristics and their lower agency costs.

Browsing by Subject "SMEs"

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