This work examines the leverage ratios of firms covered by the 1998 SSBF Survey. We find that small firms in general are significantly more levered than their larger counterparts in an industry-matched Compustat sample, but the difference is at least partially explained by differences in...

Capital structure choices and preferences in small, rapidly growing corporations are examined. As much of capital structure theory involves variables not easily or practically quantified (e.g., preferences, motivations, agency costs, information asymmetries) a survey was designed in an attempt...

The close link between the personal financial affairs of a small business owner and his or her firm has been noted in prior research. This article compares attitudes toward risk on the part of small business owners (SBOs) and non-small business owners (NSBOs). In addition, it compares the...

This paper contains a review of issues pertaining to the valuation of privately held businesses, noting significant inconsistencies in the rationale and approaches taken in the valuation process. In addition to suggesting that appraisers stay with the "tried and true" rather than testing the...

The small business literature frequently refers to the concept of a “finance gap” in order to explain differences in the capital structures of small and large firms. However, little evidence, if any, exists to support this “finance gap” explanation. This paper, while canvassing the...

Two main approaches have been utilized to explain the relationship between entrepreneurs and their investors. The first is based on the separation of ownership and management i.e. the so-called principal-agent approach. The second emphasizes trust and cooperation in the relationship. This...

A simple single-period model of entrepreneurial capital structure choice under conditions of informational asymmetry is developed. The uncertain terminal cash flow generated by a business venture is assumed to depend on both the amount of effort provided by the entrepreneur and the quality of...

We empirically examine a sample of over 350 entrepreneurial firms that successfully receive an SBA guaranteed loan. The first portion of the paper contains descriptive statistics that lend anecdotal evidence concerning the organization type of borrowers, the incidence of collateral, the reasons...

The existing finance literature is inadequate with respect to its coverage of the debt structure of small and medi-um sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the role of trust in accessing finance for such enterprises is under-investigated. This paper presents a mathematical model for optimizing...

The article analyzes the factors determining the capital structure of the Spanish small and medium enterprises [SMEs]. The analysis is grounded on the agency theory, the signalling approach and the pecking order theory. In particular, the article provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis...