Author(s): Carvalho, Rodolfo Manuel Ferreira de
Date: 2015
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/6047
Origin: uBibliorum
Subject(s): Gibrat´S Law; Growth; Non-Surviving Smes; Panel Data; Surviving Smes; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão
Based on two samples: 1) 1830 surviving SMEs; and 2) 406 non-surviving SMEs, this paper contributes to the literature on SME growth, checking the differences between the growth determinants of surviving SMEs and non-surviving SMEs. The multiple empirical evidence obtained allows us to conclude that there are significant differences in the relationships between determinants and growth in surviving and non-surviving SMEs: 1) Gibrat`s Law is rejected in the context of surviving SMEs, but it is not in that of non-surviving SMEs; 2) in surviving SMEs, age is a restrictive determinant of growth, with R&D expenditure, debt, government subsidies and labour productivity being determinants stimulating growth, whereas in non-surviving SMEs, R&D expenditure and debt are restrictive determinants of growth, but age, government subsidies and labour productivity are neither positive nor restrictive determinants of growth; and 3) cash flow is a positive determinant of growth in both surviving and non-surviving SMEs, but it is of greater importance for the growth of non-surviving SMEs than for that of surviving SMEs. The empirical evidence obtained allows us to make suggestions to SME owners/managers and political decision-makers.
