中小企业 外文文献
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研究中小企业融资要参考的英文文献在研究中小企业融资问题时,寻找相关的英文文献是获取国际经验和最佳实践的重要途径。
以下是一些值得参考的英文文献,涵盖了中小企业融资的理论背景、现状分析、政策建议以及案例研究等方面。
“Financing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Global Perspective”, by P.K. Agarwal, A.K. Dixit, and J.C. Garmaise. This book provides an comprehensive overview of the issues and challenges related to financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world. It presents an analytical framework for understanding the different dimensions of SME financing and outlines best practices and policy recommendations for improving access to finance for these businesses.“The Financing of SMEs: A Review of the Literature and Empirical Evidence”, by R. E. Cull, L. P. Ciccantelli, and J. Valentin. This paper provides a comprehensive literature review on the financing challenges faced by SMEs, exploring the various factors that influence their access to finance,including information asymmetries, lack of collateral, and limited access to formal financial markets. The paper also presents empirical evidence on the impact of different financing strategies on SME performance and outlines policy recommendations for addressing these challenges.“The Role of Microfinance in SME Finance: A Review of the Literature”, by S. Hossain, M.A. Iftekhar, and N. Choudhury. This paper focuses on the role of microfinance in financing SMEs and explores the advantages and disadvantages of microfinance as a financing option for SMEs. It also outlines the potential for microfinance to play a greater role in supporting SME development in emerging markets and provides policy recommendations for achieving this objective.“The Political Economy of SME Finance: Evidence fromCross-Country Data”, by D.J. Mullen and J.R. Roberts. This paper examines the political economy of SME finance, exploring the relationship between government policies, market institutions, and SME financing constraints. Usingcross-country data, the paper finds evidence that government policies can have a significant impact on SME access to finance and that countries with better market institutions are more successful in supporting SME development. The paper provides policy recommendations for improving SME financing in different political and institutional settings.“Financing SMEs in Developing Countries: A Case Study of India”, by S. Bhattacharya, S. Ghosh, and R. Panda. This case study explores the financing challenges faced by SMEs in India and identifies the factors that limit their access to finance, including government policies, market institutions, and cultural traditions. It also presents an in-depth analysis of the various financing options available to SMEs in India, such as informal credit markets, microfinance institutions, and banks, and outlines policy recommendations for enhancing access to finance for these businesses.这些文献提供了对中小企业融资问题的多维度理解,并提供了实用的政策建议和案例研究,有助于更好地解决中小企业的融资需求。
中小企业财务管理:以韩国为例外文文献翻译2014年译文哪3500字This paper examines the financial management practices of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) XXX 150 SMEs to investigate their financial management practices。
including financial planning。
financial control。
and financial n-making。
The results show that XXX in financial management。
including limited financial resources。
lack of financial expertise。
and difficulty in accessing external financing。
The study also findsthat SMEs with better financial management XXX and growth potential。
The findings XXX to the success of XXX.n:Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucialrole in the economy of South Korea。
accounting for more than 99% of all businesses XXX for more than 88% of the workforce (KoreaSmall Business Institute。
2013)。
Despite their importance。
XXX in financial management。
中小企业融资渠道中英文对照外文翻译文献Title: Financing Channels for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and English LiteratureIntroduction:Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in driving economic growth, job creation, and innovation. However, they often face challenges in accessing finance due to limited assets, credit history, and information transparency. This article aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of financing channels for SMEs, comparing existing literature in both Chinese and English.1. Overview of SME Financing Channels:1.1 Bank Loans:Traditional bank loans are a common financing option for SMEs. They offer advantages such as long-term repayment periods, lower interest rates, and established banking relationships. However, obtaining bank loans may be challenging for SMEs with insufficient collateral or creditworthiness.1.2 Venture Capital and Private Equity:Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) attract external investments in exchange for equity stakes. These financing channels are particularly suitable for high-growth potential SMEs. VC/PE investors often provide not only financial resources but also expertise and networks to support SMEs' growth. However, SMEs may face challenges in meeting the stringent criteria required by VC/PE firms, limiting accessibility.1.3 Angel Investment:Angel investors are wealthy individuals who provide early-stage funding to SMEs. They are often interested in innovative and high-potential ventures. Angel investments can bridge the funding gap during a company's initial stages, but SMEs need to actively seek out and convince potential angel investors to secure funding.1.4 Government Grants and Subsidies:Governments offer grants and subsidies to support SMEs' business development and innovation. These resources play a pivotal role in ensuring SMEs' survival and growth. However, the application process can be cumbersome, and the competition for these funds is usually high.1.5 Crowdfunding:Crowdfunding platforms allow SMEs to raise capital from a large poolof individual investors. This channel provides opportunities for SMEs to showcase their products or services and engage directly with potential customers. However, the success of crowdfunding campaigns depends on effective marketing strategies and compelling narratives.2. Comparative Analysis:2.1 Chinese Literature on SME Financing Channels:In Chinese literature, research on SME financing channels focuses on the unique challenges faced by Chinese SMEs, such as information asymmetry, high collateral requirements, and insufficient financial transparency. Studiesemphasize the importance of government policies, bank loans, and alternative financing channels like venture capital and private equity.2.2 English Literature on SME Financing Channels:English literature encompasses a broader range of financing channels and their implications for SMEs worldwide. It highlights the significance of business angel investment, crowdfunding, trade credit, factoring, and peer-to-peer lending. The literature also emphasizes the role of financial technology (fintech) in expanding SMEs' access to finance.3. Recommendations for SMEs:3.1 Enhancing Financial Literacy:SMEs should invest in improving their financial literacy to understand different financing options and strategies. This knowledge will help them position themselves more effectively when seeking external funding.3.2 Diversifying Funding Sources:To mitigate financing risks, SMEs should explore multiple channels simultaneously. A diversified funding portfolio can help SMEs access different sources of capital while reducing dependence on a single channel.3.3 Building Relationships:Developing relationships with banks, investors, and relevant stakeholders is crucial for SMEs seeking financing. Strong networks and connections can provide valuable support and increase the likelihood of securing funding.Conclusion:Access to appropriate financing channels is crucial for the growth and development of SMEs. This analysis of financing channels for SMEs, comparing Chinese and English literature, highlights the diverse options available. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each channel, SMEs can make informed decisions and adopt strategies that align with their unique business requirements. Governments, financial institutions, and other stakeholders should continue to collaborate in creating an enabling environment that facilitates SMEs' access to finance.。
中小企业激励机制外文翻译文献(文档含中英文对照即英文原文和中文翻译)原文:The performance inspection and drive mechanism As everyone knows, the incentive system is a modern enterprise system, one of the core content, is to establish the enterprise's core competitiveness the cornerstone of enterprise management is an integral part of the essence. Inspired the term "Chi Hay" as "so excited heart", that is to stimulate people's motives, the acts of people induced to produce a built-in momentum towards the desired goal of the process. As the name suggests, the so-called negative incentives is a breach of individual organizational goals to punish non-expected behavior, so that it does not recur, so that individual initiative the goal of moving in the right direction of transfer, disciplinary action for specific performance, economic sanctions, reduction in rank, descending pay-out and so on. In the modern enterprise management attaches great importance to the entrepreneurs are inspired, and often neglected the role ofnegative incentives, therefore, this article talk about the negative incentives in the enterprise management application.Negative incentives in the role of corporate governance1 Negative incentives to control employee behavior is a hidden "stop line"Just as the boundaries of morality and the law as beyond the boundaries of ethics is bound to be punished by law, a negative incentive is the case, has day-to-day business of the general code of conduct, management systems and so on, beyond the guidelines, the system will be subject to certain sanctions . Of course, the negative incentive measures and means to exist in most of the corresponding enterprise management system. Negative incentives as a "stop line", perhaps as a few employees noted that the staff actually control behavior played an indispensable role in the nurture of day-to-day, the staff, consciously or unconsciously, have accepted this kinds of negative incentive regulation, the invisible to the management of behavior of a virtuous cycle of sustained effect. For example, in the system provides that "a deduction for being late to work 100", all the staff all know can not be late, or else they would be punished, under normal circumstances, employees naturally developed a habit to go to work on time, managers applied only bound by a negative incentive mechanism to manage the entire enterprise of labor discipline, we can see, the hidden "stop line" how important.2 Negative incentives can play the role of a warning to othersOn more than a negative incentive systems are often bound by the boundaries of employee behavior, but this does not mean that all employees will comply with the agreed rules, as not all have the law will be law-abiding citizens, the total staff will be guilty of some kinds of errors Otherwise, the legal system and the enterprise system of negative incentives no longer necessary, which means, when the number of employees bound to overcome these consequences will be punished accordingly, and the nature of this punishment is mandatory and the threat of nature, the deterrent effect, often played the role of set an example and really make it impossible for workers to accept the psychological behavior of enterprise management respect, thereby enhancing self-management behavior. For example, suppose acompany in the month, a 3 million to go to work late, this month 3 business deduction 100 Yuan each, and to notice, it will make employees aware that such a negative incentive is not a means of display, but very good to maintain labor discipline of enterprises.3 Negative psychological motivations of employees is greater than the impact of recurrent excitationIs the so-called incentives are in line with the organizational goals of individual acts of reward expectations in order to make more of such acts appeared to raise the enthusiasm of individuals, mainly for employees, such as reward and recognition. However, employees are inspired to gradually dilute the psychological impact, especially for high-paying white-collar class, a survey showed that in China, a monthly salary of 5,000 Yuan higher than the class, for the reward in 10% of the amount of incentives, the overwhelming majority of staff "No feel" because of higher relative to their total remuneration for this award is insignificant, it is hardly surprising that they do not care, and often will fall into the hands of recognition used to "inertia" of the trap. And the psychological impact of negative incentive is huge and has a dual nature, from the physical point of view, under normal circumstances would have been able to get was not punishment, is a double loss and, more importantly, the spirit by combat, psychological fluctuations can be imagined, business incentives is the way through the negative psychological impact from the impact of their actions to achieve the purpose. As in the previous case, a late white-collar workers was 100 Yuan and deduction notice is very worried about this white-collar employees to change his awareness of his psychological impact was not able to be measured by money.4 The positive effect of negative incentivesSimply understood literally, it is often thought to play a negative incentive effect is negative, on the contrary, we in the enterprise management process is to play a positive effect of negative incentives. The above mentioned "stop line" or a warning to others, or all of the negative incentives or means to regulate employee behavior are, in order to conduct business management services. A few days ago, a research report that the current personnel management "can not post, the salary can be increased can not be reduced, the annualassessment is only good, competent, there is no or a very small number of incompetent," and many other phenomena have stemmed from not negative incentive system, which eventually led to a lack of passion and the entire collective vitality, creativity and enthusiasm is not high. Cases from the above analysis, the parties may be a punishment is negative, the negative side, but should be noted that if there are no such negative incentive measures, the wrongful act of a laissez-faire attitude of staff, we can imagine the fate of an enterprise will be How would, in fact, this is only a small number of people on the punishment, the effect is to enable enterprises to comply with the majority of "rules of the game", the positive effect is much larger than the negative effect; for the parties, the negative impact is only temporary, and only he recognized that errors and corrections, the final result is positive.5 The implementation of incentives can not be a negative biasIn the Constitution provides that "everyone is equal before the law," The same is true of negative incentives in the conduct of corporate management to achieve "equality before the negative incentives", which is the implementation of the incentive to be more accurate and appropriate degree of difficulty than Great. Negative incentives in the implementation is often different from the incentives, incentives are often biased in favor of the "icing on the cake," a little more less, less staff than accounting; and negative incentives are different, once the bias, employees will be over, will lead to enterprise management the authority of those who suffer, and even lead to ineffective corporate governance system. For example, an employee for being late, because employees can not be said that he was on his way traffic, there is no subjective error and give up their punishment, or the next because of "traffic" will be late, more and more managers because it is impossible to implement really traffic, managers can also be understood: As it is known that the peak period of work may be traffic congestion, why can not this early point of departure? Should not vary from person to person, such as a wife or relatives leadership to give up their punishment for being late, then all the systems will be a mere formality, corporate governance, sink into a chaotic state.6 In the face of negative incentives to managers to lead by exampleLeadership as a business, managers should be willing to "loss" itself, it is necessary to accompany staff to accept the burden of responsibility should be to enable the staff will not be convincing. In the power industry for many years of day-to-day management of the "monthly economic assessment methods accountability" and "Points management regulations" are two well-established management practices, these two approaches to the conduct of employees as defined in detail, the vast majority the majority of negative incentive measures, a smallnumber of positive incentives, which is a good part of punishment for the next level of employees, higher level managers to be a certain percentage of the associated penalties, since the theory is wrong on the lower level employees at least bear management responsibility, the penalties associated with negative incentive measures to implement greater interoperability, the higher level can say. There is also a subordinate enterprises, the establishment of the "three German banks" management approach, that is, professional ethics, social ethics and family virtues, and management areas within the eight-hour extension from the outside to eight hours to count each and every member of the "three ethics" of the gold, as a punishment "Three Morals" of loan interest, deposit interest rates as a reward, but the leadership of more severe joint and several liability, "Three Morals" of points is the average of employees, by employees of the system greatly recognition.1. One of the principles: incentives to vary from person to personBecause of the different needs of different staff, therefore, the same incentive effects of policy incentives will play a different. Even with a staff, at different times or circumstances, will have different needs. Because of incentives depending on the internal and the subjective feelings of the staff is, therefore, incentive to vary from person to person.In the formulation and implementation of incentive policies, we must first investigate each employee clearly what is really required. Required to organize, classify, and then to formulate appropriate policies to help motivate employees to meet these needs.2. Two principles: appropriate incentivesAppropriate incentives and penalties will not affect the incentive effect, while increasing the cost of incentives. Award overweight employees would have to meet the mood of prideand lost the desire to further enhance their own; reward incentives too light will not achieve the effect, or so employees do not have a sense of attention. Heavy penalties are unfair to make employees, or loss of the company's identity, or even slow down or damage arising from the emotions; leniency error will underestimate the seriousness of the staff, which will probably make the same mistake.3. The principle of three: fairnessThe fairness of the management staff are a very important principle, employees are any unfair treatment will affect his mood and work efficiency, and effectiveness of the impact of incentives. Employees to obtain the same score, we must receive the same level of incentives; the same token, employees committed the same error, but also should be subject to the same level of punishment. If you can not do this, managers would prefer not to reward or punishment.Managers deal with employees at issue, must have a fair mind, should not have any prejudices and preferences. Although some staff may allow you to enjoy, some you do not enjoy, but at work, must be treated equally and should not have any of the words and acts of injustice.1. Stimulate the transfer of staff from the results of equal to equal opportunities and strive to create a level playing field.For example, Wu Shimon at IBM from a clean start with the people, step by step to the sales clerk to the district person in charge, General Manager of China, what are the reasons for this? In addition to individual efforts, but also said that IBM should be a good corporate culture to a stage of development, that is, everyone has unlimited opportunities for development, as long as there is capacity there will be space for the development of self-implementation, which is to do a lot of companies are not, this system will undoubtedly inspire a great role of the staff.2. Inspire the best time to grasp.- Takes aim at pre-order incentive the mission to advance incentives.- Have Difficulties employees; desire to have strong demand, to give the care and timely encouragement.3. Want a fair and accurate incentive, reward- Sound, perfect performance appraisal system to ensure appropriate assessment scale, fair and reasonable.- Have to overcome there is thinning of the human pro-wind.- In reference salary, promotions, awards, etc. involve the vital interests of employees on hot issues in order to be fair.4. The implementation of Employee Stock Ownership Plan.Workers and employees in order to double the capacity of investors more concerned about the outcome of business operations and improve the initiative.Modern human resources management experience and research shows that employees are involved in modern management requirements and aspirations, and create and provide opportunities for all employees is to mobilize them to participate in the management of an effective way to enthusiasm. There is no doubt that very few people participated in the discussions of the act and its own without incentives. Therefore, to allow trade unions to participate in the management of properly, can motivate workers, but also the success of the enterprise to obtain valuable knowledge. Through participation, the formation of trade unions on the enterprise a sense of belonging, identity, self-esteem and can further meet the needs of self-realization.Set up and improve employee participation in management, the rationalization of the proposed system and the Employee Stock Ownership and strengthening leadership at all levels and the exchange of communication and enhance the awareness of staff to participate in ownership.5. Honor incentiveStaff attitude and contribution of labor to honor rewards, such as recognition of the meeting, issued certificate, honor roll, in the company's internal and external publicity on themedia reports, home visits condolences, visit sightseeing, convalescence, training out of training, access to recommend honor society, selected stars model, such as class.6. Concerned about the incentivesThe staff concerned about work and life, such as the staff set up the birthday table, birthday cards, general manager of the issue of staff, care staff or difficult and presented a small gift sympathy.7. CompetitiveThe promotion of enterprise among employees, departments compete on an equal footing between the orderly and the survival of the fittest.8. The material incentivesIncrease their wages, welfare, insurance, bonuses, incentive houses, daily necessities, wages promotion.9. Information incentivesEnterprises to communicate often, information among employees, the idea of communication, information such as conferences, field release, and enterprises reported that the reporting system, the association manager to receive the system date.译文:绩效考核与员工激励众所周知,激励制度是现代企业制度的核心内容之一,是确立企业核心竞争力的基石,是企业管理中的精髓组成部分。
中小企业成本管理研究外文翻译中文文献Cost Management in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A Research on Foreign LiteratureAbstractAs the backbone of the economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in creating jobs, stimulating innovation, and driving economic growth. However, they often face challenges in managing costs effectively. This article examines and analyzes foreign literature on cost management in SMEs. It explores various cost management techniques, such as activity-based costing, budgeting, and cost control, and highlights the importance of cost management in enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs. The findings provide valuable insights for SMEs to optimize their cost management practices and achieve long-term success in the competitive business environment.1. Introduction1.1 BackgroundCost management is an essential aspect of business operations, as it directly impacts the profitability and financial stability of a company. In SMEs, which typically have limited resources and face intense competition, effective cost management is even more crucial.1.2 ObjectivesThe primary objective of this research is to examine the foreign literature on cost management in SMEs and identify best practices and techniques thatcan be applied in the Chinese context. By understanding the experiences and strategies of SMEs in other countries, Chinese SMEs can learn from their successes and avoid potential pitfalls in cost management.2. Cost Management Techniques2.1 Activity-Based Costing (ABC)Activity-Based Costing is a cost allocation method that assigns costs to specific activities or cost objects based on their utilization of resources. This technique provides a more accurate understanding of the cost drivers in a company, enabling SMEs to allocate resources more effectively and identify areas for cost reduction.2.2 BudgetingBudgeting is a fundamental cost management tool that allows SMEs to plan and control their financial resources. By setting realistic and achievable budgets, SMEs can monitor their expenses, forecast future costs, and make informed decisions regarding resource allocation.2.3 Cost ControlCost control involves monitoring and regulating expenses to ensure that they remain within planned limits. SMEs can employ various cost control techniques, such as implementing cost-saving measures, negotiating favorable contracts with suppliers, and leveraging technology to streamline operations and reduce overhead costs.3. Importance of Cost Management in SMEs3.1 Enhanced CompetitivenessCost management enables SMEs to offer competitive prices without compromising on quality. By optimizing their cost structure, SMEs can improve their profit margins and gain a competitive edge in the market.3.2 Resource OptimizationEffective cost management allows SMEs to allocate their limited resources strategically. By identifying unnecessary costs and reallocating funds to key areas, SMEs can optimize their production processes and invest in critical areas such as research and development.3.3 Financial StabilityCost management helps SMEs maintain a stable financial position by minimizing the risk of running into cash flow problems or accumulating excessive debt. By controlling costs and ensuring efficient resource allocation, SMEs can safeguard their financial health and sustain long-term growth.4. ConclusionThis research on foreign literature emphasizes the significance of cost management in SMEs and provides valuable insights into proven techniques and strategies. By implementing effective cost management practices, SMEs can optimize their operational efficiency, enhance competitiveness, and achieve long-term success in an increasingly competitive business environment. This research serves as a guide for Chinese SMEs to improve their cost management practices and overcome challenges effectively. By integrating foreign experiences with localized strategies, SMEs can navigatethe complexities of cost management and position themselves for sustainable growth.。
文献信息:文献标题:Financing of SMEs(中小企业融资)国外作者:Jan Bartholdy, Cesario Mateus文献出处:London business review,2007(9),pp43-45字数统计:英文2124单词,10802字符;中文3529汉字外文文献:Financing of SMEsAbstractThe main sources of financing for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are equity, trade credit paid on time, long and short term bank credits, delayed payment on trade credit and other debt. The marginal costs of each financing instrument are driven by asymmetric information and transactions costs associated with nonpayment. According to the Pecking Order Theory, firms will choose the cheapest source in terms of cost. In the case of the static trade-off theory, firms choose finance so that the marginal costs across financing sources are all equal, thus an additional Euro of financing is obtained from all the sources whereas under the Pecking Order Theory the source is determined by how far down the Pecking Order the firm is presently located. In this paper, we argue that both of these theories miss the point that the marginal costs are dependent of the use of the funds, and the asset side of the balance sheet primarily determines the financing source for an additional Euro. An empirical analysis on a unique dataset of Portuguese SME’s confirms that the composition of the asset side of the balance sheet has an impact of the type of financing used and the Pecking Order Theory and the traditional Static Trade-off theory are rejected.For SME’s the main sources of financing are equity (internally generated cash), trade credit, bank credit and other debt. The choice of financing is driven by the costsof the sources which is primarily determined by costs of solving the asymmetric information problem and the expected costs associated with non-payment of debt. Asymmetric information costs arise from collecting and analysing information to support the decision of extending credit, and the non-payment costs are from collecting the collateral and selling it to recover the debt. Since SMEs’ management and shareholders are often the same person, equity and internally generated funds have no asymmetric information costs and equity is therefore the cheapest source.2. Asset side theory of SME financingIn the previous section we have suggested that SME’s in Portugal are financed using internal generated cash, cheap trade credits, long and short-term bank loans and expensive trade credits and other loans. In this section the motives behind the different types of financing are discussed.2.1. Cheap Trade creditsThe first external financing source we will discuss is trade-credits. Trade credits are interesting since they represent financial services provided by non-financial firms in competition with financial intermediaries. The early research within this area focused on the role of trade credits in relation to the credit channel or the so called “Meltzer” effect and in relation to the efficiency of monetary policy. The basic idea is that firms with direct access to financial markets, in general large well known firms, issue trade credits to small financially constrained firms . The more recent research breaks the role of trade credits into a strategic motive and financial motive for issuing and using these credits.Strategic motivesThe first theory centers on asymmetric information regarding th e firm’s products. Trade credits are offered to the buyers so that the buyer can verify the quantity and quality before submitting payments. By offering trade finance the supplier signals to the buyers that they offer products of good quality. Since small firms, in general, have no reputation then these firms are forced to use trade credits to signal the quality of their products. The use of trade credits is therefore driven by asymmetric information of the products and is therefore more likely to be used by small firms, if the buyer haslittle information about the supplier, or the products are complicated and it is difficult to asses their quality.The second strategic motive is pricing. Offering trade finance on favorable terms is the same as a price reduction for the goods. Thus firms can use trade credits to promote sales without officially reducing prices or use them as a tool for price discrimination between different buyers. Trade credits are most advantageous to risky borrowers since their costs of alternative financing are higher than for borrowers with good credit ratings. Thus trade credits can be used as tool for direct price discrimination but also as an indirect tool (if all buyers are offered the same terms) in favor of borrowers with a low credit standing.Trade credits are also used to develop long term relationships between the supplier and the buyers. This often manifests itself by the supplier extending the credit period in case the buyer has temporary financial difficulties. Compared to financial institutions suppliers have better knowledge of the industry and are therefore better able to judge whether the firm has temporary problems or the problems are of a more permanent nature.The last motive in not strictly a strategic motive but is based on transactions costs. Trade credits are an efficient way of performing the transactions since it is possible to separate between delivery and payment. In basic terms the truck drive r delivering the goods does not have to run around to find the person responsible for paying the bills. The buyer also saves transactions costs by reducing the amount of cash required on“hand” .Financing motivesThe basis for this view is that firms compete with financial institutions in offering credit to other firms. The traditional view of financial institutions is that they extend credit to firms where asymmetric information is a major problem. Financial institutions have advantages in collecting and analyzing information from, in particular, smaller and medium sized firms that suffer from problems of asymmetric information. The key to this advantage over financial markets lies in the close relationship between the bank and the firm and in the payment function. The financialinstitution is able to monitor the cash inflow and outflows of the firm by monitoring the accounts of the firm.But with trade credits non-financial firms are competing with financial institutions in solving these problems and extending credit. How can non-financial institutions compete in this market? Petersen and Rajan [1997] briefly discusses several ways that suppliers may have advantages over financial institutions. The supplier has a close working association with the borrower and more frequently visit s the premises than a financial institution does. The size and timing of the lenders orders with the supplier provides information about the conditions of the borrowers business. Notice that this information is available to the supplier before it is available to the financial institution since the financial institution has to wait for the cash flow associated with the orders. The use of early payment discounts provides the supplier with an indication of problems with creditworthiness in the firm. Again the supplier obtains the information before the financial institution does. Thus the supplier may be able to obtain information about the creditworthiness faster and cheaper than the financial institution.The supplier may also have advantages in collecting payments. If the supplier has at least a local monopoly for the goods then the ability to withhold future deliveries is a powerful incentive for the firm to pay. This is a particular powerful threat if the borrower only accounts for a small fraction of the suppliers business. In case of defaults the supplier can seize the goods and in general has a better use for them than a financial intermediary sizing the same goods. Through its sales network the supplier can sell the reclaimed goods faster and at a higher price than what is available to a financial intermediary. These advantages, of course, depend on the durability of the goods and how much the borrower has transformed them.If asymmetric information is one of the driving forces the explanation of trade credits then firms can use the fact that their suppliers have issued them credits in order to obtain additional credit from the banks. The banks are aware that the supplier has better information thus the bank can use trade credits as signal of the credit worthiness of the firm.That trade credits are in general secured by the goods delivered also puts a limit on the amount of trade credits the firm can obtain, thus the firm cannot use trade credits to finance the entire operations of the firm.In summary the prediction is that the level of asymmetric information is relatively low between the providers of trade credit and the borrowers due to the issuer’s general knowledge of the firm and the industry. In the empirical work below the variables explaining the use of trade credit are credit risk factors and Cost of Goods Sold. Since these trade credits are secured by the materials delivered to the firm, firms cannot “borrow” for more than the delivery value of the goods and services.2.2 Bank loansBanks have less information than providers of trade credit and the costs of gathering information are also higher for banks than for providers of trade credit. Providers of trade credits also have an advantage over banks in selling the collateral they have themselves delivered, but due to their size and number of transactions banks have an advantage in selling general collateral such as buildings, machinery etc. Banks therefore prefer to issue loans using tangible assets as collateral, also due to asymmetric information, they are less likely to issue loans to more opaque firms such as small and high growth firms. Banks are therefore willing to lend long term provided that tangible assets are available for collateral. In the empirical work below tangible assets and credit risk variables are expected to explain the use of long-term bank loans and the amount of long-term bank loans are limited by the value of tangible assets.The basis for issuing Short Term Bank Loans is the comparative advantages banks have in evaluating and collecting on accounts receivables, i.e. Debtors. It is also possible to use Cash and Cash equivalents as collateral but banks do not have any comparative advantages over other providers of credit in terms of evaluating and collecting these since they consist of cash and marketable securities. In terms of inventories, again banks do not have any comparative advantages in evaluating these. Thus, we expect the amounts of debtors to be the key variable in explaining thebehaviour of Short Term Bank Loans.2.3. Expensive trade credit and other loansAfter other sources of finance have been exhausted firms can delay payment on their trade credits. However, this is expensive since it involves giving up the discount and maybe incurs penalty payments. Also the use of this type of credit can have reputational costs and it may be difficult to obtain trade credit in the future. The nature of the costs, of course, depends on the number of suppliers, if there is only one supplier then these costs can be rather high whereas if the firm can obtain the same goods and services from other suppliers then these costs are not particularly high.Other debt is composed of credit card debt, car loans etc. that are dearer than bank loans. Again, the variables determining this type of debt are financial health and performance. Below, however, we do not have any good information regarding these types of loans and what they consists of thus we pay little attention to them in the empirical work.ConclusionsCurrently there exist two theories of capital structure The Pecking Order Theory where firms first exhaust all funding of the cheapest source first, then the second cheapest source and so on. The differences in funding costs are due to adverse selection costs from asymmetric information. The second theory is the Tradeoff Theory where firms increase the amount of debt as long as the benefits are greater than the costs from doing so. The benefits of debt are tax-shields and “positive agency costs” and the costs of debt are the expected bankruptcy costs and the “negative agency costs”. In both of these theories, the composition of the asset side of the balance sheet is not important and in this paper, that proposition is strongly rejected. So the main conclusion is that the composition of the asset side of the balance sheet influences the composition of the liability side of the balance sheet in terms of the different types of debt used to finance the firm, or that the use of the funds is important in deciding the type of financing available.We further argue that it is asymmetric information and collateral that determines the relationship between the asset side and liability side of the balance sheet. Thetheory works reasonable well for Cheap Trade Credits and Long Term Bank Loans but the tests for Short Term Bank Loans are disappointing.中文译文:中小企业融资摘要中小企业融资的主要来源有:股权融资、按时兑现的贸易信贷融资、中长期银行信贷融资、延迟兑现的贸易信贷融资以及其他债务融资,每种融资方式的边际成本取决于与其滞纳金相关的信息不对称成本和交易成本。
Private Enterprises of the intenal control issuesPulin ChangEconomic Review. 2008, (5)Third, the promotion of private SMEs in the internal control system strategy(A)change management and business owners the concept of development. The majority of private small and medium enterprises in the family business,the success of these enterprises depends largely on internal control or entrepreneur leadership attention and level of implementation。
Over the years,by traditional Chinese culture,business owners believe in Sincerity, fraternal loyalty permeate many aspects of enterprise management, strengthen internal controls that will affect the organization the members of distrust, resulting in internal control. Many private business owners that rely on business to do business benefits out of,rather than out of the internal financial management control;that the market is the most important internal control will be bound himself and staff development。
中小企业融资渠道中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)原文:The areas of SME financing channels: an overview 1.IntroductionIn all countries, SMEs are an important source of economic growth and create jobs. In addition, these companies through their dynamism and flexibility, the power of innovation and development.The research method is to start from the literature to highlight the importance of the theme of our research. This paper analyzes the data and statistics based on mainly by the World Bank survey, small and medium-sized private enterprises in Romania by some empirical research. According to the method used, and pointed out the importance of financing of SMEs and enhance the public bodies concerned about, especially the measures taken to improve financial development.2.the literature on SMEs financing channelsA popular academic literature on the financing channels of SMEs, has witnessed a lot of research to solve this problem.Countless research studies have indicated that financing channels is a critical obstacle in the growth and development process, especially in small and medium enterprises.Through Baker Dumont reggae - Ke Lute, Ivan, and Marca Smokin Popovich (2004) research, reflecting the fundamental factors of 10 000 enterprises from 80 countries mainly depend on the financing of enterprises. Therefore, the relationship between the study highlights the corporate finance and its characteristics such as age, size and structure of property rights. From this perspective, the authors found that the small size of the young company, and face greater obstacles when they seek financial resources.The iResearch Dick Mei Leke and Salta (2011) analysis of macroeconomic and institutional factors affecting SME financing loans through the statistical data found. In other similar studies, the authors found a positive correlation between the overall economic development (a measure of per capita income) and financial development (measured by private lending ratio of gross domestic product), on the other hand, the level of SME financing is the opposite. In addition, the authors show that the level of financing for SMEs depends on the legal structure and overall business environment.3.in the process of SME financing in the general obstaclesIn general, access to financial products or financial services or financial inclusion assumes that there is no trade barriers to the use of financial products or services, regardless of whether these barriers or non-related pricing (Dumont reggae - Ke Lute, Baker, and Honorine root 2008:2). Therefore, to improve this means of access means increasing the degree of financial products or financial services at a fair price toeveryone.Enterprise does not use financial products or services can be divided into several categories, their identification is necessary, in order to take the necessary measures to improve their financing channels. Therefore, on the one hand, enterprises obtain financing, the financial products and services, but do not use them because they do not have a viable investment projects. On the other hand, it can distinguish between non-voluntary refuse corporate Although these business needs, but not have access to financial services. The status of independent corporate finance or financial services in some companies do not earn enough money or safeguards required by financing institutions and therefore have higher credit risk. At the same time, when some companies in need of funding, financial and banking institutions involved too costly and can not agree to financing. Finally, in the context of the enterprise refused to appear over-priced financial products or services and financial products or services that meet their requirements.Financing channels for enterprise development and the efficient allocation of funds essential. However, compared with large enterprises, SMEs seeking finance is facing many difficulties, because of several reasons, including: the judicial and legislative structure of the instability and imperfect, it does not support the enterprises in need of financing and funding the relationship between; part of the funding and corporate information is incomplete or even lack of information, which hinders the normal and efficient development of relations between enterprises and providers of finance; especially in the young company, the lack of credit history and guarantees the creditors, and sometimes limits the range of financial products that can be used.The number of surveys, especially the World Bank stressed that the financing is one of the biggest obstacle to good development and growth of the SME. For example, the World Bank in the 2006-2009 survey foundthat 31% of the worldwide study of corporate finance is a major obstacle to the current implementation, and even higher proportion of young company in the 40% of cases up to three years of experience (Chavez, kt Boer and Ireland 2010:1). In addition, a series of global surveys, including the information provided by the World Business Environment Survey show that SME financing transaction costs is the main obstacle to enterprise development.4.SME bank financing difficulties and support measuresIn most countries, especially in countries with bank-oriented financial system, the main source of external financing for SMEs by bank loans. Therefore, this type of loan is crucial to the development of SMEs. However, the survey showed, compared to the SMEs and large enterprises are using the new investment in the small extent of bank financing.As we mentioned, the use of financial products is determined by supply and demand. It is therefore important to understand why the SMEs use bank financing to a small extent only. In this regard, some studies (Banerjee and Duflo: 2004) has shown that the main reason for the supply, because every time when SMEs are able to obtain loans, they use it to increase production. This behavior is more proof of financing is an important factor in the development of enterprises. In addition, in the context of the current global financial crisis, the declining availability of bank loans and limited financing opportunities for SMEs. Therefore, it is the main problem facing small and medium enterprises.October 29, 2010, this survey of SMEs in Romania highlights the main problems faced by SMEs and banks. Therefore, 82% of the interviewed entrepreneurs obtain bank financing is very difficult, mainly because of excessive bureaucracy, unreasonable high demand, high interest rates, rigid bank credit indicators, as well as many types of commission and expenses. In addition, more than 61% of SMEentrepreneurs and managers reporting banks lack of transparency (hidden costs, lack of communication channels, etc.), there is no real consultation (using the standard contract, the bank refused to modify or complete the credit contract, etc.) and banks do not legitimate or misuse of the terms of the contract (for example, perform the unauthorized transaction accounts or bank fraud). Understanding this knowledge to take measures to support and promote SME financing.Improve SME financing is still cause for concern, but also national, European and international facing a challenge. For example, in the EU, through the implementation of the new measures established by the Small Business Administration for Europe to improve the financing channels for SMEs, by reducing the return of the structural funds requirements to promote the access of small and medium enterprises, the establishment of the Credit Ombudsman to promote small and medium-sized enterprises and dialogue between the credit institutions, to avoid the double taxation of the tax legislation, which will hinder the international venture capital plays an important role.In particular, empirical research, emphasizing the impact of the degree of financial development of a country is essential that the level of development of the SME financing. Therefore, a series of measures to support SMEs to obtain financing, to ensure the efficient development of the country's financial, which will ensure greater availability of corporate finance. Specifically, the authorities should take measures commonly used to measure the degree of financial development in the seven pillars, namely, the institutional environment, business environment, financial stability, banking and financial services, non-bank financial services, financial markets and access to finance.5 .ConclusionEffective financing for SMEs to create new business is of great significance, and existing growth and development of enterprises, whilepromoting the country's economic and social development. In addition, in the case of the economic crisis, SMEs contribute to restoring the national economy, so it is particularly important to support SME financing. However, most of the survey report stressed, always the financing channels of SMEs is one of the most important factor to affect its operation and development.SMEs trying to get the necessary financial resources to face difficulties related to the entrepreneurs and the economic environment of each country, as well as existing legal and institutional structure. To alleviate these difficulties, the measures taken by public authorities should focus on improving the financial development and to ensure that the corporate finance and economic growth, greater effectiveness.In various countries, including Romania, the decline on the availability of SME financing, or even the lack of statistical data, we believe that policy makers need to focus on and monitor a series of important indicators, depending on the size of the SMEs, experience and industry events share of its loans, which will benefit the public authorities, creditors and investors.原文来自罗马·安吉拉中小企业的融资渠道的领域:概述(奥拉迪亚大学:经济科学,2011年第一卷第一期,431-437)摘要通过中小企业在创造附加值和新的就业岗位中的贡献,使它在国家的经济和社会发展中拥有一个显著的角色。
中小企业营运资金管理中英文对照外文翻译文献(文档含英文原文和中文翻译)原文:Effects of working capital management on SME profitability AbstractThe objective of the research presented here is to provide empirical evidence about the effects of working capital management on the profitability of a sample of small and medium-sized Spanish firms. With this in mind, we collected a panel of 8,872 SMEs covering the period 1996-2002. The results, which are robust to the presence of endogeneity, demonstrate that managers can create value by reducing their firm’s number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Equally, shortening the cash conversion cycle also improves the firm’s profitability.IntroductionThe corporate finance literature has traditionally focused on the study of long-term financial decisions. Researchers have particularly offered studies analyzing investments, capital structure, dividends or company valuation, among other topics. But the investment that firms make in short-term assets, and the resources used with matu rities of under one year, represent the main share of items on a firm’s balance sheet.In fact, in our sample the current assets of small and medium-sized Spanish firms represent 69.48 percent of their assets, and at the same time their current liabilities represent more than 52.82 percent of their liabilities.Working capital management is important because of its effects on the firm’s profitability and risk, and consequently its value (Smith, 1980). On the one hand, maintaining high inventory levels reduces the cost of possible interruptions in the production process, or of loss of business due to the scarcity of products, reduces supply costs, and protects against price fluctuations, among other advantages (Blinder and Manccini, 1991). On the other, grant ing trade credit favors the firm’s sales in various ways. Trade credit can act as an effective price cut (Brennan, Maksimovic and Zechner, 1988; Petersen and Rajan, 1997), incentivizes customers to acquire merchandise at times of low demand (Emery, 1987), allows customers to check that the merchandise they receive is as agreed (quantity and quality) and to ensure that theservices contracted are carried out (Smith, 1987), and helps firms to strengthen long-term relationships with their customers (Ng, Smith and Smith, 1999). However, firms that invest heavily in inventory and trade credit can suffer reduced profitability. Thus, the greater the investment in current assets, the lower the risk, but also the lower the profitability obtained.On the other hand, trade credit is a spontaneous source of financing that reduces the amount required to finance the sums tied up in the inventory and customer accounts. But we should bear in mind that financing from suppliers can have a very high implicit cost if early payment discounts are available. In fact the opportunity cost may exceed 20 percent, depending on the discount percentage and the discount period granted (Wilner,2000; Ng, Smith and Smith, 1999). In this respect, previous studies have analyzed the high cost of trade credit, and find that firms finance themselves with seller credit when they do not have other more economic sources of financing available (Petersen and Rajan, 1994 and 1997).Decisions about how much to invest in the customer and inventory accounts, and how much credit to accept from suppliers, are reflected in the firm’s cash conversion cycle, which represents the average number of days between the date when the firm must start paying its suppliers and the date when it begins to collect payments from its customers. Some previous studies have used this measure to analyze whether shortening the cash conversion cycle has positive or negative effects on the firm’s profitability. Specifically, Shin and Soenen (1998) analyze the relation between the cash conversion cycle and profitability for a sample of firms listed on the US stock exchange during the period 1974-1994. Their results show that reducing the cash conversion cycle to a reasonable extent increases firms’ profitability. More recently, Deloof (2003) analyzes a sample of large Belgian firms during the period 1992-1996. His results confirm that Belgian firms can improve their profitability by reducing the number of days accounts receivable are outstanding and reducing inventories. Moreover, he finds that less profitable firms wait longer to pay their bills.These previous studies have focused their analysis on larger firms. However, the management of current assets and liabilities is particularly important in the case ofsmall and medium-sized compan ies. Most of these companies’ assets are in the form of current assets. Also, current liabilities are one of their main sources of external finance in view of their difficulties in obtaining funding in the long-term capital markets (Petersen and Rajan, 1997) and the financing constraints that they face (Whited, 1992; Fazzari and Petersen, 1993). In this respect, Elliehausen and Woken (1993), Petersen and Rajan (1997) and Danielson and Scott (2000) show that small and medium-sized US firms use vendor financing when they have run out of debt. Thus, efficient working capital management is particularly important for smaller companies (Peel and Wilson, 1996).In this context, the objective of the current work is to provide empirical evidence about the effects of working capital management on profitability for a panel made up of 8,872 SMEs during the period 1996-2002.This work contributes to the literature in two ways. First, no previous such evidence exists for the case of SMEs.We use a sample of Spanish SMEs that operate within the so-called continental model, which is characterized by its less developed capital markets (La Porta, López-de-Silanes, Shleifer, and Vishny, 1997), and by the fact that most resources are channeled through financial intermediaries (Pampillón, 2000). All this suggests that Spanish SMEs have fewer alternative sources of external finance available, which makes them more dependent on short-term finance in general, and on trade credit in particular. As Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic (2002) suggest, firms operating in countries with more developed banking systems grant more trade credit to their customers, and at the same time they receive more finance from their own suppliers. The second contribution is that, unlike the previous studies by Shin and Soenen (1998) and Deloof (2003), in the current work we have conducted tests robust to the possible presence of endogeneity problems. The aim is to ensure that the relationships found in the analysis carried out are due to the effects of the cash conversion cycle on corporate profitability and not vice versa.Our findings suggest that managers can create value by reducing their firm’s number of days accounts receivable and inventories. Similarly, shortening the cash conversion cycle also improves the firm’s profitability.From this point, the work is structured as follows: in Section 2, we describe the sample and variables used; in the third section, we present the analyses carried out and our findings; finally, we end by discussing our main conclusions.Data and Variablesi. DataWe obtained the data used in this study from the AMADEUS database. This database was developed by Bureau van Dijk, and contains financial and economic data on European companies.The sample comprises small and medium-sized firms from Spain. The selection of SMEs was carried out according to the requirements established by the European Commission’s recommendation 96/280/CE of 3rd April, 1996, on the definition of small and medium-sized firms. Specifically, we selected those firms meeting the following criteria for at least three years: a) have fewer than 250 employees; b) turn over less than €40 million; and c) possess less than €27 million of total assets.In addition to the application of those selection criteria, we applied a series of filters. Thus, we eliminated the observations of firms with anomalies in their accounts, such as negative values in their assets, current assets, fixed assets, liabilities, current liabilities, capital, depreciation, or interest paid. We removed observations of entry items from the balance sheet and profit and loss account exhibiting signs that were contrary to reasonable expectations. Finally, we eliminated 1 percent of the extreme values presented by several variables. As a result of applying these filters, we ended up with a sample of 38,464 observations.In order to introduce the effect of the economic cycle on the levels invested in working capital, we obtained information about the annual GDP growth in Spain from Eurostat.ii. VariablesIn or der to analyze the effects of working capital management on the firm’s profitability, we used the return on assets (ROA) as the dependent variable. We defined this variable as the ratio of earnings before interest and tax to assets.With regards to the independent variables, we measured working capitalmanagement by using the number of days accounts receivable, number of days of inventory and number of days accounts payable. In this respect, number of days accounts receivable (AR) is calculated as 365 ×[accounts receivable/sales]. This variable represents the average number of days that the firm takes to collect payments from its customers.The higher the value, the higher its investment in accounts receivable.We calculated the number of days of inventory (INV) as 365 ×[inventories/purchases]. This variable reflects the average number of days of stock held by the firm. Longer storage times represent a greater investment in inventory for a particular level of operations.The number of days accounts payable (AP) reflects the average time it takes firms to pay their suppliers. We calculated this as 365 ×[accounts payable/purchases]. The higher the value, the longer firms take to settle their payment commitments to their suppliers.Considering these three periods jointly, we estimated the cash conversion cycle (CCC). This variable is calculated as the number of days accounts receivable plus thenumber of days of inventory minus the number of days accounts payable. The longer the cash conversion cycle, the greater the net investment in current assets, and hence the greater the need for financing of current assets.Together with these variables, we introduced as control variables the size of the firm, the growth in its sales, and its leverage. We measured the size (SIZE) as the logarithm of assets, the sales growth (SGROW) as (Sales1 –Sales0)/Sales0, the leverage (DEBT) as the ratio of debt to liabilities. Dellof (2003) in his study of large Belgian firms also considered the ratio of fixed financial assets to total assets as a control variable. For some firms in his study such assets are a significant part of total assets. However our study focuses on SMEs whose fixed financial assets are less important. In fact, companies in our sample invest little in fixed financial assets (a mean of 3.92 percent, but a median of 0.05 percent). Nevertheless, the results remain unaltered when we include this variable.Furthermore, and since good economic conditions tend to be reflected in a firm’sprofitability, we controlled for the evolution of the economic cycle using the variable GDPGR, which measures the annual GDP growth.iii. Description of sampleTable II offers descriptive statistics about the variables used for the sample as a whole. These are generally small firms, with me an assets of more than €6 million; their return on assets is around 8 percent; their number of days accounts receivable is around 96 days; and their number of days accounts payable is very similar: around 97 days. Together with this, the sample firms have seen their sales grow by almost 13 percent annually on average, and 24.74 percent of their liabilities is taken up by debt. In the period analyzed (1996-2002) the GDP has grown at an average rate of 3.66 percent in Spain.Table IIDescriptive StatisticsROA measure return on assets, AR number of days accounts receivable, INV number of days of inventory, AP number of days accounts payable, CCC cash conversion cycle, ASSETS value of assets in thousand euros, SGROW sales growth, DEBT financial debt level, and GDPGR annual GDP growth. Variable Obs. Mean SD Median 10th Perc. 90th Perc.ROA 38464 0.0792 0.0834 0.0678 0.0041 0.1768 AR 38464 96.8299 55.7682 96.2962 22.0945 165.2533 INV 38452 77.2140 70.0499 59.3042 6.8692 166.6171 AP 38371 97.8090 57.3568 93.8075 24.5344 174.9668 CCC 38371 76.3117 90.6413 64.7704 -19.6907 190.2017 ASSETS 38464 6955.1090 4461.3940 13308 2718.5 5541 SGROW 32674 0.1299 0.3105 0.0862 -0.0928 0.3492 DEBT 35237 0.2474 0.1839 0.2306 0.0098 0.5021 GDPGR 38464 0.0366 0.0075 0.0420 0.0240 0.0430ConclusionsWorking capital management is particularly important in the case of small and medium-sized companies. Most of these companies’ asset s are in the form of current assets. Also, current liabilities are one of their main sources of external finance. In this context, the objective of the current research has been to provide empirical evidence about the effects of working capital management on the profitability of a sample of small and medium-sized Spanish firms. For this purpose, we collected apanel consisting of 8,872 SMEs covering the period 1996-2002.According to previous studies focus on large firms (Shin and Soenen, 1998; Deloof, 2003), the analyses carried out confirm the important role of working capital management in value generation in small and medium-sized firms. We find a significant negative relation between an SME’s profitability and the number of days accounts receivable and days of inventory. We cannot, however, confirm that the number of days accounts payable affects an SME’s return on assets, as this relation loses significance when we control for possible endogeneity problems.Finally, SMEs have to be concerned with working capital management because they can also create value by reducing their cash conversion cycle to a minimum, as far as that is reasonable.So urce: Pedro J. García, Pedro Martínez,2007. “Effects of Working Capital Management on SME Profitability ” . Inter national Journal of Managerial Finance. Vol. 3, No. 2.pp. 164-177.译文:营运资金管理对中小企业盈利能力的影响摘要这里提供的研究的目的是提供有关营运资金管理对示例的中小型西班牙公司盈利能力的影响的实证证据。
A LITERATURE A ALYSIS O BUSI ESS PERFORMA CE FOR SMES –SUBJECTIVE OR OBJECTIVE MEASURES?Siti Nur ‘Atikah Zulkiffli a and Nelson Perera bThis paper has been double-blind peer reviewed by an international panel of SIBRAbstractThe study examines the basic research methodologies and approaches for assessingbusiness performance. It provides a critical literature analysis on how perception-based evaluation can be used to evaluate performance, specifically for SMEs. Theanalysis of the literature covers articles from major journals related to the topic. Themethodology followed during the conduct of this paper involves starting with thebroad case of articles in general business performance measurement, then focusingon the indicators used to study SMEs. Next, the review screens the list, focusing onthe differences between subjective and objective measures. The validity issuerelated to subjective measures is also discussed.Key words: business performance, subjective measures, objective measures, smalland medium enterprises.I.IntroductionMeasuring business performance in today’s economic environment is a critical issue for academic scholars and practising managers. In general, business performance is defined as “the operational ability to satisfy the desires of the company’s major shareholders” (Smith & Reece, 1999, p. 153), and it must be assessed to measure an organisation’s accomplishment. Many studies examine the relationship of organisational practice and processes to affect the “bottom line”, and vice versa (Wall et al., 2004). Attempts to examine the relationship between strategy and performance have been made for more than 20 years; many current studies also focus on this aspect. Scholars have examined the importance of performance evaluation and practices for an organisation (Dess & Robinson, 1984; Sapienza et al., 1988; McGrath et al., 1995; Song et al., 2005; Gruber et al., 2010). Much research also focuses on the performance of small firms and, more recently, medium firms as well (Pelham & Wilson, 1996; Jarvis et al., 2000; Alasadi & Abdelrahim, 2008; Thomas et al., 2008).Regular indicators used in measuring business performance are profit, return on investment (ROI), turnover or number of customers (Wood, 2006), design quality and product improvement (Laura et al., 1996). However, Mann and Kehoe (1994) and Franco-Santos et al. (2007) recommend measuring business performance through the business performance measurement (BPM) system, as it is an important tool within many research a Corresponding author. University of Wollongong, Australia and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. email: snaz167@.au.b University of Wollongong, Australia. email: nperera@.auPage | 1areas, particularly in business and social science studies. This system analyses and investigates each quality that affects a firm’s business performance, categorising business performance into two broad areas: operational business performance (OBP) and strategic business performance (SBP).The major function of the system is to focus on investigating all an organisation’s functions at high and low levels of activity (Mann & Kehoe, 1994); it is appropriately applied to measuring the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This system is also appropriate for both quantitative (for example, questionnaires) and qualitative (for example, structured interview) research methods.SMEs are often very reluctant to publicly reveal their actual financial performance, and scholars have deliberated on the need for subjective measures (for example, the seven-point Likert scale in empirical research) in evaluating business performance. It is important to consider the aspects of differentiation that may be potentially confounded between subjective (also described as perceived/perception performance) and objective measures. Thus, this paper aims to analyse the related literature on how perception-based evaluation can be used to evaluate SMEs’ performance.The rest of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2 describes the review methodology, Section 3 discusses subjective and objective performance measures, Section 4 deliberates the validity of subjective performance measures and Section 5 concludes and suggests the future research directions.II.Review MethodologyThe literature examined for this paper consists of 22 articles from 13 journals, including six articles from the Strategic Management Journal and three articles from the International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Table 1 shows the distribution of these articles with respect to journals.Table 1: Distribution of the Articles with Respect to JournalsJournal Quantity American Journal of Small Business 1Education, Business and Society 1International Journal of Operations & Production Management 3International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 1Journal of Business Venturing 1Journal of Operations Management 1Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship 1Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 2Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 1Marketing Bulletin 1Personnel Psychology 2Strategic Management Journal 6Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 1Page | 2III.Subjective and Objective Performance MeasuresMany studies show a preference for subjective measures during the assessment of business performance due to difficulties in obtaining objective financial data. Managers often refuse to provide accurate, objective performance data to researchers. Even if objective data is made available, the data often do not fully represent firms’ actual performance, as managers may manipulate the data to avoid personal or corporate taxes (Dess & Robinson, 1984; Sapienza et al., 1988). Research on SMEs is particularly susceptible to these difficulties, although difficulties can also occur when the research examines business units of multi-industry and privately held firms (Dess & Robinson, 1984).Consequently, managers are often encouraged to evaluate business performance through general subjective measures that can reflect more-specific objective measures (Wall et al., 2004). Subjective measures can be an effective way to examine business performance, as they allow comparison across firms and contexts, such as industry type, time horizons, cultures or economic conditions (Song et al., 2005). When subjective measures are employed, managers can use the relative performance of their industry as a benchmark when providing a response (Dawes, 1999). Objective performance measures, in contrast, can vary based on industry and can obscure the relationship between independent variables and business performance (as a dependent variable) (Dawes, 1999).Moreover, the objective data available to the researcher may not be compatible with the intended level of analysis (Wall et al., 2004); in these cases, subjective data can be a good alternative if the measures focus on the firm’s current condition (for example, Kim, 2006a; Kim, 2006b).It is legal for small firms’ managers to manipulate some data, and to control such manipulation through subjectively adjusting measures (Sapienza et al., 1988). Moreover, many managers of small and private firms consider objective performance measures to be confidential, and guard them from public scrutiny (Sapienza et al., 1988; Gruber et al., 2010). Such managers tend to have a low level of awareness about the desirability of providing accurate and reliable data and feedback to researchers. Therefore, researchers are advised to develop subjective measures, as these provide more complete information (Covin & Slevin, 1989).Another issue in researching small firms is the difficulty of interpreting some objective performance data. For example, performance may be considered as “poor” if the data shows losses or low profit. Such misinterpretation can occur if, for example, firms have many commitments to research and development (R&D), including product and market development for future growth (Covin & Slevin, 1989). These misinterpretations may be due to variations in profitability data and may lead to the comparison of objective measures among small firms in different industries (Covin & Slevin, 1989; Dawes, 1999). To avoid these sorts of issues, researchers have used subjective measures and focused on firms within the same industry (for example, manufacturing) (Appendix A).Table 2 outlines some differences between subjective and objective performance measures.Page | 3Table 2: Differences between Subjective and Objective Measure in BusinessPerformanceDifferentiationAspectSubjective Measures Objective Measures Indicators •Focus on overall performance •Focus on actual financialindicatorsMeasurement standard •Key informants are asked torate performance relative totheir competitors (and/orindustry)•Key informants should provideabsolute financial data (forexample, AUD profit peremployee)Scale anchors •Scales range from “very poor”to “very good”, or “muchlower” to “much higher”, or“worst in industry” to “best inindustry” etc.•Scales are not usedIV.The Validity of Subjective Performance MeasuresSubjective measurements are strongly correlated with objective measurements in terms of absolute changes in return on assets and sales over the same time period; for example, the correlation (r) of objective and subjective measures to total sales gives a value for r of .80, and to return on assets gives a value of .79 (Dess & Robinson, 1984). These findings support the validity of performance evaluation through subjective measures.However, less attention has been given to evaluating the validity of subjective performance measurement. Such measurements, which are subject to potential measurement errors and bias, have been examined using several types of validity tests (Chandler & Hanks, 1993; Wall et al., 2004). Three validity tests – convergent, discriminant and construct – have been used to show that subjective measurement is significantly reliable as an alternative to objective measurement in business performance.Table 3 shows the result of validity tests related to subjective measurement in business performance.Table 3: Results of Different Validity Tests to Measure Business PerformanceValidity Type ResultsConvergent •Subjective performance measures are related to objectivemeasures.Discriminant •Relationships between subjective and objective measures aresystematically stronger than relationships between differentperformance constructs measured using the same method (eithersubjective or objective).Construct •Relationships between subjective and objective performancemeasures with a series of independent variables are equivalent.•Subjective performance measurement has a statistically significantcorrelation with objective measurement (p < .01).•Subjective measurement shows a 95% success rate as comparedwith objective measurement.Source: Adapted from Wall et al. (2004)Page | 4The findings of Wall et al. (2004) support the earlier studies that discuss the validation of performance measurement (Hoffman et al., 1991; Chandler & Hanks, 1993). Chandler and Hanks’s 1993 study – supported by Lee et al. (2001) – discussed the validation issues for another three measurement aspects: broadly defined categories, managers’ satisfaction with performance and firm performance relative to competitors. Results showed a high level of correlation between objective and subjective measures, as well as suggesting strong inter-rater reliability (Lee et al., 2001).Table 4 shows the results of comparison between performance measures that can be used in related studies.Table 4: Summary Comparison of Performance MeasuresBroadly Defined Categories PerformanceRelative toCompetitorsSatisfactionwith PerformanceGrowth BusinessVolumeRelevance Very Good Very Good Very Good UnknownAvailability Very Good Very Good Acceptable Very GoodInternal Consistency Good Very Good Very Good GoodInter-rater Reliability Good Very Good Marginal AcceptableExternal Validity Very Good Very Good Very Good Inadequate Source: Chandler and Hanks (1993)The table shows that broadly defined categories and performance relative to competitors are still useful. However, Chandler and Hanks (1993, p. 400) explain that, “... in reference to the ‘performance relative to competitors’ scale, several respondents who did not disclose performance relative to competitors’ information pencilled in that they had no basis for comparison because they did not know how their competitors were performing”. This suggests that examination of performance relative to competitors should be focused on the entire industry to assess “generalisability”, as some respondents may not know much about their competitors’ performance.V.Conclusions and Future Research DirectionsExamination of the literature on this topic offers guidance in how the various business performance measures in an SME can be organised, interfaced and managed. The literature suggests that subjective evaluations are appropriate alternatives to objective measurement.It is difficult for researchers to accurately estimate performance, particularly when using mailed questionnaires, as the data will be subject to measurement errors caused by the confidential nature of the data and variance in accounting procedures among participating firms (Dess & Robinson, 1984). Also, managers do prefer to provide such data subjectively to protect confidentiality (Song et al., 2005).The literature also shows that the evaluation of subjective perceptions is commonly and comprehensively used in social-science research (Pelham & Wilson, 1996; Kim, 2006b; Yong et al., 2007; Alasadi & Abdelrahim, 2008; Gruber et al., 2010); the use of such measures to evaluate performance is acceptable, as it shows high positive correlations with objective measures (Song et al., 2005). However, the equivalence assumptions between subjective and objective performance measures are still being debated.Future research should endeavour to develop new measurement and performance systems that focus on SMEs and the application of subjective measures. Additionally, futurePage | 5studies may also need to establish more precise frameworks and empirical testing for performance measures. The contribution of this study has been in examining and expanding the taxonomy of business performance and in shedding light on future research in any discipline that focuses on measuring performance.Page | 6Page | 7Appendix A:Example of a Research Questionnaire Measuring Business PerformanceMarket Performance E1 Market-share growth 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E2 Sales turnover 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Supplier Performance E3 Supplier product quality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E4 Suppler communication 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E5 Supplier delivery performance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Process Performance E6 Work in process (WIP)* inventory 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E7 Order-fulfilment lead time ** 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E8 Product-quality development 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 People Performance E9 Performance-appraisal results 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E10 Skill level of employees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E11 Departmental communication 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Customer-Relationship Performance E12 Resolution of customer complaints 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E13 Customer loyalty/retention 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E14 Quality reputation and award achievement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E15 Product returns rate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E16 The speed of order handling and processing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7*Work-in-Process (WIP) relates to the products or components that are no longer raw material but have yet to become finished products.**Lead time is the time between placement and receipt of an order.Listed below are statements describing the business performance of a firm. 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