PL EN
RESEARCH PAPER
Which Capital Structure Theory Explains Financial Behaviour of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises? Evidence from Poland
 
More details
Hide details
1
Faculty of Business, WSB University in Gdańsk, Poland
 
2
Faculty of Economics, University of Gdańsk, Poland
 
 
Submission date: 2022-05-22
 
 
Final revision date: 2023-01-03
 
 
Acceptance date: 2023-01-04
 
 
Publication date: 2023-03-31
 
 
Corresponding author
Jacek Jaworski   

Faculty of Business, WSB University in Gdańsk, Poland
 
 
GNPJE 2023;313(1):82-92
 
KEYWORDS
JEL CLASSIFICATION CODES
G32
M21
 
ABSTRACT
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) play a special role in the modern economy. At the same time, the difficulty in accessing sources of financing is the main barrier limiting the development of this sector. Despite this, studies of the capital structure of SMEs are performed less frequently than among large enterprises. The aim of this paper is to examine which capital structure theory best explains the financial decisions of SMEs in Poland. Additionally, an attempt is made to identify the main firm-specific capital structure determinants. The research material includes financial data from 2,820 SMEs in Poland operating in the 2011–2018 period. Static and dynamic panel models were applied to conduct the analysis. The study found that most SMEs in Poland behave in accordance with the pecking order theory. However, the results of testing the trade-off theory indicate that there may be a group of companies seeking an optimal capital structure according to the assumptions of this theory. The speed of adjustment is about 24%. The study confirmed a positive relationship between SME indebtedness and firm size. The same relationship was found for the growth rate. The opposite direction was identified for tangibility and liquidity.
 
REFERENCES (29)
1.
Aybar-Arias C., Casino-Martínez A., López-Gracia J. [2012], On the adjustment speed of SMEs to their optimal capital structure, Small Business Economics, 39 (4): 977–996, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187....
 
2.
Baños-Caballero S., García-Teruel P. J., Martínez-Solano P. [2016], Financing of working capital requirement, financial flexibility and SME performance, Journal of Business Economics and Management, 17 (6): 1189–1203, https://doi.org/10.3846/161116.... 2015.1081272.
 
3.
Białek-Jaworska A., Nehrebecka N. [2015], Determinants of Polish Companies’ Debt Financing Preferences, Social Sciences, 1 (87): 19–32, https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss....
 
4.
Czerwonka L., Jaworski J. [2021], Capital structure determinants of small and medium-sized enterprises: Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 28 (2): 277–297, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED- 09-2020-0326.
 
5.
Dang C., Li Z. (Frank), Yang C. [2018], Measuring firm size in empirical corporate finance, Journal of Banking & Finance, 86: 159–176, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jban....
 
6.
Degryse H., Goeij P. de, Kappert P. [2012], The impact of firm and industry characteristics on small firms’ capital structure, Small Business Economics, 38 (4): 431–747, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187....
 
7.
European Commission [2003], Recommendation 2003/361/ EC, Official Journal of the European Union, L124, 30.
 
8.
Fama E. F., French K. R. [2002], Testing Trade-Off and Pecking Order Predictions About Dividends and Debt, Review of Financial Studies, 15 (1): 1–33, https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/15....
 
9.
Frank M., Goyal V. [2003], Testing the pecking order theory of capital structure, Journal of Financial Economics, 67 (2): 217– 248, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-....
 
10.
Frank M., Goyal V. [2009], Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors are Reliably Important? Financial Management, 38 (1): 1–37, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755....
 
11.
Greene W. H. [2003], Econometric Analysis, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
 
12.
Gujarati D. N., Porter D. C. [2009], Basic Econometrics, Irwin, McGraw-Hill.
 
13.
Harc M. [2015], The Relationship Between Tangible Assets and Capital Structure of Small and Medium-Sized Companies in Croatia, Ekonomski Vjesnik, 28 (1): 213–224.
 
14.
Jõeveer K. [2013], What do we know about the capital structure of small firms?, Small Business Economics, 41 (2): 479–501, https:// doi.org/10.1007/s11187-012-9440-1.
 
15.
Kenourgios D., Savvakis, G. A., Papageorgiou T. [2020], The capital structure dynamics of European listed SMEs, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 32 (6): 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1080/082763....
 
16.
Kraus A., Litzenberger R. H. [1973], A State-Preference Model of Optimal Financial Leverage, The Journal of Finance, 28 (4): 911–922, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540....
 
17.
Kumar S., Sureka R., Colombage S. [2020], Capital structure of SMEs: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, Management Review Quarterly, 70 (4): 535–565, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301....
 
18.
Labra R., Torrecillas C. [2018], Estimating dynamic panel data: A practical approach to perform long panels, Revista Colombiana de Estadística, 41 (1): 31–52, https://doi.org/https://doi.or....
 
19.
Leary M. T., Roberts M. R. [2005], Do firms rebalance their capital structures?, Journal of Finance, LX (6): 2575–2618, https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2005.00811.x.
 
20.
López-Gracia J., Sogorb-Mira F. [2008], Testing trade-off and pecking order theories financing SMEs, Small Business Economics, 31 (2): 117–136, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187....
 
21.
Lu X., White H. [2014], Robustness checks and robustness tests in applied economics, Journal of Econometrics, 178 (1): 194– 206, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeco....
 
22.
Martinez L. B., Scherger V., Guercio M. B. [2019], SMEs capital structure: trade-off or pecking order theory: A systematic review, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 26 (1): 105–132, https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-....
 
23.
Mateev M., Poutziouris P., Ivanov K. [2013], On the Determinants of SME Capital Structure in Central and Eastern Europe: A Dynamic Panel Analysis, Research in International Business and Finance, 27 (1): 28–51, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riba....
 
24.
Modigliani F., Miller M. H. [1958], The cost of capital, corporation finance and theory of investment, The American Economic Review, 48 (3): 261–297.
 
25.
Myers S. C., Majluf N. S. [1984], Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have, Journal of Financial Economics, 13 (2): 187–221, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4....
 
26.
ORBIS [2020], https://www.bvdinfo.com (accessed on 16.12.2022).
 
27.
Rajan R. G., Zingales L. [1995], What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data, The Journal of Finance, 50 (5): 1421–1460, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540....
 
28.
Serrasqueiro Z., Matias F., Salsa L. [2016], Determinants of capital structure: New evidence from Portuguese small firms, Dos Algarves: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal, 28: 13–28, https://doi.org/10.18089/damej....
 
29.
Shyam-Sunder L., Myers S. C. [1999], Testing static tradeoff against pecking order models of capital structure, Journal of Financial Economics, 51 (2): 219–244, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-....
 
eISSN:2300-5238
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top