Profitability Determinants of Fitness SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Portugal Using Panel Data

Transcription

1 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal Usng Panel Daa Pedro Guedes de Carvalho 1, Zéla Serrasquero 2, Paulo Maçãs Nunes 3* 1) Spor Scences Deparmen, Bera Ineror Unversy and CIDESD Research Cener, UTAD Unversy, Porugal. 2) 3) Managemen and Economcs Deparmen, Bera Ineror Unversy and CEFAGE Research Cener, Évora Unversy, Porugal. Absrac Based on a sample of 182 small and medum-szed Poruguese fness frms, usng panel daa models, hs paper sudes he deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. The emprcal evdence ndcaes ha: ) sze, age, lqudy, long-erm deb and governmen subsdes are deermnans smulang profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; ) rsk s a resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; and ) growh opporunes, n he form of nangble asses, are neher a smulang nor resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. The emprcal evdence allows us o make mporan suggesons for polcal decson-makers and he owners/managers of small and medum-szed Poruguese fness frms. Keywords: fnancal consrans, human knecs, performance, Porugal, servce SMEs Jel Classfcaons: C23, G32, L25, L83 Inroducon Sudy of he deermnans of company profably has warraned aenon n he leraure on varous areas of knowledge, bu specfcally n Indusral Economcs, Sraegc Managemen and Accounancy and Fnance. Varous auhors, such as Porer (1980), Teece (1981), Adams and Buckle (2003), Amao and Amao (2004), Goddard e al. (2005), Gschwandner (2005), Galbreah and Galvn (2008), Maçãs Nunes e al. (2009), Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012), have suded he deermnans of company profably, consderng mulple possble deermnans such as sze, age, lqudy, deb, asse srucure, rsk and ohers. Small and medum-szed enerprses (SMEs) have specal characerscs (Pe and Snger, 1985; Damond, 1989; Ang, 1991; Andronceanu and Drăgulănescu, 2012; Raskovć and * Correspondng auhor, Paulo Maçãs Nunes - macas@ub.p Vol XV No. 34 June

2 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa Mörec, 2012; Vaslu and Dobrea, 2013; Ţgu and Călăreţu, 2013): ) small sze; ) greaer lkelhood of bankrupcy; ) greaer ably o change he naure of her asses; and v) less ransparence n he nformaon provded o credors abou companes specfc characerscs. When nernal fnance s nsuffcen, hese characerscs of SMEs may mean parcular dffcules n accessng exernal fundng, lmng her nvesmen opons and possbly leadng o sharp falls n performance n general, and profably n parcular. Fness frms provde mporan specalzed servces, mprovng he populaon s healh and well-beng. However, as saed by Roofhoof (2010), Cho e al. (2011) and Serrasquero e al. (2011), he specfc characerscs of servce frms assocaed wh her lmed sze may conrbue decsvely o adopon of dfferen fnancng sraeges and marke mplemenaon. In he specfc case of fness frms, her lmed sze may mean parcular dffculy n ncreasng profably. A presen, fness frms provde he populaon wh mporan servces. Physcal acvy s seen nowadays as prevenve medcne (Anderson-Hanley e al., 2010; Garber e al., 2011). Indeed, he presen European socal and economc suaon has forced grea fnancal resrcons on publc healh sysems and reremen pensons. The consequence of hese resrcons wll have o mean everyday rounes ha nclude physcal exercse accompaned by specalss. In ha conex, fness frms are suable places for ha purpose (Dale e al., 2009; Garber e al., 2011). Research no he deermnans of company profably has negleced o sudy of fness frms, whch are mporan servce provders. Frs of all, hs sudy ams o fll ha gap n he leraure, analyzng wha he profably deermnans of Poruguese fness frms. The choce of Poruguese fness frms as he subjec of analyss n hs paper s approprae for wo fundamenal reasons: ) fness frms n Porugal are que small, young servce frms, and are herefore approprae n dealng wh he non-exsence of sudes abou he deermnans of profably n hs ype of servce SME; and ) fness frms are mporan servce frms nowadays, he sudy of her profably deermnans beng parcularly relevan n order o sugges measures of economc polcy o suppor hs ype of frm. Company profably s especally mporan for growh and survval. Tha mporance s more relevan n SMEs, snce hese frms normally have greaer dffculy n accessng exernal fnance, nernal fnance beng especally mporan n fundng her acves. Jus as Adams and Buckle (2003), Amao and Amao (2004), Goddard e al. (2005), Gschwandner (2005), Galbreah and Galvn (2008), Maçãs Nunes e al. (2009), and Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012), we consder profably as he dependen varable, gven by he rao of operaonal resuls o oal asses. As ndependen varables, smlarly o Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012), we consder: ) sze; ) age; ) lqudy; v) long-erm deb; v) growh opporunes; and v) rsk. In addon, we consder governmen subsdes as a possble deermnan of profably, so as o fnd ou f publc suppor means ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. The panel s composed of 182 Poruguese fness SMEs for he perod , ncludng boh survvors and non-survvors. Incluson of non-survvng fness SMEs n he sample s mporan o avod resul bas as a consequence of consderng only he suaon of survvng frms. As esmaon mehod, we use panel daa models, namely OLS regressons admng he exsence of random effecs, and regressons admng he exsence of fxed effecs. 418 Amfearu Economc

3 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE The mulple emprcal evdence allows us o conclude ha: ) sze, age, lqudy, long-erm deb and governmen subsdes are posve deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; ) rsk s a resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; and ) growh opporunes are neher a posve nor resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Afer hs nroducon, he sudy s srucured as follows: ) Secon 2 presens he leraure revew and research hypoheses: ) Secon 3 presens he daabase, varables and he esmaon mehod used; ) secon 4 presens he resuls obaned; v) secon 5 goes on o dscuss he resuls; and v) fnally, secon 6 presens he concluson of he sudy. 1. Mehodology 1.1. Daabase Ths sudy uses he SABI (Analyss Sysem of Iberan Balance Shees) daabase from Bureau van Djks for he perod As our objecve s o analyze fness SMEs, we use he NACE classfcaon o selec frms belongng o sub-secor Fness, and as our subjec of analyss s SMEs, for he fnal selecon of frms we follow European Unon recommendaon L124/36, (2003/361/CE). Accordng o hs recommendaon, a frm s consdered an SME when mees wo of he followng hree crera: ) fewer han 250 employees; ) annual oal asses under 43 mllon euros; and ) urnover under 50 mllon euros. To avod bas of he resuls esmaed, and smulaneously have a more represenave sample of he suaon of Poruguese fness SMEs, we consder: ) fness SMEs belongng o he marke for he whole perod of analyss ( ); ) fness SMEs enerng he marke durng he perod of analyss ( ); and ) fness SMEs leavng he marke durng he perod of analyss ( ). The fnal sample s formed as follows: ) 67 fness SMEs n he marke for he whole perod of analyss ( ), correspondng o 335 observaons; ) 79 fness SMEs enerng he marke durng he perod of analyss ( ), correspondng o 256 observaons; and ) 36 fness SMEs leavng he marke durng he perod of analyss ( ), correspondng o 133 observaons. The followng able presens he srucure of he sample used n hs sudy (able no. 1). Table no.1: Sample Descrpon Spor Servce SMEs Frms Observaons Incumben frms n all perod Frms enerng n he perod Frms exng n he perod Toal Frms Source: Made by he Auhors. Vol XV No. 34 June

4 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa 1.2. Varables As dependen varable we consder profably. As ndependen varables we consder: ) sze; ) age; ) lqudy; v) long-erm deb; v) growh opporunes; v) rsk; and v) governmen subsdes. The followng able presens he varables used n he sudy ogeher wh her correspondng measures (able no. 2). Table no.2: Varables and Measuremen Varables Measuremen Dependen varable Profably (PROF ) Rao of operaonal resuls before neres and ax o oal asses Independen varables Sze (SIZE ) Age (AGE ) Lqudy (LIQ ) Long-Term Deb (LLEV ) Growh Opporunes (GO ) Rsk (EVOL ) Governmen Subsdes (GS ) Logarhm o sales Logarhm of he number of years n exsence Rao beween curren asses o shor-erm lables Rao of medum and long-erm lables o oal asses Rao beween nangble asses o oal asses Absolue value of percenage change of earnngs before neres, axes and deprecaons Rao beween governmen subsdes and oal asses Source: Made by he Auhors Economerc Mehod To esmae he emprcal evdence of hs sudy, we use panel daa models, namely OLS regressons admng he exsence of random effecs and admng he exsence of fxed effecs. The regressons o esmae can be presened as follows: PROF GO 5 SIZE 0 EVOL 6 1 AGE GS 7 2 u d e LIQ 3 LLEV 4 (1) n whch: PROF, s he profably of frm n he presen perod; SIZE, s he sze of frm n he presen perod; AGE, s age of frm n he presen perod; LIQ, s he lqudy of frm n he presen perod; LLEV, s he long erm deb of frm n he presen perod; GO, s he growh opporunes of frm n he presen perod; EVOL, 420 Amfearu Economc

5 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE s he rsk of frm n he presen perod; GS, s he governmen subsdes of frm n he presen perod; u are he non-observable effecs of he frm ; varables; and e, s he error erm. d are he me dummy Amng o es he relevance of non-observable ndvdual effecs, we use he LM es. The null hypohess ndcaes ha non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are no relevan n explanng he dependen varable, n hs sudy profably. The alernave hypohess ndcaes ha non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are relevan n explanng he dependen varable. By no rejecng he null hypohess, we conclude ha non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are no relevan n explanng he dependen varable, and so an OLS regresson s he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Rejecng he null hypohess, we conclude ha non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are relevan n explanng he dependen varable, and so an OLS regresson s no he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. In hese crcumsances, a regresson admng he exsence of random or fxed effecs s he bes way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. In he case of concludng ha an OLS regresson s no he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n Poruguese fness SMEs, we resor o he Hausman es o see f non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are correlaed wh he ndependen varables,.e., he deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. If we do no rejec he null hypohess, non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are no correlaed wh he ndependen varables, and so a regresson admng he exsence of random effecs s he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n hese frms. If we rejec he null hypohess, non-observable ndvdual effecs ( u ) are correlaed wh he ndependen varables, and so a regresson admng he exsence of fxed effecs s he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. In order o es he robusness of he resuls obaned, n Appendx (Table A1) we presen regressons usng he mos suable esmaon mehod, nserng blocks of varables separaely, n order o verfy f he resuls are dencal o hose obaned when we esmae he relaonshps beween deermnans and profably of Poruguese fness SMEs consderng he oaly of deermnans. Furhermore, n Appendx (Table A2), also wh he am of esng he robusness of he resuls obaned, we presen a regresson beween deermnans and profably of Poruguese fness SMEs, hrough mos suable esmaon mehod, esmang he sandard devaons of parameers across he cluser opon. Ths opon allows you o esmae he sandard devaons of he esmaed parameers accordng o all ypes of heeroscedascy and auocorrelaon. Vol XV No. 34 June

6 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa 2. Resuls 2.1. Descrpve Sascs and Correlaon Marx The followng able presens he descrpve sascs referrng o he varables used n hs sudy (able no. 3). Table no.3: Descrpve Sascs Varables Frms Observaons Mean S.D. PROF SIZE AGE LIQ LLEV GO EVOL GS Source: Made by he Auhors. We can sae ha he sze and age of Poruguese fness SMEs s consderably lmed. Indeed, small sze and young age may decsvely affec he marke sraeges of hs ype of frm. Concernng volaly of he varables, we fnd ha: ) profably, lqudy, long-erm deb, growh opporunes, rsk and governmen subsdes have a hgh volaly, snce sandard devaons of he varables are above he respecve means; and ) sze and age are no very volale, snce sandard devaons of he varables are under he respecve means. The followng able presens he correlaon coeffcens beween he varables used n hs sudy (able no. 4). We choose o presen he descrpve sascs of he sze and age varables n logarhms n order o agree wh he defnon used and he way hey are nroduced n he regressons. However, amng for a beer percepon of he sze and age of Poruguese fness SMEs, we presen, respecvely, average sze and age whou he varables beng n logarhms: ) average sze s euros; and ) average age s years. We fnd, herefore, ha on average, besdes her reduced sze, he age of fness SMEs s also lmed. 422 Amfearu Economc

7 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE Table no.4: Correlaon Marx PROF SIZE AGE LIQ LLEV GO EVOL GS. PROF 1 SIZE ** 1 AGE ** LIQ * ** ** 1 LLEV ** ** ** ** 1 GO EVOL * ** GS ** ** ** Noes: 1. ** Sascal sgnfcan a 1% level. 2. * Sascal Sgnfcan a 5% level. Source: Made by he Auhors. Accordng o Gujara and Porer (2010), when correlaon coeffcens beween ndependen varables are under 50%, he problem of collneary beween ndependen varables s of resdual mporance. Observng he correlaon coeffcens beween he ndependen varables, n no crcumsances are hey above 50%, and so he problem of collneary beween ndependen varables wll no be relevan here Deermnans of Profably The followng able presens he resuls referrng o he deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs (able no. 5). Frsly, he resuls of he LM es ndcae rejecon of he null hypohess of non-relevance of non-observable ndvdual effecs on he profably of Poruguese fness SMEs, and so an OLS regresson s no he bes way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably here. Secondly, he resuls of he Hausman es ndcae rejecon of he null hypohess of non-correlaon beween non-observable ndvdual effecs and he deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs, and so he mos correc way o esmae relaonshps beween deermnans and profably here s wh a regresson admng he exsence of fxed non-observable ndvdual effecs. The emprcal evdence obaned n hs sudy allows us o conclude ha: ) sze, age, lqudy, long-erm deb and governmen subsdes are posve deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; ) rsk s a resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; and ) growh opporunes are neher a posve nor resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Vol XV No. 34 June

8 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa Table no.5: Profably Deermnans of Spor Servce SMEs Dependen Varable: PROF Independen OLS Random Effecs Fxed Effecs Varables SIZE * ( ) ( ) ** ( ) AGE * ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) LIQ ** ( ) LLEV ** ( ) GO ** ( ) EVOL ** ( ) GS ( ) CONS ( ) * ( ) ( ) * ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) LM (χ 2 ) ** Hausman (χ 2 ) ** ** ( ) * ( ) ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) R Frms Observaons Noes: 1. CONS s he consan of he regressons. 2. Sandard devaons n parenhess. 3. ** sascal sgnfcance a 1 % level. 4. * sascal sgnfcance a 5 % level. 5. The esmaes nclude me dummy varables, bu are no shown. Source: Made by he Auhors. 424 Amfearu Economc

9 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE Regardng he magnude and sascal sgnfcance of he esmaed parameers, he resuls presened n Appendx, Table A1 corroborae hose presened n Table 5, whch esfes n favor of emprcal evdence obaned n hs sudy. Regardng he sandard devaons of he esmaed parameers, and correspondng sascal sgnfcance, he resuls shown n Table A2 are smlar o hose shown n Table 5, whereby he heeroscedascy and auocorrelaon no have a parcular nfluence on he resuls esmaed n hs sudy. 3. Dscusson of he Resuls Gschwandner (2005) sae ha frm sze s fundamenal for ncreased levels of profably. Accordng o he auhors, greaer frm sze conrbues o hem havng: ) greaer ably o ake advanage of economes of scale; ) greaer capacy o dversfy acves and producs; and ) greaer ably o mplemen sraeges amng o ncrease barrers o he enry of poenal compeors. The sze effec s relevan for Poruguese fness SMEs o be more profable. Greaer capacy o ake advanage of scale economes and o dversfy acves and producs, as well as greaer capacy o mplemen sraeges wh a vew o rasng barrers o he enry of poenal compeors, made possble hrough greaer sze, may conrbue o hs ype of frm ncreasng s level of profably. Ths resul confrms he resuls obaned by Maçãs Nunes e al. (2009) for Poruguese servce frms and Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) for young and old Poruguese SMEs. Accordng o Jovanovc (1982), only as he years pass do frm owners and/or managers begn o be more effcen a choosng he bes of alernave nvesmen opporunes. Based on hs argumen, Jovanovc (1982) concludes ha a more advanced sages of her lfe-cycle frms are more able o oban hgher raes of fnancal performance. Greaer age n Poruguese fness SMEs also conrbues o ncreased profably. The age effec means greaer experence n choosng nvesmens and n managng fnancal, maeral and human resources, as well as a greaer percepon of busness rsk, conrbung o ncreased profably n hs ype of frm. For young Poruguese SMEs, Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) obaned smlar resul o ha obaned n hs sudy n he conex of Poruguese fness SMEs. Goddard e al. (2005) conclude ha hgher lqudy levels mean a greaer possbly for frms o be more effecve n facng up o possble changes n her operang markes as a consequence of ncreased compeon. Ths happens because frms wh hgher levels of lqudy are more able o reac n he shor erm o ncreased compeon, as a consequence of he lesser sress n managng her fnancal resources. Lqudy also conrbues o ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Greaer capacy o mee shor-erm commmens may conrbue o Poruguese fness SMEs beng more effecve a copng wh possble changes n her operang markes as a consequence of ncreased compeon, beng more able o ake advanage of good nvesmen opporunes whch may arse. Ths happens because frms wh hgher levels of lqudy have a greaer capacy o reac n he shor erm o ncreased compeon, due o less sress n managng her fnancal resources. Goddard e al. (2005) n he conex of frms from varous European counres and Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) for young Poruguese SMEs also oban a posve relaonshp beween lqudy and profably. For Fagolo and Luzz (2006), when nernal fnance s nsuffcen, f SMEs have greaer access o long-erm deb, raher han excessve recourse o shor-erm deb, hs can Vol XV No. 34 June

10 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa conrbue o ncreased SME profably. Accordng o hese auhors, hs happens because SMEs can manage her fnancal resources wh less sress, whch can be fundamenal for akng advanage of all good nvesmen opporunes ha arse. Long-erm deb s found o be relevan for ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. When nernal fnance s nsuffcen, access o deb may be fundamenal for frms o ake advanage of good nvesmen opporunes ha arse. In hese crcumsances, access o deb on relavely benefcal erms may be crucal for effcen managemen of fnancal resources n small frms. The mporance of long-erm deb for ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs shows ha payng deb charges over a longer perod allows hem o reduce sress n managng her fnancal resources, hs leadng o ncreased profably. Adams and Buckle (2003) for nsurance companes n Bermuda verfy he exsence of a posve relaonshp beween leverage and profably. In he conex of young Poruguese SMEs, Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) obaned a posve relaonshp beween long-erm deb and profably. Auda and Greve (2006), and Chen e al. (2006) conclude ha nangble asses are relevan for frms beng able o adop nnovave sraeges, allowng hem o ncrease her performance. Growh opporunes, n he form of nangble asses, mean neher ncreased nor dmnshed profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. On one hand, greaer sraegc flexbly due o nangble asses seems no o conrbue o hese frms ncreasng her profably as a consequence of greaer capacy o benef from new growh opporunes. On he oher, he greaer rsk assocaed wh nangble asses s no suffcenly relevan for he nangble asses of Poruguese fness SMEs o conrbue o lower levels of profably. Deloof (2003) fnd ha nangble asses conrbue o ncreasng he performance of Belgan frms, whle Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) for servces Poruguese frms verfy he exsence of a negave relaonshp beween angble asses and profably, whch may mply ha he nangble asses of Poruguese servce frms conrbue o ncreased profably. Inangble asses seem o assume less mporance n ncreasng he profably of Poruguese fness SMEs, compared o wha happens n he conex of Belgan frms and Poruguese servce frms. Pe and Snger (1985) conclude ha SMEs wh hgh operaonal rsk have consderable dffculy n accessng cred. In fac, for credors s somemes dffcul o assess he exac naure of SME asses, snce he grea flexbly of SMEs organzaonal srucure can lead n he shor-erm o consderable changes n he naure of her asses. Besdes, n hghrsk suaons, SME owners/managers can begn nvesng n projecs ha maxmze her mmedae shor-erm benefs, and cease o nves n projecs ha conrbue o ncreased profably. Greaer rsk means dmnshed profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Greaer rsk derves n many cases from he srong compeon n he markes where hese frms operae, and so n hghly compeve and consequenly rsker suaons, he profably of Poruguese fness SMEs may fall. Conrbung o dmnshed profably n hese frms, as a consequence of greaer rsk, may be he parcular dffcules n facng srong compeon, due o her lmed sze and age. In he conex of young Poruguese SMEs, Maçãs Nunes e al. (2012) oban a resul dencal o ha obaned n he presen sudy. Serrasquero e al., (2011) conclude ha publc fnancal suppor can be parcularly mporan for SME acves. Smallbone e al. (2010) conclude ha he need o cope wh possble fnancng resrcons conrbues o governmen subsdes beng mporan for he 426 Amfearu Economc

11 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE performance of SMEs. Governmen subsdes are a posve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Ths resul reveals he mporance of publc suppor for he acves of hese frms. Wh nsuffcen nernal fnance and consderable dffculy n accessng deb, governmen suppor may be fundamenal for he acves of Poruguese fness SMEs, conrbung o ncreased profably. Besdes, he fac ha governmen subsdes conrbue o ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs s an ndcaor of effcency n her managemen of publc fundng. Smallbone e al. (2010) fnd ha governmen subsdes may be parcularly relevan for ncreasng he performance of Ukranan SMEs. Conclusons Usng a sample of 182 Poruguese fness SMEs and panel daa models, hs sudy nvesgaes he deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. The emprcal evdence obaned les us conclude ha: ) sze, age, lqudy, long-erm deb and governmen subsdes are posve deermnans of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; ) rsk s a resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs; and ) growh opporunes are neher a posve nor resrcve deermnan of profably n Poruguese fness SMEs. Fness frms provde mporan servces, her physcal acves servng as prevenve medcne. However, Poruguese fness SMEs are very small n sze and very que young, and so when nernal funds are nsuffcen, hey may have parcular fnancng dffcules, affecng her profably and consequen survval n her operang markes. The mulple emprcal evdence obaned n hs sudy allows us o sugges mporan measures o suppor Poruguese fness SMEs: ) consderng he lmed sze and age of Poruguese fness SMEs, and he fac ha sze and age conrbue o ncreased profably, publc fnancal suppor s suggesed specfcally for young, small fness frms wh good nvesmen projecs bu wh dffcules n ncreasng her profably and accessng exernal fnance; and ) snce lqudy, long-erm deb and governmen subsdes conrbue o ncreased profably n Poruguese fness SMEs, more governmen suppor s suggesed, n he form of subsdes or long-erm loans, so ha hese frms can manage her fnancal resources effcenly, whou oo much sress n payng off deb charges over a shor and consan perod of me. As suggesons for he owners/managers of Poruguese fness SMEs: ) more effcen use should be made of growh opporunes, n he form of nangble asses, so ha possble dversfcaon of acves may lead o ncreased profably; and ) mplemenaon of low-rsk sraeges, above all n suaons of srong compeon, so ha rsk does no mean an accenuaed fall n profably. Vol XV No. 34 June

12 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa Appendx Table no.a1: Profably Deermnans of Spor Servce SMEs Robusness Tes 1 Dependen Varable: PROF Independen I II III IV V VI Varables SIZE ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) AGE * ( ) LIQ ** ( ) LLEV * ( ) GO ( ) EVOL ** ( ) GS ** ( ) CONS ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) R Frms Observaons Noes: 1. CONS s he consan of he regressons. 2. Sandard devaons n parenhess. 3. ** sascal sgnfcance a 1 % level. 4. * sascal sgnfcance a 5 % level. 5. The esmaes nclude me dummy varables, bu are no shown. Source: Made by he Auhors. 428 Amfearu Economc

13 The Proecon of Consumer Rghs n he Feld of Economc Servces of General Ineres AE Table no. A2: Profably Deermnans of Spor Servce SMEs Robusness Tes 2 Dependen Varable: PROF Independen Varables SIZE AGE LIQ LLEV GO EVOL GS * ( ) * ( ) ** ( ) * ( ) ( ) ** ( ) ** ( ) Noes: 1. Sandard devaons n parenhess wh cluser opon. 2. ** sascal sgnfcance a 1 % level. 3. * sascal sgnfcance a 5 % level. Source: Made by he Auhors. References Adams, M. and Buckle, M., The deermnans of corporae fnancal performance n he Bermuda nsurance marke. Appled Fnancal Economcs, 13 (2), pp Amao, L. and Amao, C., Frm sze, sraegc advanage, and prof raes n US realng. Journal of Realng and Consumer Servces, 11 (3), pp Andersen-Hanley, C., Nmon, J. and Wesern, S., Cognve healh benefs of srenghenng exercse for communy-dwellng older aduls. Journal of Clncal and Expermenal Neuropsychology, 32 (9), pp Andronceanu, A. and Drăgulănescu, I.-V., Susanably of he organzaonal changes n he conex of global economc crss. Amfearu Economc, XIV(32), pp Ang, J., Small busness unqueness & he heory of fnancal managemen. The Journal of Small Busness Fnance, 1 (1), pp Auda, P., and Greve, H., Less lkely o fal: low performance frm sze, and facory expanson n he shpbuldng ndusry. Managemen Scence, 52 (1), pp Chen, T. S., Ln, M.-J., and Chang, C. H., The nfluence of nellecual capal on new produc developmen performance he manufacurng companes of Tawan as an example. Toal Qualy Managemen, 17 (10), Cho, I., Park, H. and Cho J., The mpac of dversy of nnovaon channels on nnovaon performance n servce frms. Servce Busness, 5 (3), pp Dale, S., Godne, S., Kearse, N., and Feld, A., The fuure of fness - a whe paper. Ed. Les Mlls Inernaonal Ld. Deloof, M., Does workng capal managemen affec profably of Belgan frms. Journal of Busness Fnance and Accounng, 30 (3-4), pp Damond, D., Repuaon acquson n deb markes. Journal of Polcal Economy, 97 (4), pp Fagolo, G., and Luzz A., Do lqudy consrans maer n explanng frm sze and growh? Some evdence from he Ialan manufacurng ndusry. Indusral and Corporae Change, 15 (1), pp Galbreah, J. and Galvn, P., Frms facors, ndusry srucure and performance varaon: new emprcal evdence o a classc debae. Journal of Busness Research, 61 (2), pp Vol XV No. 34 June

14 AE Profably Deermnans of Fness SMEs: Emprcal Evdence from Porugal usng Panel Daa Garber, C., Blssmer, B., Deschenes, M., Frankln, B., Lamone, M., Lee, I.-M., Neman, D. and Swan, D., Quany and qualy of exercse for developng and mananng cardorespraory, musculoskeleal, and neuromoor fness n apparenly healh aduls: gudance for prescrbng exercse. Medcne & Scence n Spors & Exercse, 43 (7), pp Goddard, J., Tavakol M. and Wlson, J., Deermnans of profably n European manufacurng and servces: evdence from a dynamc panel daa. Appled Fnancal Economcs, 15 (8), pp Gschwandner, A., Prof perssence n he very` long run: evdence from survvors and exers. Appled Economcs, 37 (7), pp Gujara D., and Porer, D., Essenals of economercs. 4 h ed. New York: McGraw Hll Inernaonal. Jovanovc, B., Selecon and evoluon of ndusry. Economerca, 50 (3), pp Maçãs Nunes, P., Serrasquero, Z. and Sequera, T., Profably n Poruguese servce frms: a panel daa approach. The Servce Indusres Journal, 29 (5), pp Maçãs Nunes, P., Vveros, A. and Serrasquero, Z., Are he deermnans of young SME profably dfferen? Emprcal evdence usng dynamc esmaors. Journal of Busness Economcs and Managemen, 13 (3), pp Pe R. and Snger, R., Small busness fnance: a research agenda. Fnancal Managemen, 14 (3), pp Porer, M., Compeve sraegy: echnques for analysng ndusres and compeors. The Free Press, New York. Raskovć, M. and Mörec, B., Organzaonal change and corporae susanably n an economc crss: evdence from Slovena. Amfearu Economc, XIV(32), pp Roofhoof, W., Cusomer equy: a creave ool for SMEs n he servces ndusry: how small and medum enerprses can wn he bale for nnovaon. Servce Busness, 4 (1), pp Serrasquero, Z., Armada, M. and Maçãs Nunes, P., Peckng order heory versus rade-off heory: are servce SMEs capal srucure decsons dfferen?, Servce Busness, 5 (4), pp Smallbone, D., Weler, F., Voyovch, A., and Egorov, I., Governmen and enrepreneurshp n ranson economes: he case of small frms n busness servces n Ukrane. The Servces Indusres Journal, 30 (5), pp Teece, D., Inernal organzaon and economc performance: an emprcal analyss of he profably of prncpal frms. Journal of Indusral Economcs, 30 (2), pp Ţgu, G. and Călăreţu, B., Supply chan managemen performance n oursm. Connenal hoels chan case. Amfearu Economc, XV(33), pp Vaslu, C. and Dobrea, M., Sae of mplemenaon of supply chan managemen n companes n Romana. Amfearu Economc, XV(33), pp Amfearu Economc