TY - JOUR
T1 - Drivers of SME performance
T2 - a holistic and multivariate approach
AU - Ipinnaiye, Olubunmi
AU - Dineen, Declan
AU - Lenihan, Helena
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, The Author(s).
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - To examine the drivers of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth, we adopt a holistic multivariate modelling approach, integrating macroeconomic determinants with the internal (firm characteristics and firm strategy) drivers more commonly investigated in firm growth studies. Utilising such an extended set of variables addresses a gap in the extant firm growth literature in relation to external growth factors, offering novel insights on the seeming randomness of firm growth. Our system generalised method of moments estimation results indicate that the macroeconomic environment influences firm growth both directly and indirectly. Based on the study of manufacturing SME growth in Ireland, our findings provide evidence on the integrated effects of macroeconomic conditions, firm characteristics and firm strategy for SME growth. They also highlight, from a theoretical perspective, the need to acknowledge the multidimensional nature of SME growth.
AB - To examine the drivers of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth, we adopt a holistic multivariate modelling approach, integrating macroeconomic determinants with the internal (firm characteristics and firm strategy) drivers more commonly investigated in firm growth studies. Utilising such an extended set of variables addresses a gap in the extant firm growth literature in relation to external growth factors, offering novel insights on the seeming randomness of firm growth. Our system generalised method of moments estimation results indicate that the macroeconomic environment influences firm growth both directly and indirectly. Based on the study of manufacturing SME growth in Ireland, our findings provide evidence on the integrated effects of macroeconomic conditions, firm characteristics and firm strategy for SME growth. They also highlight, from a theoretical perspective, the need to acknowledge the multidimensional nature of SME growth.
KW - Business cycle
KW - Firm growth
KW - Firm size
KW - Panel data
KW - SMEs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007200924&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11187-016-9819-5
DO - 10.1007/s11187-016-9819-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85007200924
SN - 0921-898X
VL - 48
SP - 883
EP - 911
JO - Small Business Economics
JF - Small Business Economics
IS - 4
ER -