School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China
| Abstract: | The financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have always been a concern. Many scholars have studied their influencing factors, but with the participation of microcredit companies, the influencing factors will change. This study focuses on identifying the key factors influencing SME financing in the context of microcredit company participation. The study synthesizes previous research to identify nine key influencing factors and proposes corresponding hypotheses. A logistic regression model is then established to analyze survey data collected from SMEs in China. The results show that enterprise management standards, reputation, policy support, financial system completeness, and the degree of information symmetry are the most significant factors, all of which are positively correlated with credit availability. The research has also found that microcredit companies have expanded the financing channels for SMEs. The results showed that SMEs could substantially benefit from the expanded financing channels to gain vitality in the financing monopoly of large enterprises. Results also revealed that microcredit companies could help SMEs solve financing information asymmetry, tackle financing allocation constraints, and address structural deficiencies in financing systems. The findings provide significant insights into both theory and practice. |
| Keywords: | Influencing Factors; Financing; Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises; Microcredit Companies |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.wjeb.2025.02.002 |
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