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Innovation, SMEs and the liability of distance: the demand and supply of bank funding in UK peripheral regions

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  • Neil Lee
  • Ross Brown

Abstract

This article considers geographical variations in the demand and supply of bank finance for innovative firms in the UK. It uses a detailed survey on the finances of almost 40,000 UK Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises for 2011–2013 to investigate both the extent and type of applications for bank finance by innovative firms in peripheral regions, whether funders accept their applications and whether acceptance rates reflect objective criteria, such as credit scores, or their location. The article finds evidence of higher demand for bank finance for innovative firms in peripheral areas, but that these firms are more likely to be discouraged from applying. However, there is strong evidence that innovative firms in peripheral regions are more likely to have their applications for finance rejected, even when controlling for factors such as credit score. The findings suggest that geography matters in the financing of innovative firms and firms in peripheral areas may suffer a ‘liability of distance’ which potentially reinforces regional disparities. The implications of these findings for public policy are outlined.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil Lee & Ross Brown, 2017. "Innovation, SMEs and the liability of distance: the demand and supply of bank funding in UK peripheral regions," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 233-260.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:17:y:2017:i:1:p:233-260.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lbw011
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefania Oppido & Stefania Ragozino & Gabriella Esposito De Vita, 2023. "Peripheral, Marginal, or Non-Core Areas? Setting the Context to Deal with Territorial Inequalities through a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-36, July.
    2. Anna Stansbury & Dan Turner & Ed Balls, 2023. "Tackling the UK’s regional economic inequality: binding constraints and avenues for policy intervention," Contemporary Social Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3-4), pages 318-356, August.
    3. Vincenzo Butticè & Silvio Vismara, 2022. "Inclusive digital finance: the industry of equity crowdfunding," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1224-1241, August.
    4. Eduardo Rodrigues Sanguinet & Francisco de Borja García-García, 2023. "Rural-Urban Linkages: Regional Financial Business Services’ Integration into Chilean Agri-Food Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Vivien Lefebvre, 2021. "Business group affiliation in rural contexts: Do small firms grow faster through working capital management?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 2453-2476, December.
    6. Flögel, Franz & Gärtner, Stefan, 2018. "Bankensysteme aus raumwirtschaftlicher Perspektive," Working Paper Forschungsförderung 099, Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf.
    7. Elisa Ughetto & Marc Cowling & Neil Lee, 2019. "Regional and spatial issues in the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises and new ventures," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 617-619, May.
    8. Flögel, Franz & Gärtner, Stefan, 2018. "The banking systems of Germany, the UK and Spain form a spatial perspective: The German case," IAT Discussion Papers 18/04, Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT), Westfälische Hochschule, University of Applied Sciences.
    9. Mikaela Backman & Tina Wallin, 2018. "Access to banks and external capital acquisition: perceived innovation obstacles," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(1), pages 161-187, July.
    10. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Anna Cecilia Rosso, 2023. "Access to capital markets and the geography of productivity leaders and laggards," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 64-113, January.
    11. Franz Flögel, 2018. "Distance and Modern Banks’ Lending to SMEs: Ethnographic Insights from a Comparison of Regional and Large Banks in Germany," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 35-57.
    12. Franz Flögel & Marius Beckamp, 2020. "Will FinTech make regional banks superfluous for small firm finance? Observations from soft information‐based lending in Germany," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 49(2), July.
    13. Brown, Ross & Lee, Neil, 2019. "Strapped for cash? Funding for UK high growth SMEs since the global financial crisis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 37-45.
    14. Ali Saleh Alshebami, 2022. "Crowdfunding Platforms as a Substitute Financing Source for Young Saudi Entrepreneurs: Empirical Evidence," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    15. Flögel, Franz & Gärtner, Stefan, 2018. "Regionale Banken erhalten, aber wie? Bankensysteme in Spanien, Deutschland und Vereinigtem Königreich im Vergleich," Forschung Aktuell 04/2018, Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT), Westfälische Hochschule, University of Applied Sciences.
    16. Ding Hu & Xianming Fang & Yuting Meng DiGiovanni, 2023. "Technological progress, financial constrains, and digital financial inclusion," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1693-1721, December.
    17. Ross Brown & José M. Liñares-Zegarra & John O.S. Wilson, 2022. "Innovation and borrower discouragement in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1489-1517, December.
    18. Flögel, Franz & Hejnová, Tereza, 2021. "The effects of regional banks on economic resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis a cross-country comparison of the European countries," IAT Discussion Papers 21/01, Institut Arbeit und Technik (IAT), Westfälische Hochschule, University of Applied Sciences.
    19. Ghinami, Francesca & Montresor, Sandro, 2023. "Tangible and intangible proximities in the access to Venture Capital: evidence from Italian innovative start-ups," SocArXiv hqrj7, Center for Open Science.
    20. Aleksandr Ključnikov & Mehmet Civelek & Václav Kupec & Natálie Bruder Badie, 2025. "Breaking down entrepreneurial barriers: exploring the nexus of entrepreneurial behavior, innovation, and bank credit access through the lens of the theory of planned behavior," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-35, December.
    21. Vivien Lefebvre, 2023. "Business group affiliation in resource-scarce locations," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 12(3), pages 121-140, September.
    22. Franz Flögel & Stefan Gärtner, 2020. "The COVID‐19 Pandemic and Relationship Banking in Germany: Will Regional Banks Cushion an Economic Decline or is A Banking Crisis Looming?," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 111(3), pages 416-433, July.
    23. Flögel Franz & Schepelmann Philipp & Zademach Hans-Martin & Zörner Michael, 2024. "Injecting climate finance into SME lending in Germany: Opportunities for and limitations of regional savings and cooperative banks," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 68(2), pages 111-123.
    24. Löher, Jonas & Schröder, Christian, 2017. "Einfluss des Regionalbankensystems auf die Mittelstandsfinanzierung," IfM-Materialien 267, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    25. Navaretti, Giorgio Barba & Rosso, Anna, 2023. "Access to capital markets and the geography of productivity leaders and laggards," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126435, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Finance; SMEs; innovation; thin markets; peripheral regions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General

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