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Performance, working capital management, and the liability of smallness: A question of opportunity costs?

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  • Vivien Lefebvre

Abstract

This article studies the relationship between working capital management and firm operating performance and focuses on the moderating effect of size. We use a large sample of 56,221 small, medium, and large firms from France, Germany, and Italy, and our results indicate that the impact of working capital management on performance strongly depends on size. We identify a higher sensitivity of performance to underinvestment in net operating working capital for small firms, but no higher sensitivity to overinvestment. These findings suggest that small firms experience high opportunity costs from lost sales when their net operating working capital is low. Financial constraints and lack of financial management are discussed as potential explanations because both are expressions of the liability of smallness.

Suggested Citation

  • Vivien Lefebvre, 2022. "Performance, working capital management, and the liability of smallness: A question of opportunity costs?," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(3), pages 704-733, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:60:y:2022:i:3:p:704-733
    DOI: 10.1080/00472778.2020.1735252
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    Cited by:

    1. Vivien Lefebvre, 2023. "Trade credit, payment duration, and SMEs’ growth in the European Union," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1313-1340, September.
    2. Pan, Xin & Chen, Xuanjin & Qiu, Shumin, 2024. "Pushing boundaries or overstepping? Exploring the paradoxical impact of radical innovation on government subsidies in Chinese SMEs," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    3. Umar Farooq & Mosab I. Tabash & Ahmad A. Al-Naimi & Linda Nalini Daniel & Mohammad Ahmad Al-Omari, 2023. "Herding Trend in Working Capital Management Practices: Evidence from the Non-Financial Sector of Pakistan," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-14, February.
    4. Carla Costa & Rui Baptista, 2023. "Knowledge inheritance and performance of spinouts," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 29-55, March.

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