The effect of life cycles on diversification of financing sources for SMEs : evidence from Argentina

Abstract

We examined the effects of life cycle approaches on the capital structure of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and tested the implications of these approaches using a sample of firms from Bahia Blanca (Argentina). We analysed the relationships between the diversification of financing sources and a set of variables from models of the financial growth cycle, the life-cycle of the owner-manager, and the life-cycle of the family firm. Using the multinomial logit model as an estimation method, we found some evidence of information asymmetries, but our main contribution lies in our assertion that the diversification of financing sources is partially a response to the characteristics of the firm owner’s: age, education, and goals for the firm.