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The COVID-19 impact on global poverty dragged another 97 million people into poverty in 2020. Nonetheless, there is scant evidence reporting on the impacts on alternative means of financing designed to enable the poor during this global health crisis. This paper addresses this gap of funding impoverished entrepreneurs by studying the changes in their successfully funded campaigns on the largest crowdfunding microfinance platform prior and during COVID-19. After collecting data from January 2018 to November 2021 for a total of 767,112 campaigns, we report that the COVID-19 pandemic positively impacts on the funding success of the crowdfunding campaigns. However, rises in the daily number of COVID-19 cases negatively associate with campaigns getting fully funded. The odds of campaigns being fully funded decrease by 4.4% for a one thousand increase in new cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosocial crowdfunding has achieved a growing audience by providing a financing source for entrepreneurs in the microfinance space. Using data from Kiva, a leading prosocial crowdfunding platform, we examined whether there is a right time to launch a crowdfunding campaign. This is the first study to unravel the role of temporal patterns in securing funds in emerging markets. Our results indicate a reverse turn-of-the-month effect on the fully funded campaigns. We further identified a "positive winter prosocial effect" and a "positive first-half-of-the-week effect" on successful fundraising. As such, our study highlights relevant similarities between financial markets and crowdfunding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the relevance of crowdfunding as a financing tool for underrepresented entrepreneurs, prior research pays scant attention to the funding gap for refugee entrepreneurs. Using a composite framework that integrates both entrepreneurship research and signalling theory, the current study investigates how microfinance institutions (MFIs) and refugee entrepreneurs can deploy signals to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities on digital platforms. The results, based on refugee data pertaining to 5615 loans on Kiva during 2015–2018, reveal that when refugee loan campaigns are affiliated with an MFI that itself features lower default rates, achieves high profitability, adopts an entrepreneurial support orientation, operates transnationally and is digitally focused, the campaign achieves better crowdfunding performance outcomes than refugees campaigns affiliated with an MFI that lacks these features. These findings provide clear evidence that when MFIs offer reputational signals, visible to the crowd of lenders, it can increase entrepreneurial financing and democratize resource acquisition among financially excluded refugee entrepreneurs. Plain English Summary: Can microfinance institutions boost crowdfunding among refugee entrepreneurs and their small businesses? Yes, they can. Third-party signals may support growth in alternative finance for #refugees. While research on entrepreneurship has largely targeted immigrant entrepreneurs, the refugee context has been neglected, namely how refugee entrepreneurs fund their economic activities. With signalling literature on new venture financing of entrepreneurship being greatly fragmented, we contribute to the understanding of how crowdfunding microfinance boost venture financing of refugees. We study the gain of legitimacy by refugee entrepreneurs displayed through reputational signals intertwined with the reputation of microfinance institutions (MFI). Our results reveal higher success in funding outcomes when the loan campaign is linked with microfinance institutions with lower loan default rates, higher profitability, driven by entrepreneurial support, operating internationally and with a digital presence, compared with MFI that lacks these features. Our work has relevant implications for underrepresented refugee entrepreneurs, crowdfunding actors, policymakers and scholars. Our findings indicate that the affiliation between refugees-microfinance institutions creates certain reputational signals which enhance entrepreneurial finance and shape conditions for societal integration in the host country. For crowdfunding platforms, we show that to develop an effective, self-perpetuating entrepreneurial ecosystem, they should work to build their reputation among lenders, by capitalizing on and making third-party signals more readily available. At the same time, they must conduct due diligence to assess and monitor MFIs' behaviour. Policy makers are recommended to build up on this digital microfinance experience to enhance new venturing finance refugee programs. We, thus, extend prior findings about the importance of third-party affiliations by establishing a composite framework of third-party signals in the context of new venture financing for financially excluded communities, and refugees in particular. Accordingly, for scholars, we offer cross-disciplinary insights into which characteristics of intermediaries can facilitate links between the supply (crowd of lenders) and demand (refugee entrepreneurs) sides in prosocial crowdfunding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest in studies aimed at understanding the integration of the stock market with the economic performance of countries has been growing in recent years, perhaps driven by the recent economic crises faced by the world. Although several studies on the topic have been carried out, the results are still far from a meaningful conclusion. In this sense, this paper considered the dual objective of investigating whether there is significant variance in the economic performance of developed and emerging markets' countries and whether the global risk factors are statistically significant in explaining the variations in their future economic performance over time. From a sample of (i) gross domestic products from BRICS and G7 countries (total of twelve countries), and (ii) returns of the risk factors of developed and emerging stock markets for the period 1993 to 2019, we applied longitudinal regression modeling for five distinct percentiles, and random coefficients modeling (RCM) with repeated measures. We found that risk factors explain the future economic performance, there is significant variation in economic performance over time among countries, and the temporal variation in the random effects of intercepts can be explained by RCM. The results of this study confirm that stock markets follow an integration process and that moderately integrated markets may have the same risk factors. Furthermore, considering that risk factors are related to future GDP growth, they act as proxies for unidentified state variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion is a vital development policy concern; different combinations and conditions of access to (supply) and use of (demand) financial services may predict levels of financial inclusion. With a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, conducted across 61 countries worldwide, the current research establishes that financial literacy and human development are conditions of high financial inclusion; supply-side drivers, such as bank concentration and bank branches, represent substitutive conditions for attaining high levels of financial inclusion. With separate analyses of a split sample, designating developed and developing countries, the authors also determine that the absence of financial literacy and human development, as demand-side drivers, leads to diminished financial inclusion for both sets of countries. In turn, this research offers novel ideas for achieving more efficient policies to prompt financial inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a scientometric analysis and systematic literature review to identify the trends in microfinance outcomes from the perspective of their recipients, specifically more vulnerable people, while also focusing on the demand side. Applying the keywords "co-occurrence networks" and "citation networks," we examined 524 studies indexed on the ISI Web of Science database between 2012 and March 2021. The subsequent content analysis of bibliometric-coupled articles concerns the main research topics in this field: the socioeconomic outcomes of microfinance, the dichotomy between social performance and the mission drift of microfinance institutions, and how entrepreneurship and financial innovation, specifically through crowdfunding, mitigate poverty and empower the more vulnerable. The findings reinforce the idea that microfinance constitutes a distinct field of development thinking, and indicate that a more holistic approach should be adopted to boost microfinance outcomes through a better understanding of their beneficiaries. The trends in this field will help policymakers, regulators, and academics to examine the nuts and bolts of microfinance and identify the most relevant areas of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the successive calls to better understand the contexts of crowdfunding as well as the interplay between social and financial factors in driving lender decisions by deploying economic development theory inspired on the two-sector model. Making recourse to the leading prosocial crowdfunding platform KIVA, this study examines the impact of the business-loan purpose (traditional vs modern) on the success of fundraising campaigns. The results indicate how modern-sector business loan campaigns lead to faster funding from crowdfunding campaigns. Furthermore, when directed towards modern sectors, large loans emerge as more appealing to lenders, indicating how large loans go to financing high-return projects. Female microentrepreneurs gain an advantage over men in both the traditional and modern sectors. However, the comparative advantage of female microentrepreneurs becomes less pronounced among modern-related loan campaigns. Overall, the findings support how the global crowdfunded microfinance ecosystem boosts the transition of poor microentrepreneurs to a modern economy and thereby avoiding development traps, and thus also providing theoretical insights into predicting prosocial lending decisions regarding sectoral choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines how stewardship might mediate the influence of family ownership on firm financial performance. The authors argue that differences in financial performance may reflect not only the family's influence but also the prevalence of a stewardship-oriented culture, across varying degrees of family influence. Design/methodology/approach: The measure of family influence uses the F-PEC scale: family [F], power [P], experience [E] and culture [C]. It supports cross-firm comparisons of different levels of family influence. To capture the multidimensional nature of family influence, this study uses structural equation modelling and measures the meditating effects of stewardship. Findings: The results reveal a mediating effect of stewardship; family firms achieve better performance when they take advantage of and encourage stewardship attitudes among owners and leaders. Factors associated with stewardship behaviour, including stewardship motivation and stewardship culture, help explain why some family firms perform better than others. Practical implications: When analysing the behaviour of family firms, interested entrepreneurs, managers and consultants should acknowledge that the family's influence entails both financial and emotional capital. The survival of the family businesses depends on balancing these aspects. Originality/value: In response to calls for research into mediators of the complex relationship between family influence and firm outcomes, this study provides a novel explanation for performance-maximizing behaviours by organizations, in which pro-organizational attitudes coexist with self-serving motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a systematic literature review of growing research on microfinance, as promoted by scholars and policymakers in an entrepreneurial finance context. The results suggest promising opportunities for further research on microfinance in developed countries. Bibliometric analyses were used to identify three main dimensions of microfinance that guide academic research: social considerations, economic effects, and performance of microfinance institutions. Most literature focuses on developing countries, reflecting the success of microfinance as an instrument for promoting social and economic development. A keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals that financial inclusion and entrepreneurship domains remain empirically underexplored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We relate credit risk and owners' personal guarantees to bank loan maturities during the global financial crisis. The findings, which remain robust to reverse causality, show that firms rated as low risk, with a strong relationship with the bank, whose owners provided personal guarantees and with large loan sizes obtained longer maturities. Banks with larger nonperforming loans provided loans with shorter maturities. Firms with low‐ and high‐risk ratings that provided owners' personal guarantees obtained longer maturities. These findings shed additional light on the relationship between risk and loan maturities and the role of personal guarantees in reducing information asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of (business) collateral and (personal) guarantees alongside small and medium enterprise (SME), lending bank and loan characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, sectors, and geographic locations while controlling for unobserved time effects in predicting default at the peak of the financial crisis. First, we find a positive relation between collateral and default, and a negative relation between guarantees and default. Second, we find a negative relation between the joint influence of collateral and high credit score, and a positive relation between the joint influence of collateral and low credit score and default. We also find a negative relation between the joint influence of guarantees and high credit score. These findings are relevant for SME policies aimed at facilitating access to credit, reducing the cost of borrowing, and decreasing default; risk management of banks; and the application of theories of financial economics in the context of a financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into the low-leverage phenomenon by analyzing the dynamics of firms’ financing policies. The authors explore three theoretical explanations of firms’ motivations to switch among different levels of debt aversion: financial constraints, financial flexibility and financial distress.Design/methodology/approach The authors apply a multilevel mixed-effects model to a panel data sample of 9,005 US listed firms during 1987-2014. To use a multinomial ordered logit model, the authors break down the low-leverage firms into several levels of debt aversion.Findings The empirical analysis provides four main findings. First, there is a dynamic behavior regarding leverage policy: after five years, 39.4 per cent of initial zero debt firms remain all-equity firms, 14.2 per cent are leveraged firms and approximately 19.7 per cent still adopt a low-leverage policy. Second, greater asset volatility increases the expected likelihood that firms will be debt averse. Third, when firms grow bigger and older, they show a greater likelihood of moving toward a higher leverage level. Fourth, results derived from the investment variables of research and development, acquisitions, and capital expenditure provide strong evidence in favor of the financial flexibility hypothesis.Practical implications These findings suggest that conservative debt policy is integrated with corporate investment decisions.Originality/value This paper contributes to extant literature by emphasizing the dynamic process associated with a low-leverage policy, unlike prior studies that focus on the determinants and characteristics of low-leverage firms. It also applies an econometric methodology that is new to the field: multilevel models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the simultaneous impact of observed characteristics and private information on debt term contracts in a multi-period setting, using a dataset of 12,666 credit approvals by one major Portuguese commercial bank during 2007-2010. The main results show that borrowers with good credit scores that know they have a high probability of success and are unlikely to default are more willing to pledge collateral in return for a lower interest rate premium (IRP). Furthermore, lenders tailor the specific terms of the contract, increasing both collateral requirements and the IRP from observed risk, for borrowers operating in riskier industries and with less credit availability. The results are robust to controls for joint debt terms negotiation and the degree of collateralization offered by the borrower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates the interdependence between trade and bank credit among 468 Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs). The results show that a single bank relationship is prevalent among Portuguese SMEs, indicating that the proprietary borrower information that banks obtain through their relationship results in an information monopoly that creates a holdup problem and leads to high interest rates. Suppliers that can control their customers' credit risk may provide additional credit and thus help alleviate concerns associated with holdup costs. Trade credit is a viable alternative to short-term debt, especially when firms' main bank is unwilling to increase its exposure to liquidity constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Laboratório de Psicologia is the property of Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of the present study was to analyze the role of psychopathic traits in juvenile delinquency. Using a sample of 543 young males from the Juvenile Detention Centers of the Portuguese Ministry of Justice and from schools in the Lisbon region, a group of high psychopathic traits (n = 281) and a group of low psychopathic traits (n = 262) were formed based on the Portuguese version of Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Results showed that youths with high psychopathic traits start engaging in criminal activities earlier in life, come into contact with the justice system earlier in life, and have higher levels of conduct disorder, behavior problems, and delinquent behaviors as well as lower levels of self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Combining ownership and management might lead concentrated shareholders, such as families, to wealth expropriation. The lack of external monitors and disciplinary agents potentially permits them to pursue this path. Thus, monitoring activity is one of the major drawbacks in family controlled firms. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated analysis of the governance roles of various block-holders, institutional investors and corporate boards in firm performance in the context of publicly-listed family-controlled firms.Design/methodology/approach – Using a multi-industry data set of 208 firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (MSE), this study employs the generalized method of moments (GMM) to address the issue of endogeneity on panel data over the period 200-2006.Findings – The results show that family firms have better accounting performance than non-family firms. So, active family involvement in management positions seems to reduce managerial opportunism. However, higher accounting performance does not translate into an increase in valuation levels, and thus might not accrue to minority shareholders. Additionally, the results also show an alignment incentive between a coalition of large shareholders (two families) and firm value.Research limitations/implications – This study provides empirical evidence consistent with a block-holder coalition framework that sustains an incentive alignment effect of the coalition of large shareholders (two families) and the firm value. Additionally, the results also support evidence that board dominance is another channel through which families can extract private benefits.Originality/value – This study contributes to understanding that the family firm performance depends on the efficiency of various governance mechanisms. Thus, it offers insights to policy makers to verify board appointment mechanisms used by family firms. Since external board members might be vetted and approved by the family or other dominant block-holders, what is the extent of their independence from the dominant owners? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a credit-scoring model as an aggregate valuation procedure that integrates various financial and non-financial factors and thereby improves small to medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) knowledge about their default risk. Design/methodology/approach – Using panel data from a representative sample of Portuguese SMEs operating in the food or beverage manufacturing sector, this paper develops a logit scoring model to estimate one-year predictions of default. Findings – The probability of non-default in the next year is an increasing function of profitability, liquidity, coverage, and activity and a decreasing function of leverage. Smaller firms and those with just one bank relationship have a higher probability of default. The findings suggest that a main bank has incentives to engage in hold up by increasing margins that ex post are too high. Practical implications – Because SMEs differ from large corporations in their credit risk (e.g., riskier, lower asset correlations), this study has implications for both banks and supervisory actors. Banks should consider qualitative variables when setting internal systems and procedures to manage credit risk. Supervisory institutions should claim mixed credit ratings to determine regulatory capital requirements. Originality/value – This paper offers a new model, focused specifically on SMEs, and explores the role of financial and non-financial factors in determining internal credit risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; Most countries often have public companies with large controlling owners, typically a family. This empirical evidence aims to contrast with the classical view of the largest dispersed firm presented by Berle and Means and challenge the findings by Bhattacharya and Ravikumar, who predict that the shares held by families will decrease if an efficient financial market is put in place. Therefore, family firms represent an important group in the stock market today. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of the family as a controlling owner on firms|!|#39; performance, valuation and capital structure.Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The paper reviews the current literature related to how family (taking into account specific governance characteristics such as family ownership, family control and family management) affects firms|!|#39; performance and value.Findings |!|#8211; The literature review showed that founder family control and professional (outside) management increase performance, whereas excess control via control enhancing mechanisms (such as dual class shares and pyramidal structures) and descendent management produce both lower valuation and performance. This evidence suggests that families have the incentives and the power to systematically expropriate wealth from minority shareholders.Originality/value |!|#8211; Previous research shows that family firms on average perform better than non-family firms. But this is a non-linear relation due the fact that the relationship between family ownership and performance cannot be identified without distinguishing between control and cash-flow rights. Thus, the literature review as a whole emphasizes that the incentives for the controlling shareholder to engage in expropriation are a function of the institutional framework in which the firm operates. So, for further research, it is important to investigate how family firms perform in different corporate governance systems. A policy implication is the necessity to improve minority shareholders|!|#39; protection from the risk of expropriation by large shareholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]