'Creation and Destruction' in Transition Economies: SME Sector in Slovakia

Posted: 5 Oct 2014

See all articles by Nick Wilson

Nick Wilson

University of Leeds - Credit Management Research Centre; University of Leeds - Division of Accounting and Finance; University of Leeds - Faculty of Business

Pavol Ochotnicky

University of Economics in Bratislava

Marek Kacer

University of Leeds - Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC); Leeds University Business School (LUBS) - Accounting and Finance Division; University of Leeds - Faculty of Business; University of Economics in Bratislava

Date Written: September 3, 2014

Abstract

The privatisation of State Owned Enterprises (SEO) and cooperatives in Slovakia in the post-communist period created an SME sector diverse in origin and ownership. In the period 1993 to 2011 the size of the SME sector doubled. In this study we develop hypotheses from extant theories and analysis of the transition process to guide our examination of the survival probability of privately owned companies in Slovakia, up to and including the recent recessionary period. We build models within a failure prediction context. Along with the financial and non-financial variables common in failure prediction studies we develop "transition" variables that relate to the origin and ownership of the company. We employ a sample consisting of over 126,649 sets of accounts of 44,597 SME´s in Slovakia and identify 793 exits by failure during the period 1997-2012. We find that the supplement information relating to the transition process, in combination with the financial and non financial variables, make a significant contribution to the default prediction power of risk models built specifically for Slovakian SMEs. Of particular interest are variables that we construct relating to the ownership and origin of Slovakian enterprises. We find strong support for our hypothesis that some foreign ownership reduces failure probability along with support for our 'privatisation trap' hypothesis.

Keywords: Risk Modelling, Bankruptcy, Small Business failure, Transition Reform, Transition Recession.

JEL Classification: G33, G32, M13

Suggested Citation

Wilson, Nicholas and Ochotnicky, Pavol and Kacer, Marek, 'Creation and Destruction' in Transition Economies: SME Sector in Slovakia (September 3, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2504922

Nicholas Wilson (Contact Author)

University of Leeds - Credit Management Research Centre ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
+44 (0)113 343 4472 (Phone)

University of Leeds - Division of Accounting and Finance ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
+44 (0)113 343 4472 (Phone)

University of Leeds - Faculty of Business ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

Pavol Ochotnicky

University of Economics in Bratislava ( email )

Dolnozemská cesta 1
Bratislava, 852 35
Slovakia

Marek Kacer

University of Leeds - Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC) ( email )

Leeds, LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

Leeds University Business School (LUBS) - Accounting and Finance Division ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

University of Leeds - Faculty of Business ( email )

Leeds LS2 9JT
United Kingdom

University of Economics in Bratislava ( email )

Dolnozemská cesta 1
Bratislava, 852 35
Slovakia

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