[雙語翻譯]營運資本外文翻譯--中小企業(yè)營運資金管理（英文）

1、Working capital management in SMEsSonia Ban ? os-Caballero, Pedro J. Garc?´a-Teruel, Pedro Mart?´nez-SolanoDepartment of Management and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business, University ofMurcia, Murcia, S

2、painAbstractThis paper analyses the determinants of Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) for small- and medium-sized firms. It has been found that these firms have a target CCC length to which they attempt to converge, and that t

3、hey try to adjust to their target quickly. The results also show that it is longer for older firms and companies with greater cash flows. In contrast, firms with more growth opportu- nities, and firms with higher leverag

4、e, investment in fixed assets and return on assets have a more aggressive working capital policy.Key words: Cash conversion cycle; Working capital; Market imperfections; SMEsJEL classification: G30, G31, G32doi: 10.1111/

5、j.1467-629X.2009.00331.x1. IntroductionCorporate finance literature has traditionally focused on the study of long-termfinancial decisions such as the structure of capital, investments, dividends and firm valuations. How

6、ever, Smith (1980) suggests that working capital management is important because of its effects on a firm’s profitability and risk, and conse- quently its value. Following this line of argument, some more recent studies

7、have focused on how reduction of the measures of working capital improves a firm’s profitability (Jose et al., 1996; Shin and Soenen, 1998; Deloof, 2003; Padachi, 2006; Garcia-Teruel and Martinez-Solano, 2007a; Raheman a

8、nd Nasr, 2007).This research is part of the Project ECO2008-06179/ECON financed by the Research Agency of the Spanish government. Sonia Ban ? os-Caballero was in receipt of a FPU grantfrom the Spanish Government. The aut

9、hors also acknowledge financial support from Fundacio ´n CajaMurcia. A version of this work has previously been published as WorkingPaper No. 457 of the Working Papers Collection of the Foundation of Savings Banks (

10、FUNCAS).Received 19 December 2008; accepted 18 September 2009 by Robert Faff (Editor).? 2009 The Authors Accounting and Finance ? 2009 AFAANZAccounting and Finance 50 (2010) 511–527for possible endogeneity, and demonstra

11、te that endogeneity problems are crucial in analysing the CCC, and this casts doubt on the results of some previous stud- ies. Moreover, as has been pointed out above, this paper provides evidence on the determinants of

12、the CCC for SMEs, where the capital market imperfections are more serious. The findings for this study are that SMEs have a target CCC, and they try to adjust their current CCC to their target quickly. The results also s

13、how that older firms and companies with larger cash flows maintain a longer CCC, whereas investment in fixed assets, growth opportunities, leverage and return on assets (ROA) lead to it being shorter. Moreover, our resul

14、ts may be of interest for other SMEs established in countries with banking oriented financial systems, as is the case of most of the European Countries with the exception of UK among others. The rest of this paper is org

15、anised as follows: Previous studies on the working capital management are reviewed in Section 2, and are linked to an analysis of the existing literature on market imperfections. Section 3 describes the sample used in an

16、alysis. The methodology employed is outlined in Section 4, and the results are discussed in Section 5. Finally, the main conclusions are presented in Section 6.2. Determinants of working capital management and expected r

17、elationshipsIn perfect capital markets, investment decisions are independent of financing decisions and, hence, investment policy only depends on the availability of investment opportunities with a positive net present v

18、alue (Modigliani and Miller, 1958) because companies have unlimited access to sources of finance and external funds provide a perfect substitute for internal resources. In this situa- tion, a longer CCC would have no opp

19、ortunity cost, because firms could obtain external funds without problems and at a reasonable price. However, internal and external finance are not perfect substitutes in practice. External finance, debt or new share iss

20、ues, may be more expensive than internal finance because of market imperfections. In these circumstances, a firm’s investment and financing decisions are interdependent, and firms may have an optimal CCC that balances co

21、sts and benefits and maximises their value. Specifically, a large CCC may increase a firm’s sales and, consequently, its profitability for several reasons. First, larger inventories can prevent interrup- tions in the pro

22、duction process and loss of business because of the scarcity of products, can reduce supply costs and price fluctuations (Blinder and Maccini, 1991). Second, by extending greater trade credit, the firm can increase its s

23、ales (Petersen and Rajan, 1997), because it allows customers to check that the mer- chandise they receive is as agreed (quantity and quality) and to ensure that the services contracted have been carried out (Smith, 1987)

24、. This argument was also supported by Deloof and Jegers (1996), who suggested that granting trade credit stimulates sales because it allows customers to assess product quality before paying. It also helps firms to streng