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The main purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the relationship between the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and small and medium-sized enterprises' cost of debt capital.

Statistical methods, including multiple OLS and dynamic panel data, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel dataset of 3865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industry sectors over the 2008–2015 period.

The results suggest that the cost of debt was influenced by the financial crisis and another macroeconomic factor, i.e. the interbank interest rate, and by firm-specific factors such as firm size and lagged cost of debt.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is one of few studies to examine the cost of debt among SMEs during the crisis and post-crisis periods using data from a large-scale, longitudinal, cross-sectional database.

This paper aims to empirically investigate the capital structure determinants of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a particular focus on short- and long-term debt.

Several methods were used to analyse a sample of 15,897 Swedish SMEs for which complete financial information was available for a four-year period following the 2008 financial crisis, i.e. the 2009-2012 period.

The results indicate that eight explanatory variables – i.e. size, age, growth, profitability, liquidity, asset tangibility, non-debt tax shields and industry affiliation – are associated to various extents with SME debt policy.

The current study is limited to examining a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industry sectors covering the 2009-2012 period. Further research could examine the generalizability of the present results by considering other countries, industry sectors and periods.

As debt policy influences firm performance, value and survival, SME owners and managers, regulators and financial institutions may benefit from studies considering a relatively large number of capital structure determinants, several of which are linked to short- and long-term debt in various ways.

This study is one of the few to examine the determinants of short- and long-term debt in SMEs, which play a fundamental role in the economy, using a large-scale cross-sectional database covering a period following the 2008 financial crisis.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between firm sales growth and employment level as a proxy for job creation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The hypotheses were empirically examined by performing several univariate and multivariate regressions to investigate a large panel data set of 13,548 Swedish SMEs in four industry sectors in the four-year period from 2009 to 2012.

The results indicate that growth, in terms of sales, as a competitive advantage is positively related to the number of employees hired by the sampled firms. In addition, the size and age variables are also positively associated with the number of employees hired. The results support the suitability of implementing the resource-based view to explain job creation by SMEs.

While previous studies have mostly ignored the impact of these firm-level variables on job creation, the current study highlights the effect of firm-specific characteristics such as sales growth, size, age and industry. The authors use a combination of models to analyse a large cross-sectoral data set regarding the association, in SMEs, between the firms’ sales growth and job creation.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine capital structure determinants of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during and after the global financial crisis.

Statistical methods, including ordinary least squares and the generalised method of moments, were used to analyse a sample of over 40,800 Swedish SMEs operating in four industries during the 2008–2015 period.

The results indicate that the independent variables – i.e. financial crisis, profitability, size, tangibility and industry affiliation – to various degrees explain changes in short-term debt (STD) and long-term debt (LTD) ratios. In particular, the empirical findings indicate that the sampled SMEs tended to rely more on STD and LTD during (2008–2009) than after (2010–2015) the financial crisis.

Due to data availability, the current study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in four industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalisability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.

This study is one of few examining determinants of short- and long-term SME debt during and after the global financial crisis, using data from a large-scale cross-sectional database.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate determinants of financial distress among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the global financial crisis and post-crisis periods.

Several statistical methods, including multiple binary logistic regression, were used to analyse a longitudinal cross-sectional panel data set of 3,865 Swedish SMEs operating in five industries over the 2008–2015 period.

The results suggest that financial distress is influenced by macroeconomic conditions (i.e. the global financial crisis) and, in particular, by various firm-specific characteristics (i.e. performance, financial leverage and financial distress in previous year). However, firm size and industry affiliation have no significant relationship with financial distress.

Due to data availability, this study is limited to a sample of Swedish SMEs in five industries covering eight years. Further research could examine the generalizability of these findings by investigating other firms operating in other industries and other countries.

This study is the first to examine determinants of financial distress among SMEs operating in Sweden using data from a large-scale longitudinal cross-sectional database.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Granger causal link between bank lending and housing prices.

Several econometric methods, including Granger causality tests based on a vector error correction model, were applied to analyse monthly time series data in the Swedish context. The data cover bank lending, apartment prices, villa prices, mortgage rates and the consumer price index from September 2005 to October 2013.

The results indicate that bank lending and housing prices are cointegrated. According to Granger causality tests, bidirectional relationships exist between bank lending and each of apartment and villa prices, confirming the financial accelerator mechanism. However, earlier shocks arising from housing prices themselves account for the greatest variation in future prices.

To the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first analysis of the causal link between bank lending and the housing market in terms of apartment and villa prices in the Swedish context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational-level determinants of commercial bank profitability.

Using bank-level longitudinal panel data for the 2005–2014 period, this study conducts univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, i.e. ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects and feasible generalized least-squares (FGLS) regressions, to analyze profitability variables in Swedish commercial banks.

The findings indicate that the organizational-level determinants growth, lagged profitability and capital adequacy are positively related to banks’ current profitability. No relationship was found between banks’ size and their profitability. Moreover, no relationship was found between the macroeconomic control variable gross domestic product (GDP) and bank profitability.

Given that organizational-level determinants explain sustainable bank profitability, the findings can be used by bank managers as a basis for low-risk bank policy formulation, and by regulators in monitoring banks relative to international standards (i.e. the Basel Accords).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate determinants of bank profitability in Sweden, a country with a strong tradition of bank-based financing, with previous experience of a domestic bank crisis in the 1990s, and where the recent global financial crisis had relatively little impact on domestic banks.

This study aims to investigate trade credit as a financing source among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly the influence of short-term debt, long-term debt and profitability on the use of such credit.

Ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) system models were used to analyze a large cross-sectional panel data set of 15,897 Swedish SMEs in five industry sectors for the 2009-2012 period.

The study provides empirical evidence that long-term debt and profitability each significantly and negatively influence trade credit (i.e. accounts payable) and that short-term debt positively influences trade credit. Notably, while trade credit seems to complement other short-term debt, it replaces long-term debt. Moreover, firm size in terms of sales is positively related and firm age is negatively related to accounts payable. Industry affiliation is another significant explanatory variable.

The results provide debt holders, potential investors, policymakers and academic researchers with insights into the relationship between trade credit demand, on the one hand, and external financing (i.e. short- and long-term debt) and internal retained earnings (i.e. profit), on the other. From a manager’s perspective, the findings may be important for decision-making regarding trade credit use.

When investigating trade credit determinants, the literature has seldom distinguished between short- and long-term debt and considered that they may influence the use of trade credit in different ways. The present study adds to the literature by using OLS, fixed-effects and GMM system models to analyze a large cross-sectoral sample in a high-tax country where both bank loans and trade credit are considered important financing instruments.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Granger causal link between the stock market index and housing prices in terms of apartment and villa prices.

Monthly data from September 2005 to October 2013 on apartment prices, villa prices, the stock market index, mortgage rates and the consumer price index were used. Statistical methods were applied to explore the long-run co-integration and Granger causal link between the stock market index and apartment and villa prices in Sweden.

The results indicate that the stock market index and housing prices are co-integrated and that a long-run equilibrium relationship exists between them. According to the Granger causality tests, bidirectional relationships exist between the stock market index and apartment and villa prices, respectively, supporting the wealth and credit-price effects. Moreover, variations in apartment and villa prices are primarily caused by endogenous shocks.

To the authors’ best knowledge, this study represents a first analysis of the causal nexus between the stock market and the housing market in terms of apartment and villa prices in the Swedish context using a vector error-correction model to analyze monthly data.

This paper aims to empirically investigate the existence of dynamic capital structure among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across their life cycle stages.

The analysis examined a sample of 15,952 SMEs across five industry sectors for the 2009-2012 period. Several techniques, including ANOVA and multivariate regressions, were used to analyse firm-level data.

The findings suggest that start-up SMEs, on average, rely on equity capital, and that the level of equity capital increases as firms age. The short-term debt level is particularly high in early life cycle stages, decreasing later on. The long-term debt ratio is positively related to firm age, although it is low in all life cycle stages investigated.

The findings may help several parties, including firm owners, to better understand how capital structure can be related to various life cycle stages. Such an understanding may help these actors use financial resources efficiently.

To the authors’ best knowledge, little research has addressed whether there are any differences in financing patterns over the firm life cycle.