Analysis of the financial behavior of small and medium-sized enterprises in Morocco

Abstract

This article is part of an exploratory study, which aims to analyze the financial behaviors of SMEs, this analysis aims to understand the financing behaviors of small and medium enterprises, explain their reactions and perceptions in relation to the diversity of the banking and financial system in terms of existing sources of financing, test the validity of classical financial theories applicable to SMEs, know their financial preferences, and also understand how they make their financing decisions while keeping the assumption of the complexity of accessing it, based on the analysis of factors related to this category of enterprise. In order to achieve this analysis, the methodology consisted in dividing the work into two levels of analysis, namely a univariate study, through which we tried to explain their financial behavior, a bivariate study that allowed us to show the impact of internal and external factors, as well as their dependencies with respect to their financial decisions, using the KHI2 test. The study was based on the analysis of a questionnaire consisting of 30 questions, which was sent to 49 SMEs, of different activities and on the whole national territory.

These studies have yielded relevant results that are validated by scientific tests. Based on the sample studied, cross-analyses have shown that access to financing for SMEs depends on their risk appetite. Similarly, access to finance for this category of company does not depend on their asset structure. More than 53% of SMEs break off their transactions with the banking system because of high financing costs.

Following the results obtained, it is to deduce that the SME are subject to certain factors which determine their financial behaviors, which are more or less heterogeneous. This heterogeneity has been the subject of several theories and several researches works, especially in terms of financial theories adapted to the SME. The latter is still the subject of studies, given that they are complex elements that change according to the factors and their environment, which leads to perpetual changes and therefore, heterogeneous financial behavior.

JEL Classification: G40

Paper type: Empirical research