Title: Does bank perception of abilities and human capital affect access to loans for business successors?

Authors: Petra Moog, Birgit Felden

Addresses: Universitat Siegen, FB 5, Holderlinstrasse 3, 57076 Siegen, Germany. ' Berlin School of Economics and Law, Badensche Strasse 50-51, 10825 Berlin, Germany

Abstract: Business successions require multiple kinds of abilities and human capital because they are usually complex and require control of all areas of running a business. Moreover, most successions require more financing than a start-up. There has been scarcely any empirical research on the connection between getting bank financing and the level of a successor|s human capital and abilities. For this reason, the study tests the hypotheses that banks take keen interest in successors| abilities and human capital – along with other criteria – as proof of productivity and thus, affect the granting of loans for business successions. We use data of 61 banks to test the impact of human capital and abilities of successors on financing. We can show, that the banks perception of human capital and abilities does affect the access to loans in the case of business transfer.

Keywords: multiple abilities; business succession; finance access; financing; credit ratings; bank loans; credit standing; bank perceptions; business successors; start-ups; ability levels; banks; banking; productivity; business transfers; signalling approaches; signals; asymmetric information; Germany; social capital; human capital; cultural capital; Europe; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2011.042164

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2011 Vol.14 No.1, pp.77 - 99

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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