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This study examines the financing of small technology-based firms. Specifically, the study investigates the familiarity of owners of small technology-based firms with alternative forms of capital by stage of development and in comparison with their ability to price and negotiate external equity and debt investment. The results indicate that owners are most familiar with traditional sources of capital, somewhat less familiar with capital commonly used to fund growth, and least familiar with government funding initiatives. Owners believe that they are better able to negotiate than to price equity and debt. The perceived ability to negotiate and price externally funded investments increases as the firm matures through the various stages of development.

This article views the survival of a family business as partially dependent on spousal commitment. The decision to launch a business should depend not only on analysis of the opportunity, but also on the degree to which one's spouse shares a common vision about the goals, risks, and rewards of the business. Models and testable hypotheses are developed to guide empirical research on the antecedents and consequences of spousal commitment to a family business. The models can benefit individuals considering the launch of a business, couples that currently own a business, business consultants, and university instructors teaching entrepreneurship courses.

This study investigates the initial capitalization and financing patterns of recently established (new) and established (old) small businesses in Iowa. Analysis of survey responses indicates that significant differences exist between these two groups of firms. Specifically, new firms are found to have relied more heavily on debt financing than old firms. This suggests that new firms with high debt loads are likely not to survive and become old firms.

Much financial theory has relied on the traditional assumption of independence between the two sides of the balance sheet. Research has appeared that demonstrates that this assumption is not always valid. This study uses canonical correlation analysis to analyze the financial strategies employed by firms in Hong Kong. The financial strategies of firms in Hong Kong are compared with the financial strategies of firms in Korea and Taiwan. The results indicate that firms in each country use similar financial strategies. Specifically, the results demonstrate that the firms use hedging, use of short-term liabilities to finance current assets, use of equity to finance fixed assets and concurrent use of cash and equity to manage the risk of insolvency. The results contribute to the growing body of literature on the financial strategies employed by firms in different countries.

Canonical correlation analysis is used to investigate the cross-balance sheet relationships for a sample of Mexican firms. The results are compared to a similar analysis of large and small United States firms. Like US companies, Mexican firms tend to match the maturities of short- and long-term assets with their liability/equity accounts. Unlike their US counterparts, however, Mexican firms appear to employ short-term debt, primarily accounts payable, to manage risk. Also, in the 1982 through 1988 period, the use of accounts payable to finance current assets declines, as does the importance of accounts receivable. It is suggested that these changes were the result of the hyperinflation in Mexico in the 1980s and, to a lesser degree, the Stabilization Plan implemented in the early part of the decade.

This paper reports on a nationwide study of the characteristics of initial and subsequently acquired capital of 123 (a response rate of 31.75 per cent) women-owned businesses. The issues examined included combination and sources of capital, and requirements for obtaining debt capital. The data were examined relative to type of firm and level of borrowing. The average start-up financing mix was 76.4 per cent equity and 23.6 per cent debt. Most initial equity capital was obtained from personal sources. Initial debt capital was obtained primarily from lending institutions. Shortterm borrowing was common, and almost 20 per cent of the women-owned firms refinanced both the principal and interest of the short-term loan at maturity. New long-term capital was acquired primarily from lending institutions.

This study examines the use of bootstrap financing for a sample of 78 firms in a Midwestern state. The results show that traditional sources of capital accounted for 65% of the firms' start-up capital and 35% of the start-up capital was obtained from bootstrap sources. A Chi-squared analysis indicates a significant difference between the percentage of sole proprietorship versus other firms and construction/manufacturing versus other types of firms using bootstrap financing as compared to traditional sources of financing when bootstrap financing comprised at least 60% of the total start-up capital. No significant difference was found between the percentage of firms located in communities less than 10,000 versus greater than 10,000 that used bootstrap financing as compared to the traditional sources of financing.

The importance of small business in the US economy suggests that an understanding of why firms fail is crucial to the stability and health of the economy. The focus of a study is limited to a single industry within one region of the country. The study examined perceived causes of small business failure in the apparel and accessory retailing industry. The study found that perceived failure factors of discontinued small business apparel and accessory retailers clustered in 4 areas: poor managerial functions, capital management, competitive environment, and growth and expansion. While the results show that apparel and accessory small business failures are a result of poor performance and inefficiencies in the 4 areas, neither the factors nor the variables within each factor should be viewed as being independent.

Prior research regarding advertising media selection by small businesses is extended with a focus on women entrepreneurs. Survey results indicate that a higher percentage of women entrepreneurs reported using referrals, community events, the telephone directory and fliers than were reported by the general sample in a previous study.