Skip to main content
Log in

The Reasons and Symptoms of Failure in SME

  • Published:
International Advances in Economic Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In analyzing the sources and processes of failure, one can see a certain pattern. Namely, management does not notice the critical situation in time, which due to delayed or incompetently carried out repair actions, ends in company collapse. Development thresholds are occurring in the process of the growth and development of the company. They are often tied with crisis in the company. Their occurrence is preceded with symptoms of future crises in many cases. The analysis and understanding of these symptoms by entrepreneurs may help reduce the number of crises in companies of the SME sector and unintentional economic failure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For example, theories like the liability of smallness (Hannan and Freeman 1984; Sutton 1997) and the liability of newness (Stinchombe 1965, quoted in Thornhill and Amit 2003). The company’s age or size in itself cannot be a direct reason of the future failure, it may, however, point to the areas one should focus on during the analysis of reasons for failure.

  2. These studies were conducted in the project financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education “Symptoms of failurel of a small business. Socio-economic implications. Prevention policy”. The aim of the survey was to collect opinions of entrepreneurs on the causes and symptoms of the collapse of small businesses in Poland. Questionnaire studies were conducted in 2008 in 314 small businesses located throughout the country. Among the surveyed companies dominated micro-firms (0–9 employees) 74 percent of the surveyed population and entrepreneurs who had no previous experience of running a business and this is their first business - 69.7 percent of responses. Analyzing the structure of the companies due to the economic sector it was as follows: 36.9 percent of the companies resulted in productive activities, 30.3 percent - the trade, and 32.8 percent the services.

References

  • Argenti, J. (1976). Corporate collapse: the causes and symptoms. McGraw-Hill, London: Holsted Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bednarski, L. (2001). Analiza finansowa przedsiębiorstwa. Warszawa: PWE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley III, D. B. & Moore H. L. (2000). Small business bankruptcy caused by lack of understanding of business environment and consumer needs, 1998 ICSB Singapore Conference, http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/icsb/1998/88.pdf

  • Cameron, K. A., Sutton, R. I., & Whetten, A. D. (1988). Readings in organizational decline: frameworks, research, and prescriptions. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chowdhury, S., & Lang, J. (1993). Crisis, decline, and turnaround: a test of competing hypotheses for short-term performance improvement in small firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 31(4), 8–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, A. B. (1981). Small business mortality rates: A review of the literature. Journal of Small Business Management, 19(4), 50–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen, N. & Van Caillie, D. (2007) The business failure process : towards an integrative model of the literature, EIASM Workshop on Default Risk and Financial Distress (Rennes (France), September).

  • Hannan, M. T., & Freeman, J. H. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational change. American Sociological Review, 49, 149–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, P. I., & Beaver, G. (1995). The managerial dimension of small business failure. Journal of Strategic Change, 4, 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koksal, A., & Arditi, D. (2004). An input/output model for business failures in the construction industry. Journal of Construction Research, 5(1), 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korol, T., & Prusak, B. (2005). Upadłość przedsiębiorstw a wykorzystanie sztucznej inteligencji. Warszawa: Wyd. CeDeWu Sp. z o.o.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laitinen, E.K. (1991). Financial ratios and different failure processes, Journal of Business, Finance and Accounting, 649–673.

  • Ooghe H. & De Prijcker S. (2006). Failure process and causes of company bankruptcy: a typology, Working Paper, Universitet Gent

  • Richardson, B., Nwankwo, S., & Richardson, S. (1994). Understanding the causes of business failure crises: Generic failure types. Management Decision, 32(4), 9–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, S., & Mahajan, V. (1980). Early Warning Indicators of business failure. Journal of Marketing, 44, 80–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swaminathan, A. (1996). Environmental conditions at founding and organizational mortality: a trial-by-fire model. The Academy of Management Journal, 39, 1350–1377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, J. (1997). Gilbrat’s legacy. Journal of Economic Literature, 35(1), 40–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornhill, S., & Amit, R. (2003). Learning about failure: bankruptcy firm age and resource-based view. Organization Science, 15, 497–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulmer, M. J., & Nielsen, A. (1947). Business Turn-Over and Causes of Failure. Survey of Current Business, 27(4), 10–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, J. (2003). The potential impact of accessing advice on SME failure rates. A paper for the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand 16th Annual Conference, Ballarat, 28 Sept-1 Oct,

  • Weitzel, W., & Jonsson, E. (1989). Decline in Organizations: A literature Integration and Extension. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zelek, A. (2003). Zarządzanie kryzysem w przedsiębiorstwie – perspektywa strategiczna. Warszawa: Instytut Organizacji i Zarządzania w Przemyśle ORGMASZ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelek A. & Gwarek A. (2000). Symptomy kryzysu organizacji, Firma i Rynek, 2,

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaroslaw Ropega.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ropega, J. The Reasons and Symptoms of Failure in SME. Int Adv Econ Res 17, 476–483 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11294-011-9316-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11294-011-9316-1

Keywords

JEL

Navigation