Data assetization and corporate credit financing: evidence from hidden champion SMEs in China

Does data assetisation improve corporate liquidity and corporate growth? Evidence from “hidden champion” SMEs in China

Data assets serve functions such as value preservation and appreciation, financing, and value creation. They contain extensive information about enterprises’ operational status and future development prospects, providing significant references for external investors’ decision-making and greatly impacting the information efficiency in capital market. This study examines the correlation between data assetization and capital market information efficiency, along with the mechanisms and influencing factors involved. We select a sample of Chinese Hidden Champion small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2011 to 2021, utilize text analysis methods to build a data assets dictionary, and extract keywords from corporate annual reports to depict the level of data assetization. The research results indicate that data assetization significantly enhances the information efficiency of capital market, specifically reducing stock price synchronicity and stock price delay. By categorizing data assets into own-use data assets and transactional data assets, we find that both types can improve the information efficiency of the capital market. Mechanism analysis reveals that enterprise data assetization can enhance the information efficiency of capital market by alleviating corporate financing constraints and improving forward-looking information disclosure. Factors analysis demonstrates that digital infrastructure and data circulation transactions can strengthen the enhancement effect of data assetization on the information efficiency of capital market. This study enriches the research outcomes in the micro-research field of data assets, providing valuable insights for promoting the digital transformation of Hidden Champion SMEs and the high-quality development of capital market.

T he paper first analyzes the problems of compensation management in SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in China. Besides, the paper combines with practical cases and puts forward suggestions and measures on improving the compensation management system in SMEs in China accordingly, aiming at providing help for the human resource managers in SMEs.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are vital to an economy but often face financing constraints due to information asymmetry. Supply chain finance (SCF) has emerged as a solution, combining supply chain and financial services to accelerate capital turnover, optimize fund flow, and improve operational efficiency. Reducing information asymmetry can significantly enhance supply chain financial performance (SCFP). However, while digital transformation improves firms' financing ability by strengthening internal controls and fostering robust supply chain relationships, the role of reduced information asymmetry in this process remains underexplored, particularly in the context of SMEs in China. This gap calls for further investigation into how digital transformation mitigates information asymmetry for SMEs and enhances their SCFP. Therefore, this study examines how SMEs' digital transformation impacts supply chain finance, particularly by exploring the mediating role of information asymmetry. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2023, multiple regression analysis revealed that digital transformation significantly reduces information asymmetry, thereby improving SCFP. Additionally, information asymmetry mediates the relationship between digital transformation and SCFP. This study advances the theoretical understanding of SCFP in the digital era by providing evidence on how digital transformation reduces information asymmetry and enhances SCFP, particularly for SMEs. The findings offer theoretical insights and practical implications for policymakers in designing targeted financial frameworks to facilitate SME financing towards sustainable economic growth.

Since the reform and opening up, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China developed rapidly, which have become an important part of China’s economic and social development. However, the financing difficulties of SMEs have become increasingly prominent during recent years, and it hinders the healthy development of SMEs in China. This paper analyzes the current financing situation of SMEs in China, and conducts a deeply comparative analysis for several common external financing means of SMEs. In addition, this article provides some suggestions about how to solve financing difficulties if SMEs in China. Key words: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); External financing means; Options

The purpose of this study is to apply a multidimensional fixed-effects difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically examine the impact, policy mechanism, and heterogeneity of Technologically Advanced Policy (TAP) on green innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2021. The results show that TAP significantly improves the green innovation level of listed companies on the small and medium-sized board, and has a more significant role in promoting technologically advanced enterprises (TAEs). The results of the policy effect are still robust after the placebo test, changing the dependent variable, and controlling for the influence of the environmental inspection system, the emissions trading system (ETS), and the carbon emissions trading system (CETS). Furthermore, we find that the policy effect of TAP is better in state-owned SMEs and SMEs in the eastern, central, and western regions. In addition, further research shows that the green innovation effect of TAP is mainly realized through mechanisms such as government subsidies, tax reduction, credit financing, and market competition. Moreover, state-owned SMEs have obvious advantages in the three mechanisms of government subsidy, tax reduction, and market competition, while private SMEs only have significant advantages in credit financing mechanisms. Overall, our findings show that TAP has achieved policy effects in promoting green innovation for SMEs in China, but state-owned SMEs still receive significant policy preference. It is recommended that future policy reforms favor private SMEs.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key to economic growth and job creation. However, they face significant challenges in accessing funding, which is essential for their growth and sustainable development. This paper analyzes several financing methods that can be adopted by SMEs in China, including bank loan, venture capital, angel investment, crowd funding, government grants, equity financing etc. The report evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of each pathway, focusing on accessibility, cost, approval process, etc. On this basis, combined with the actual situation of listed companies in China, the analysis of different types of financing models, to provide theoretical basis for the development of SMEs in China. In addition, the report also explores the financing of SMEs in the future, highlighting the use of technology, changes in government policies, and international collaboration that can improve SMEs' financing capacity. Understanding this new development trend is that SMEs should adopt flexible financing strategies according to changes in the market environment, so as to ensure their sustainable development and make a greater contribution to the world economy. These results will provide theoretical basis for the rapid development of Chinese SMEs in the financing environment, as well as the formulation of related policies and the decision-making of investors.

Microenterprises -small companies with their own characteristic features -are a major component of the economic system, which brings positive effects on employment, increases the supply of goods and services, promotes the growth of competition in the market and performs other important functions in the economic system.Microenterprises face sufficient problems with the access to bank financing, which is a base for their sustainable growth.The aim of this paper was to define and quantify significant risk factors of microenterprises' credit financing in the current dynamic economic environment and to compare the significant position of these undertakings in relation to commercial banks by gender, education of the entrepreneur and the company's age.Our research confirmed the impact of the age of the company in the perception of the growing important of the credit risk during the crisis, and the level education of the entrepreneur in relation to the familiarity with the conditions under which the banks provide loans.All other monitored factors do not have any statistically significant impact on the monitored risk factors in the loan process.Our results show that the main problems of the micro enterprises are an absolute unfamiliarity with the credit conditions of the commercial banks across the entire spectrum of the researched groups, and their persuasion of the lending criteria to be non-transparent.

As opposed to developed markets, financing constraints are a more pressing issue among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. We explore the severity of financing constraints on SMEs, and examine the role of supply chain finance (SCF) in alleviating those constraints, with the focus on a large emerging market: China. Using the panel data of SMEs listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2020, we employ robust estimations of panel-corrected standard errors (PCSEs) and robust fixed-effects methods to analyze the issue. Our cash–cash-flow sensitivity model points out that listed SMEs in China show significant cash–cash-flow sensitivity, and financing constraints are prevalent. We document that the development of SCF has a mitigation effect on the financing constraints on the SMEs. Our robustness test with Yohai’s MM-estimator is also supportive of the main finding. Our study indicates the importance of supply chain finance development in alleviating the financing constraints on SMEs and, subsequently, supporting their sustainability journey. Overall, our findings have important policy implications for the stakeholders involved in emerging markets, and there are lessons to be learned from the Chinese experience. There is still much to be explored in the nexus of SCF and the financing difficulties of SMEs in China at present, with much of the extant literature concentrating only on specific financing mechanisms. Thus, our study fills the gap by providing a broad and comprehensive analysis of the issue.

During the last few decades, research and development (R&D) have always been regarded as the most important or even the only factor in the attempt to explain the innovation capability and performance of enterprises, industries and economies, while to a large extent, those heterogeneous innovation activities beyond formal R&D are ignored or underestimated. Some research has shown that non-R&D innovation activities contribute to make full use of resources beyond R&D to promote performance, especially to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with weak R&D capability. However, non-R&D innovators’ behavior is still a black box by far, and especially few empirical research have been conducted in China context. This paper first explores the heterogeneous innovation patterns of non-R&D innovation by survey among Chinese SMEs in Zhejiang Province. It shows that, product and service customization, imitation and design, technology adoption and incremental modification, organizational innovation and marketing innovation are the main patterns of non-R&D innovation in China. Then, a case study is followed to cross-validate the patterns and relationships between non-R&D innovation and growth of SMEs in China. Generally, this study has implications for both academia and policy-makers. As it demonstrates, non-R&D innovation is an effective way for SMEs to quickly grow and sustain competitiveness in competition. On the other hand, this study helps to optimize some of current innovation policies for SMEs in China, where policy incentives are mainly R&D-focused. It also likely sheds light on the SMEs in other emerging economies.

The government plays an important role in the innovation and development process of SMEs in china. Intuitively, government agencies have an important impact on innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which through direct subsidies, tax incentives, financial support, business incubator, government procurement and the diffusion of innovation policy, and by a duty power and individual power. Further analysis showed that, the impact of government on SMEs innovation performance need to be mediated by three factors: SMEs Innovation resources input, the strength of relationship between SMEs and government, SMEs organization incentive. Index Terms - SMEs, Innovation, Government

The Sustainable Development of ICTs in China: An Empirical Study of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China leverage their strengths to engage stakeholders in knowledge co-creation processes and get mutual benefit via knowledge-based view (KBV).Design/methodology/approachBased on KBV, the authors conduct a multiple-case study of five SMEs in China to embrace the knowledge co-creation practice using semi-structured interview, organizational documents and onsite observation.FindingsThis study highlights how SMEs leverage their strengths to engage stakeholder to co-create knowledge and practice for the better capturing and utilization of external and internal knowledge. The authors identify three processes of knowledge co-creation for SMEs based on knowledge sharing, knowledge integration and knowledge application in the B2B context. This study finds that SMEs engage their stakeholders in knowledge sharing by building and maintaining trust. The knowledge integration process was driven by the owner’s openness. Mutual learning facilitates the knowledge application process of SMEs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study relies on a limited number of case studies and considers only firms’ perspective to analyze the SMEs co-create knowledge with their stakeholders. Further studies could examine the challenge of knowledge co-creation in multiple stakeholders’ relationships in B2B contexts, i.e. in relation to product and service innovation with complexity and uncertainly.Practical implicationsManagers need to make choices when designing knowledge co-creation process in collaborative product development activities. The use of online and offline approaches can help balance requirements in terms of joint problem-solving across firms, the efficiency of knowledge co-creation and effective of knowledge leakage.Originality/valueThe conceptualization of knowledge co-creation as knowledge sharing and knowledge integration and knowledge application extends existing perspective on knowledge co-creation as either a transfer of knowledge or as revealing the novel situation of pertinent knowledge with entirely assimilate it. The findings point to the complexity of knowledge co-creation as a process influenced by stakeholder engagement, perspectives on knowledge, trust of multiple stakeholders, openness of firm boundaries and mutual learning of SMEs with their stakeholders.

The objective of this study is to explore the changing nature of people management on the under-researched area of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China. A mix of research methods, which combined a survey approach with in-depth, semi-structured interviews, was adopted. The major characteristics of people management in China's SMEs were then identified. Problems and difficulties that may occur during HRM take-up were illustrated. Key factors influencing the nature of people management in China's SMEs were highlighted. People management in SMEs in China was compared and contrasted with Western HRM models. The findings indicate that a relative convergence with Western HRM practice, although one that is strongly influenced by unique ‘Chinese characteristics’, will be the trend of development of people management in China's SMEs. The study leads to a better understanding of SMEs in China and helps fill some of the gaps in the analysis of management in China. Since, in the presence of cultural disparities, organizational practices and their effectiveness may differ from those in the West, the findings of the study contribute not only to the development of SMEs, but also to the debates of possible convergence or continuation of differences in management practice worldwide.

Purpose This study aims to explore the effect of collaboration networks (domestic and international collaboration networks) on the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also investigates the mediating role of business model innovation, the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation and government institutional support between them. Design/methodology/approach Hierarchical regression analysis is adopted to test the hypotheses based on survey data provided by 223 manufacturing SMEs in China. Findings The results reveal that domestic and international collaboration networks positively affect SMEs' innovation performance. Business model innovation mediates domestic and international collaboration networks-SMEs’ innovation performance relationships. Entrepreneurial orientation positively moderates international collaboration networks–SMEs’ innovation performance relationship, and government institutional support positively moderates domestic and international collaboration networks–SMEs’ innovation performance relationships. Practical implications The findings indicate that managers of SMEs should invest in domestic and international collaboration networks and business model innovation to enhance SMEs' innovation performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation and government institutional support should be valued when SMEs try to enhance their innovation performance by embedding in domestic and international collaboration networks. Originality/value This study broadens the authors' understanding of the relationship between collaboration networks and firms' innovation performance by classifying collaboration networks into domestic and international dimensions and investigating their direct impacts on SMEs' innovation performance. Besides, this study reveals how and when domestic and international collaboration networks influence the innovation performance of SMEs.