The role of social capital in the financial accompaniment of SMEs: A literature review

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important and crucial role in both developed and developing countries. They contribute significantly to economic growth through employment opportunities, productivity, entrepreneurial improvements, and innovative solutions. Indeed, the role of SMEs is well recognized as an engine of socio-economic development. However, these special entities are increasingly facing problems and constraints in accessing financial resources that hinder their growth and development. The problem of financing of these SMEs is mainly due to their characteristics, which include opacity, information asymmetry and financial fragility. Indeed, the characteristics of small and medium enterprises have been widely recognized in literature as weaknesses and obstacles that reduce and limit their ability to access to external resources. In the current context, small and medium enterprises are increasingly trying to design and develop new strategies and skills in order to gain access to the financial resources. In this respect, a large and growing body of literature focused on social capital development strategies as one of the alternative solutions. Indeed, the relational skills and social capital of managers are fast becoming a key factor that increases SMEs’ access to the resources inherent in the social networks to which they belong. The present article is a theoretical review that aims to provide an overview on key concepts and shine new light on the potential impact of managers' social capital on the financial accompaniment of small and medium-sized enterprises. Also, we proposed a conceptual model based on a theoretical framework that draws its origins from the foundations and contributions of the social capital theory and recent empirical works. JEL Classification: M10 Paper type: Theoretical Research