Based on data from 7,350 Cameroonian companies created between 1990 and 2008, we study the link between the characteristics of indebtedness for young companies during their creation and survival period of up to three years, from three to five years, and beyond five years. We complement our quantitative analysis with semi-directive interviews of Cameroonian entrepreneurs to deepen our study. Our results are manifold. We show that access to bank loans during the creation phase, as well as the volume of loans or, to some extent, the debt ratio improve the probability of survival during the early years, but this effect fades away rapidly. The interviews shed light on the motivations of entrepreneurs, particularly of those with very small businesses. Finally, our work reveals the antecedent role of their social capital that facilitates their access to bank loans, and, therefore, the probability of company survival.
The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between a company's environmental performance and its systematic risk. Using a sample of 351 European listed companies over the 2007–2015 period, the technique of principal components analysis is applied to calculate a synthetic global index of corporate environmental performance using 71 evaluation criteria suggested by the ASSET4 database. Using this same approach, subindices of the global index are calculated using the following ASSET4 dimensions: reduction of emissions, product innovation, and reduction of resource usage. To test the relationship between these variables and risk, panel data regression techniques are applied. Results indicate that the synthetic global index of environmental performance negatively affects the systematic risk of company. The decomposition of this global index into three subindices shows that those subindices relating to the reduction of environmental emissions and of resource usage make it possible to significantly reduce systematic risk, whereas the subindex relating to product innovation has a rather moderate effect. Thus, environmental performance, like governance, can be considered as an insurance mechanism for the company, which reduces the probability of events occurring, which negatively affect its cash flow and risks faced by shareholders.
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