Firm value on alternative stock markets: Exploring Spanish small and medium-sized entreprises

Resumen

The role of SMEs become more crucial in the economy as they have potential to improve income distribution, employment creation, poverty reduction and export growth. It also leads to the development of entrepreneurship, industry, innovation and the rural economy. According to recent studies, SMEs represent more than 97% of the total number of enterprises in a country; and, in the specific case of Spain, the importance of SMEs is reflected in the government's action aligned with the reforms contemplated in the UN 2030 Agenda, and which includes important measures such as the Promotion of the Spanish Innovation Ecosystem and support for SMEs. The objective of this PHD thesis is to study the firm value listed on the alternative stock market to support the general view that the stock market provides another avenue of financing for small and medium-sized companies. In addition, this constitutes the first steps in learning to recognize the factors that influence firm value and how stock markets determine firm value compared to traditional models. This research is mainly focused on Spanish listed companies. Thereby, in the first part of the thesis, presents the bibliographical trends of alternative stock markets from 2008 to 2021 through a systematic review of the different research approaches, points of view and positions to map the global scientific production. In this review we provide a conceptual map of this topic and build an integrated and updated description of the theoretical framework of the alternative stock market through a systematic review. Research in this area can help policy makers in their decision-making processes. The results show that listed firms on alternative stock markets have found different outcomes at the beginning of the initial public offering such as undervaluation. In fact, the valuation of listed firms in the main market outperforms their counterparts in alternative stock markets. There are other variables that affect the IPO of firms listed and their performance, such as corporate governance, human capital and other characteristics of the companies themselves. Secondly, the value of small and medium-sized listed and unlisted companies has been studied through the discount approach. To identify the total reduction in the price of an unlisted company compared to a public firm, it may be necessary to discount the value of the shares of an unlisted company for this possible lack of liquidity. Estimates of value in discounted cash flow (DCF) projections and the comparable multiples approach (CMA) were used to determine the value of the company. The results suggest a premium for some multiples going against the theory of a discount paid by a private company; on the other hand, the results obtained were reasonable discounts for all multiples, although the EBITDA multiple is not statistically significant. Therefore, this thesis accepted the established hypotheses. Thirdly, this PHD studies the variables of profitability, capital structure and corporate governance that influence the valuation of companies in the context of small and medium Spanish listed companies. This research has been carried out with the application of a vii modeling tool such as panel data, in this case, we use the Hausman tests, where under the null hypothesis, the efficient estimator is the fixed effects method (FEM). As a result of this study suggests that the profitability variable significantly influences firm value. Second, some capital structure variables affect firm value, such as leverage, firm size and total asset turnover ratio. Third, governance systems improve the valuation of SMEs in the context of the Spanish market. Hence, this study accepted the three hypotheses about profitability, capital structure and corporate governance that affect the firm value. Finally, in the fourth part of the thesis, studies on enhanced firm value with the influence of corporate governance mechanisms related to board composition and ownership structure in a sample of small and medium-sized Spanish listed companies (SMEs). Based on the literature review and to test hypotheses we proceeded to perform econometric estimations with STATA through a fixed effects model as a benchmark model and robustness tests such as the generalized method of moments (GMM), two-stage least squares analysis (2SLS) and propensity score matching. The empirical results suggest that listed SMEs have better governance systems because agency conflict is not relevant as in large corporations. We show that since corporate governance practices differ between small and medium-sized firms and large firms, these could have different impacts on firm value. Thus, this PhD thesis accepted the above hypotheses about board composition and ownership concentration. In summary, this thesis concludes that Spanish listed firm on the alternative stock market obtains a better valuation of its company. It will depend on the valuation method and the ratio selected to determine the discount paid for an unlisted company. It is also important to consider that profitability, capital structure and corporate governance influence the firm value. These findings allow to explores the benefits of profitability, capital structure and corporate governance as a protection tool for shareholders’ maximization wealth. On the other hand, SMEs governance should raise more attention as it differs from large corporations. The combined ownership-management functions are embedded in the organizational structure of SMEs and should not be altered