Do Firm and Entrepreneur Characteristics Play a Role in SMEs’ Sustainable Growth in a Middle-Income Economy like Côte d’Ivoire?

Ardjouman Diabate, Brou Mathias Allate, Dongping Wei and Liying Yu
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Ardjouman Diabate: School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Brou Mathias Allate: School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
Dongping Wei: Math and Physics Department, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen 518055, China
Liying Yu: School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: Globally, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in driving sustainable economic growth in both developed and developing countries. The main objective of this study was to investigate the firm and entrepreneur characteristics influencing the growth of SMEs in Côte d’Ivoire, with special insight into why this country has been a middle-income economy for decades despite its numerous economicpotentialities. Through IBM SPSS version 22.0, 19 hypotheses were tested using data from 160 SMEs operating in Côte d’Ivoire. The results from chi-square tests revealed an association between each of the ‘firm and entrepreneur characteristics’ and at least one of the three growth measurements. However, it was found thatkey factors such as ‘entrepreneur’s ‘age’, ‘work experience’ and ‘level of education’ do not play a role in SMEs’ sustainable growth in Côte d’Ivoire. Results from the binomial logistic regression confirmed that ‘ability to avoid reporting loss’ can be predicted based on ‘entrepreneur’s work experience’, ‘business sector’ and ‘source of funding’. Although this study has practical significance in the business sphere, its results may be of particular help to governments and policymakers in middle-income economies like Côte d’Ivoire for policy formulation and development of frameworks to enhance SMEs’ sustainable growth.

Keywords: Côte d’Ivoire; entrepreneur; firm; characteristics; performance; SME growth; sustainable growth; development; middle-income economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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