Financial Risk and Financial Imbalances

Abstract

The study of the financial imbalances of companies is a common topic for academics and practitioners because bankruptcy affects financial stability and modifies the investors' behavior. Since the 1960s, financial ratios have been used as diagnostic tools and also as independent variables within models aimed at quantifying firms' financial risk (e.g., Altman's Z-Score). In parallel, the strategic theory has developed theoretical constructs to explain why competitiveness is empirically heterogeneous. The resource-based view argues that companies can outperform rivals if they manage scarce, expensive, and hard-to-imitate resources. Ultimately, outperformers should be able to avoid (or overcome) financial imbalances. This chapter intends to analyze whether IT resources modify firm performance and financial risk. To do that, the authors collected data from a random sample of Galician SMEs, combining questionnaires, focused interviews, and public financial data. Hypotheses are explored by applying parametric statistical methods.