{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T03:04:33Z","timestamp":1776481473261,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,1]],"date-time":"2015-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1433116800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,1]]},"abstract":"\n Purpose<\/jats:title>\n \u2013 The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the effects of working capital management on the profitability of small and medium-sized Portuguese firms. <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n \u2013 Panel regressions (fixed effects) and instrumental variables were used to model a sample of 6,063 Portuguese small and medium-sized firms (SMEs), covering the time period 2002-2009. Also, industry-demeaned values and industry-specific dummy variables allow for industry-specific effects robustness tests. <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Findings<\/jats:title>\n \u2013 Results indicate that a reduction in the inventories held and in the number of days that firms take to settle their commercial liabilities and to collect payments from its customers are associated to higher corporate profitability. Similar results are obtained when industry-specific effects are controlled, supporting the robustness of the previous analysis. The relevance of quadratic dependences of the profitability on some variables was also identified and suggests a decreasing trend of return on assets with increasing values of the working capital management characteristic variables. <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Practical implications<\/jats:title>\n \u2013 The practice of more aggressive working capital management policies increase firms\u2019 profitability. Moreover, the importance of a good practice in working capital management is stressed by the evidence suggesting the existence of an optimal level for the working capital components. <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n \u2013 The consensus that SMEs play a crucial role in the development of the national economy, the lack of published industry wide studies of this type for the case of Portugal, justifies the importance of the present study.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/ijmf-11-2014-0170","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,10]],"date-time":"2015-06-10T13:45:10Z","timestamp":1433943910000},"page":"341-358","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":117,"title":["Working capital management and SMEs profitability: Portuguese evidence"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Maria Am\u00e9lia","family":"Pais","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Paulo Miguel","family":"Gama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b1","unstructured":"Appuhami, B.A.R.\n (2008), \u201cThe impact of firms\u2019 capital expenditure on working capital management: an empirical study across industries in Thailand\u201d, \n International Management Review\n , Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 11-24."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b2","unstructured":"Atrill, P.\n (2009), \n Financial Management for Decision Makers\n , Pearson Education, Harlow, Essex."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Audretsch, B.D.\n (2002), \u201cThe dynamic role of small firms: evidence from the US\u201d, \n Small Business Economics\n , Vol. 18 Nos 1-3, pp. 13-49.","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1015105222884"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ba\u00f1os-Caballero, S.\n , \n Garc\u00eda-Teruel, P.J.\n and \n Mart\u00ednez-Solano, P.\n (2012), \u201cHow does working capital management affect the profitability of Spanish SMEs?\u201d, \n Small Business Economics\n , Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 517-529.","DOI":"10.1007\/s11187-011-9317-8"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Deloof, M.\n (2003), \u201cDoes working capital management affect profitability of Belgian firms?\u201d, \n Journal of Business Finance & Accounting\n , Vol. 30 Nos 3-4, pp. 573-87.","DOI":"10.1111\/1468-5957.00008"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b6","unstructured":"Ellis, C.\n and \n Tailor, D.\n (2011), \u201cThe role of entrepreneurs and SMEs in driving the recovery\u201d, Research Article, The British Private Equity \n\t\t\t\t\t&\n\t\t\t\t Venture Capital Association, London, June."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Falope, O.I.\n and \n Ajilore, O.T.\n (2009), \u201cWorking capital management and corporate profitability: evidence from panel data analysis of selected quoted companies in Nigeria\u201d, \n Research Journal of Business Management\n , Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 73-84.","DOI":"10.3923\/rjbm.2009.73.84"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Filbeck, G.\n and \n Krueger, T.M.\n (2005), \u201cAn analysis of working capital management results across industries\u201d, \n American Journal of Business\n , Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 11-20.","DOI":"10.1108\/19355181200500007"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Garc\u00eda-Teruel, P.\n and \n Mart\u00ednez-Solano, P.\n (2007), \u201cEffects of working capital management on SME profitability\u201d, \n International Journal of Managerial Finance\n , Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 164-177.","DOI":"10.1108\/17439130710738718"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b10","unstructured":"Gomes, D.F.N.\n (2013), \u201cHow does working capital management affect firms\u2019 profitability? \u2013 Evidence from Portugal\u201d, Master\u2019s thesis, Lisboa School of Economics \n\t\t\t\t\t&\n\t\t\t\t Management, Lisbon."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b11","unstructured":"Hawawini, G.\n , \n Viallet, C.\n and \n Vora, A.\n (1986), \u201cIndustry influence on corporate working capital decisions\u201d, \n Sloan Management Review\n , Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 15-24."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jose, M.L.\n , \n Lancaster, C.\n and \n Stevens, J.L.\n (1996), \u201cCorporate return and cash conversion cycle\u201d, \n Journal of Economics and Finance\n , Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 33-46.","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02920497"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b13","unstructured":"Karadagli, E.C.\n (2012), \u201cThe effect of working capital management on the profitability of Turkish SMEs\u201d, \n British Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences\n , Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 36-44."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b14","unstructured":"Lazaridis, I.\n and \n Tryfonidis, D.\n (2006), \u201cRelationship between working capital management and profitability of listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange\u201d, \n Journal of Financial Management and Analysis\n , Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 26-38."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b15","unstructured":"Nazir, M.S.\n and \n Afza, T.\n (2009), \u201cImpact of aggressive working capital management policy on firms\u2019 profitability\u201d, \n The IUP Journal of Applied Finance\n , Vol. 15 No. 8, pp. 19-30."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b17","unstructured":"Raheman, A.\n and \n Nasr, M.\n (2007), \u201cWorking capital management and profitability \u2013 case of Pakistani firms\u201d, \n International Review of Business Research Papers\n , Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 279-300."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Richards, V.\n and \n Laughlin, E.\n (1980), \u201cA cash conversion cycle approach to liquidity analysis\u201d, \n Financial Management\n , Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 32-38.","DOI":"10.2307\/3665310"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b19","unstructured":"Shah, S.M.A.\n and \n Sana, A.\n (2006), \u201cImpact of working capital management on the profitability of oil and gas sector of Pakistan\u201d, \n European Journal of Scientific Research\n , Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 301-307."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b21","unstructured":"Silva, S.M.S.F.N.\n (2011), \u201cEffects of working capital management on the profitability of Portuguese manufacturing firms\u201d, Master\u2019s thesis, Universidade do Minho, Braga."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b22","unstructured":"Van-Horne, J.C.\n and \n Wachowicz, J.M.\n (2008), \n Fundamentals of Financial Management\n , Pearson Education, Harlow, Essex."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_b24","unstructured":"Weinraub, H.J.\n and \n Visscher, S.\n (1998), \u201cIndustry practice relating to aggressive conservative working capital policies\u201d, \n Journal of Financial and Strategic Decision\n , Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 11-18."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_frd1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Petersen, M.A.\n and \n Rajan, R.G.\n (1997), \u201cTrade credit: theories and evidence\u201d, \n Review of Financial Studies\n , Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 661-691.","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/10.3.661"},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_frd2","unstructured":"Shin, H.H.\n and \n Soenen, L.\n (1998), \u201cEfficiency of working capital management and corporate profitability\u201d, \n Financial Practice and Education\n , Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 37-45."},{"key":"key2020122323432063600_frd3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, Y.J.\n (2002), \u201cLiquidity management, operating performance, and corporate value: evidence from Japan and Taiwan\u201d, \n Journal of Multinational Financial Management\n , Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 159-169.","DOI":"10.1016\/S1042-444X(01)00047-0"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Managerial Finance"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emeraldinsight.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1108\/IJMF-11-2014-0170","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/IJMF-11-2014-0170\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/IJMF-11-2014-0170\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T22:06:30Z","timestamp":1753394790000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/ijmf\/article\/11\/3\/341-358\/149227"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,1]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/IJMF-11-2014-0170"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/ijmf-11-2014-0170","relation":{},"ISSN":["1743-9132"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1743-9132","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,1]]}}}