Financial systems and the financing of high-technology small firms : The cases of Sweden, Linköping, and Santa Clara County

Sammanfattning: This is a study of the relation between the financial systems and the financing of hightechnology small firms (HTSFs). The starting point is the notion of two different financial systems: bank-oriented, in which banks (debt) and other financial intermediaries play an important role in the financing of firms, and market-oriented, where the role of banks is less important and stock markets (equity) play a larger role. This thesis takes Sweden and the USA as examples. Pecking order theory in combination with corporate fmance theory are used to explain how firms choosefinancing. The competence that financiers provide is also studied. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate relationships between HTSFs and fmancial systems in order to analyze opportunities for HTSFs to obtain adequate and appropriate financing.The empirical part of this study starts with mapping the differences between the financial systems in Sweden and the USA with respect to fmancing and ownership. Three populations of HTSFs are studied: HTSFs in Linkoping and HTSFs in Santa Clara County, and listed HTSFs in Sweden constitute a reference population. The study used questionnaires, interviews, databases and annual reports to collect information about the firms. The aim of this study of the HTSFs is to explain how these firms are fmanced, why they have chosen the type of fmancing they have and what competencies the financiers provide.This study concludes that for the HTSFs in Linkoping there is a wider gap between how they want to be financed and how they are financed. This study also shows that the financiers in Santa Clara County provide more competence to the HTSFs they invest in than is the case in Sweden. This indicated that the Swedish financial system is less appropriate for financing HTSFs than the financial system in the USA.