This Master’s Final Work is aimed to present a holistic perspective on the Swiss Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, and the respective Financing and Investing mechanisms behind the Capital Structure decisions of a startup. The methodology used was based on an exploratory case study through empiric work on interviews, direct observation from conferences and network gatherings, participative observation through an internship in organizational context, and deeper research from benchmarking reports. Moreover, from the findings and data collected, the main conclusions drawn are based on listed companies whose capital structure is not optimal targeted, but rather with a preference order and more likelihood to resource to debt given their high liquidation value, different from conventional startups, who have less collateral power and as so will resource less to debt. Finally, sustainable startups will suffer from greater market gaps so their financing decisions are trusted mostly on internal funds, resourcing to external equity only in case of crowdfunding or impact investing solutions. Nevertheless, from the hypothesis theory and proposed model, there are still some managerial implications to bear in mind since it is a swiss specific case and an emerging market niche. As such, future research directions should focus on deepening the literature and impact investing measurement criteria and gaining practical knowledge in these fields.
Date of Award | 13 Jul 2022 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Paulo Alves (Supervisor) |
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- Entrepreneurial finance
- Alternative finance solutions
- Sustainable finance
- Impact investing
- Swiss startups
- Capital structure
Financing and investing mechanisms in Swiss sustainable entrepreneurship: an exploratory case study
Ferrer, J. M. D. C. (Student). 13 Jul 2022
Student thesis: Master's Thesis