A. Malakauskas “The evaluation of access to credit for small and medium enterprises” doctoral dissertation defense

Author, Institution: Aidas Malakauskas, Kaunas University of Technology

Science area, field of science: Social Sciences, Economics, S004

Scientific Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušrinė Lakštutienė (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Economics, S004)

Dissertation Defense Board of Economics Science Field:
Prof. Dr. Rytis Krušinskas (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Economics, S004) – chairperson
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Asta Baliutė (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Economics, S004)
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Buszko (University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, Social Sciences, Economics, S004)
Prof. Dr. Astrida Miceikienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Economics, S004)
Prof. Dr. Dalia Štreimikienė (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Social Sciences, Economics, S004)

Dissertation defence meeting will be at the Meeting room at Santaka Valley of Kaunas University of Technology (K. Baršausko 59 – A228, Kaunas)

The doctoral dissertation is available at the library of Kaunas University of Technology (Gedimino 50, Kaunas)

Annotation: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the global economy. One of the main challenges they face is limited access to external sources of financing. Although there has been considerable research on separate factor groups and individual factors, the importance of each factor group, individual factors and their interactions remains unclear. The aim of this research is to create an SME access to credit evaluation model and apply it empirically. The findings of the dissertation contribute to the scientific literature related to the evaluation of credit accessibility for SMEs and provide new insights into the potential applications of machine learning methods. Additionally, the dissertation provides an overview of the underlying factors and interactions which are crucial for SMEs to access credit.