Relational capital, profitability and access to credit: Evidence from a sample of Italian small firms

This paper investigates the relationship between relational capital and profitability and accessibility to credit of a small firm. The extant literature shows a positive link between relational capital and other variables relevant to a firm's development but does not cover access to credit. Here, a sample of 136 small firms from Piemonte (north-western Italy) is used. The results show that relational capital eases the access to credit and, in some cases, increases the probability of running positive profits. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.