Managers and Productive Investment Decisions: The Impact of Uncertainty and Risk Aversion

摘要

The main purpose of this study is to examine the links among uncertainty, manager's risk-taking attitude, and the level of productive investment of small and medium-size enterprises. The analysis makes use of qualitative data collected by the Bank of France in a national survey conducted in 1999 on the strategic behavior of 1,578 French industrial small and medium-size firms. A multiple regression model is used to test the impact of uncertainty and risk aversion on investment decisions. Results support the hypothesis of the literature stating that productive investment is correlated positively with risk taking and is correlated negatively with uncertainty.