FINANCIAL BEHAVIOR OF SMES DURING ECONOMIC CRISES: CHALLENGES AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR EMERGING MARKETS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55640/Keywords:
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), financial behavior, economic crisis, capital structure, financial resilience, credit constraints, informal economy, digital transformation, Uzbekistan.Abstract
Due to limited financial resources and limited access to external financing, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are excessively vulnerable during economic crises, despite their crucial role in economic development and employment generation [7]. This study investigates the financial behavior and resilience strategies of SMEs facing various economic shocks, combining global theoretical perspectives with a focused analysis of Uzbekistan and the broader Central Asian region.
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