Diagnosis of the Domino Effect in Bankruptcy Situations Through Positioning Maps and Their Evolution 10 Years Later

Abstract

This work aims to describe how the insolvency of a firm affects other business creditors. Through a sample of small and medium entities in Catalonia for the biennium 2004–2005, the situation of creditors before and after the legal event (insolvency proceedings) has been studied. The results confirm the existence of a substantial change in the composition of the financial structure of these firms (substitution of long-term debt by short-term debt; decrease in solvency and profitability, increase in financial charge, among others) and, therefore, the contagion of liquidity problems. The study covers 2 years before and after the insolvency and is dynamic in the sense that it highlights how the creditors change their source of finance and the ending situation. The main contributions of the object are the effect of insolvency on other companies closely related and also the technique used—multidimensional scaling.