Under-capitalization and other factors that influence the survival of young Italian companies

Start-ups or young companies are susceptible to a variety of general pressures, as well as specific, and this phenomenon affects companies across the spectrum due to the shared characteristics common to all. This paper approaches some factors that influence the survival of companies in the first stage of life (with case studies and data referring to the first five years of operation) and presents the variables that may influence a company’s survival, such as: operational and financial risks, total assets, share capital, business sector and geographical area. To this aim, our concentration pinpointed the 5-year survival rates of Italian companies throughout 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Our analysis points out as the capitalization and the geographical area influence the chance to survive of the Italian companies.