If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Access to finance appears to be the largest challenge for entrepreneurial firms from the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector in Poland. To address this concern, the government embarked on a program to yield financial and know-how assistance to the SME sector. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate public intervention in this area. Design/methodology/approach -The study focuses on the analysis of primary data. The sampling frame for the study consisted of 278,088 firms from the SME sector in the Warsaw region. The sample size was equal to 500 firms from the SME sector. Questionnaires from 262 respondents were included in the study, for an effective response rate of 52 percent. Findings -The study concludes that there are still pronounced liquidity gaps for firms in the SME sector in Poland and that the government programs are not effective in closing these liquidity gaps. Originality/value -Problems with access to capital continue to be a challenge to developing a vibrant SME sector in Poland and a lack of access to capital is consistently quoted as the major obstacle to the development of the SME sector in Poland. The paper offers three policy recommendations in relation to closing liquidity gaps in the SME sector.

The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the government assistance programmes to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Poland and to assess the effectiveness of these programmes in stimulating development of the SME sector. There are three main conclusions from the study. First, the Polish government support programmes are poorly structured, fragmented and untargeted. Second, the programmes do not meet the actual needs of the sector and, hence, are poorly used. Third, there is strong evidence to confirm the existence of liquidity gaps in financing the SME sector.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the investigation of the venture capital investment process in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Russia. The study aims to describe the mechanics by which venture capital firms operating in the CEE region process deals.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a two‐phase interview interaction process with venture capitalists operating in the CEE region. In the first semi‐structured (exploratory) phase of the study, 14 venture capitalists agreed to participate in one‐hour interview and aimed at discussing their venture capital process. In the second phase of the study (confirmatory), 24 venture capital firms commented on the actual fit of the proposed nine‐stage model into their past investments.FindingsThe study has two conclusions. Firstly, the study confirms the existence of a nine‐stage venture capital investment model, comprised of deal origination, initial screening, feedback from the investment committee and due diligence Phase I, feedback from the investment committee (due diligence Phase I), pre‐approval completions, formal approvals and due diligence Phase II, deal completion, monitoring, and exit. Secondly, the proposed model defines the venture capital process in terms of three channels of activity: document channel, information channel, and decision channel.Originality/valueThe study is important for at least four reasons. Firstly, the study focuses on the investigation of the entire venture capital process. Previous research in the area focuses on some specific facets of the venture capital process. Secondly, the paper investigates the connection between decision‐making, information gathering and written communication within a venture capital fund. Thirdly, the study focuses on the most recent period of development of the CEE industry. Many venture capital firms only recently crystallized their venture capital process. Lastly, the study proposes areas of further research for academics and makes suggestions for practitioners.

This article focuses on the evolution of the venture capital industry in emerging markets by examining the Polish experience between 1990 and 2003. Evidence is provided to demonstrate that the venture capital industry developed in three distinct phases (development, expansion and correction) and broadly followed a normal Western-type venture capital cycle. These stages differ from each other in terms of the amount of capital raised, the nature of investments (deal size, sectors of interest and stages of investment) and divestments. The study also concludes that there is no one typical venture capital firm operating in Poland, but rather different types; the study points to three different groups. Other conclusions are that there are strong advantages for early entrants into the industry, that venture capital funds with a strong local presence seem to achieve higher returns, and that venture capital firms become more specialised once the industry matures. The research is based on a survey of 78 venture capitalists (the response rate was 64%).

This study focuses on the legal structuring of venture capital deals in Poland. Three conclusions are derived. First, owing to significant imperfections in the Polish legal infrastructure, local venture capitalists need to consider how to structure their transactions. This represents a unique feature of venture capital investing in emerging markets. The study confirms the existence of three types of legal structures in venture capital investing (i.e. local deals, offshore deals and complex deals), with offshore deals being the predominant category. Second, local venture capitalists display different preferences for various deal structures based on venture capital firms' characteristics. Third, the placement of venture capitalists' rights varies across different legal documents, with the most pronounced difference being observed in local deals. The study is based on a survey of 64 venture capitalists.