Boosting Productivity and Growth Through Business Training and Mentoring among SMEs in Portugal

Last registered on July 08, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Boosting Productivity and Growth Through Business Training and Mentoring among SMEs in Portugal
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013950
Initial registration date
July 08, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 08, 2024, 1:56 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Portugal
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Catia Batista
Affiliation
Nova School of Business and Economics
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Miguel Ferreira
PI Affiliation
Nova School of Business and Economics
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Francisco Queiro
PI Affiliation
Nova School of Business and Economics
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-03-01
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study measures the impact of management training and mentoring on SME business performance in Portugal.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Batista, Catia, Miguel Ferreira and Francisco Queiro. 2024. "Boosting Productivity and Growth Through Business Training and Mentoring among SMEs in Portugal." AEA RCT Registry. July 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13950-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
1. Treatment group 1: will receive management training and mentorship.
2. Treatment group 2: will receive only management training.
3. Control group: will not be given any training or mentorship.
Intervention Start Date
2024-07-01
Intervention End Date
2026-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Multiple outcomes measured using bioth admnistrative and survey data:
1. Firm outcomes
2. Management Practices
3. Soft skills and aspirations
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Level of operations as proxied by turnover, value added, productivity, investment, exports, total assets and number of employees (administrative data).
2. Profitability as proxied by gross profit margin, EBITDA/Turnover , EBIT/Turnover, return on assets (administrative data).
3. Business practices: proxied by advertising, employee training, inventory turnover ratio, current ratio, debt to equity ratio, interest coverage ratio, asset turnover ratio (administrative data)
4. Survival, i.e. the percentage of startups still in business (administrative data)
5. Management practices: hiring decisions, performance evaluation and term sheets (survey data).
6. Soft skills and aspirations: aspirations and subjective expectations regarding their income and business performance (survey data).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The participant firms will be randomized at the individual level into three treatment groups:
1. Treatment group 1: will receive management training and mentorship
2. Treatment group 2: will receive only management training.
3. Control group: will not be given any training or mentorship.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5000 firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
5000 firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1666 firms per treatment group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Our pre-analysis plan will provide power calculations.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Nova School of Business and Economics
IRB Approval Date
2024-06-04
IRB Approval Number
2024115
Analysis Plan