On the evaluation of Greek industrial SME's performance via multicriteria analysis of financial ratios

The objective of this article is to propose a methodological framework for developing evaluation models for estimating SMEs' performance, based on financial ratio analysis. The proposed framework involves the application of a multiple criteria decision aid method, namely the UTADIS method (UTilites Additives DIScriminantes), to develop a decision model that classifies the SMEs into predefined homogeneous classes according to their performance. The applicability and the efficiency of this approach are examined using financial data on Greek industrial SMEs for the period 1988-1996. A comparison with well-known multivariate and econometric techniques (i.e., discriminant, logit, probit analysis) is also undertaken for comparative purposes.