생산효율성이 제조업 창업기업의 신용등급에 미치는 영향: 정보비대칭과 조절효과를 중심으로

초록

This study empirically analyzes the effects of production efficiency and financial health on credit evaluation of Korean manufacturing start-ups. Grounded in signaling theory, the research examines 150,428 observations from 22,787 manufacturing firms over an eight-year period (2016-2023) using panel fixed-effects models. Production efficiency levels were classified through K-means clustering, with start-ups defined as firms aged seven years or less, to test the interaction effects between production efficiency and start-up status. The findings reveal that manufacturing start-ups experience credit rating penalties compared to established firms, regardless of production efficiency levels. However, the marginal effect of production efficiency improvements on credit rating enhancement was significantly stronger for start-ups. The debt ratio, a financial health indicator, demonstrated approximately 3.8 times greater influence than the maximum production efficiency effect, while the profitability metric ROA was not statistically significant, confirming that financial stability is prioritized in manufacturing credit evaluation. This study empirically demonstrates that production efficiency serves as a crucial signal of start-up potential under information asymmetry conditions, establishing the necessity for refined credit evaluation and entrepreneurial finance mechanisms. The findings suggest the need for differentiated start-up support policies and credit evaluation model development focused on production efficiency enhancement.

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