Key Determinants of the Survival of Newly Established Tunisian SMEs

The paper studies the factors influencing the survival of newly established Tunisian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Focusing on founder attributes and business characteristics, the research employs a hypothetico-deductive approach, analyzing survey data from 131 entrepreneurs using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard models. The results show that experience, initial capital, franchising, family business background, and network capability are positively associated with survival. Conversely, variables such as gender, education and having a business plan were found not significant.