Paule-Vianez, JessicaOrden-Cruz, CarmenGómez-Ortega, AlbaEscamilla-Solano, Sandra2025-06-242025-06-242025-06-19Paule-Vianez, J., Orden-Cruz, C., Gómez-Ortega, A. and Escamilla-Solano, S. (2025), "Impact of economic policy uncertainty on the performance of SMEs in a university environment", Review of Accounting and Finance, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAF-05-2024-02041475-7702https://hdl.handle.net/10115/89937Purpose – This study aims to analyze how economic policy uncertainty (EPU) influences the economic and financial performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in a university environment. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the proposed objective, a sample of 449 companies located in the university environment of the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid (Spain) was taken for the period 2012–2020. Given the temporal and cross-sectional nature of the data, the chosen methodology was panel data analysis. Findings – The results show how EPU has a negative impact on the performance of these SMEs. However, firm size and age are not influential factors in the relationship between EPU and the performance of SMEs. Practical implications – This evidence provides more knowledge to SMEs located near a university to make decisions under uncertainty. Fiscal and monetary authorities should be aware of the impact of EPU, not only economic but also social. Originality/value – This research provides more knowledge on the impact of EPU on firm performance, focusing on a specific segment of SMEs, namely those located in a university environment.enEconomic policy uncertaintyPerformanceSmall and medium-sized enterprisesUniversityFirm characteristicsArticle10.1108/RAF-05-2024-0204info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess