Orden-Cruz, CarmenPaule-Vianez, JessicaSánchez-Escobedo, Mari CruzMoutinho, Víctor2024-06-252024-06-252024-09Carmen Orden-Cruz, Jessica Paule-Vianez, Mari Cruz Sánchez-Escobedo, Víctor Moutinho, EPU and SMEs' financial performance: Industry vs. service sector, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, Volume 10, Issue 3, 2024, 100320, ISSN 2199-8531, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.1003202199-8531 (online)https://hdl.handle.net/10115/34955The objective of this paper is to analyze the Economic Policy Uncertainty impact on Small and Medium Enterprises’ financial performance, considering the role that sector plays and firm characteristics. Thus, a data sample of 80,620 Spanish SMEs was selected for 2012–2020. Using system Generalized Method of Moments estimators, the results show a negative impact, especially in the service sector. Industrial Spanish SMEs that are larger, younger, more indebted, with more growth opportunities and with higher asset turnover are the most resilient to EPU. The findings can help SMEs design better management strategies to deal with this uncertaintyengAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Economic policy uncertaintyFinancial performanceSmall and medium enterprisesFirm characteristicsSectorinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100320info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess