TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF CREDIT TERMS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RECENT CREDIT TERMS RESEARCH ACROSS THE GLOBE

Abstract

The importance of credit terms in determining the ability of small enterprises to access the much-needed credit provided by commercial banks as they stive to achieve their various business objectives cannot be overlooked. However, despite the increasing emphasis government and various financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Funds, there seems to be no complementing efforts from scholars especially in recent time, and particularly, in the developing nations, to unravel the mystery surrounding small enterprises growing difficulties in accessing credit for smooth operations. It is the concerns generated by this state of affairs that prompted the conduct of this study with the aim to provide a better understanding of the concept. The specific objectives are to review the conceptualisation of credit terms, review the various components of credit terms, survey studies carried out on credit terms in the last seven years across the globe, and examine the various methodologies used in previous studies. The study extracted data from relevant articles published in top 10 Academic Journal Publishers based on the 2024 ranking by World Scientific Publishers. Data was extracted from 23 articles and analysed In line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Findings show that publications on credit terms in the last seven years across the globe have ben uneven with Africa performing poorly. Findings also show that methodologies employed have been in favour of primary data while the use of first-generation statistical tools of analysis preponderate. The study therefore recommends that forthcoming review studies be carried out using primary data and second-generation statistical tools such as structural equation modelling for better outputs.