We complement and extend the base hypothesis H1 by two sets
of more specific hypotheses: one set relates to the influence of firm
characteristics (H2) and the other to the influence of firm-credit
bureau characteristics (H3). Firm characteristics can be considered
as proxies for firm opaqueness, quality, and dependence on
suppliers (e.g., Petersen and Rajan, 1994, 1997). Opaqueness and
the number of suppliers, in turn, are related to the amount of information
processed by the credit bureau. Therefore, we hypothesize: