Showing papers on "Capital structure published in 2019"

Capital structure and firm size on firm value moderated by profitability

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of capital structure and firm size on firm value, moderated by profitability. The sample of this research is mining sector companies listed on IDX. This research uses the non-participant observation method with path analysis technique. The method of data analysis used is multiple linear regression with data analysis tool using SPSS 22. Based on the analysis results, it was concluded that capital structure has a significant positive effect on firm value while firm size has a significant negative effect on firm value. Profitability has no significant effect on firm value, whilst company size has a significant positive effect on profitability. However, profitability is not able to mediate the influence of capital structure and firm size on firm value.

Does Corporate Social Responsibility Reduce the Costs of High Leverage? Evidence from Capital Structure and Product Market Interactions

Abstract: Research on capital structure and product market interactions shows that high leverage is associated with substantial losses in market share due to unfavorable actions by customers and competitors. We examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects firms’ interactions with customers and competitors, and whether it can reduce the costs of high leverage. We find that CSR reduces losses in market share when firms are highly leveraged. By reducing adverse behavior by customers and competitors, CSR helps highly leveraged firms keep customers and guard against rivals’ predation. Our results support the stakeholder value maximization view of CSR.

Family-centered goals, family board representation, and debt financing

Abstract: This study investigates the effect of both family-centered goals and family board representation (family member representation on the board of directors) on family firm capital structure. Based on a sample of 327 Belgian family SMEs, our findings show that family-centered goals indirectly affect the total debt rate through family board representation. More specifically, the results indicate that this mediating effect holds primarily for the short-term (vs. long-term) debt rate and for the financial (vs. nonfinancial) debt rate. Taken together, our findings suggest that the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective is relevant and fruitful to explain debt decisions in family firms. Our findings contribute to family business literature and enable scholars and practitioners to gain a better understanding of family firm capital structure decisions.

Operating Leverage, Profitability, and Capital Structure

Abstract: Operating leverage increases profitability and reduces optimal financial leverage. Thus, operating leverage generates a negative relation between profitability and financial leverage that is thought to be inconsistent with the trade-off theory but is commonly observed in the data. We demonstrate the effect of operating leverage on firms’ profitability and financial leverage, as well as on the empirical relation between profitability and financial leverage, by using China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and its effect on the capital–labor ratio of U.S. firms.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance and Business Performance: Limits and Challenges Imposed by the Implementation of Directive 2013/34/EU in Romania

Abstract: In order to identify the factors that have influenced the Romanian companies’ level of compliance required by the Directive 2013/34/EU with respect to publishing, alongside the annual financial statements for 2017, a report containing non-financial information regarding environmental, social, and personal aspects, and business ethics, the following steps were taken in our groundbreaking study: firstly, we analyzed whether there are statistical associations between the level of compliance and the legal forms of organization, the forms of ownership of capital, the branch of activity, the number of employees, the turnover, and the company location; secondly, we evaluated the meaning and intensity of these associations with the help of non-parametric correlation coefficients; thirdly, we identified and presented the economic and social causes of the results obtained; and fourthly, we proposed measures that can contribute to increasing the degree of compliance. What is more, this rigorous scientific work highlights the need to enhance corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in order to create an appropriate balance between sustainability, competitiveness, productivity, and businesses’ financial and non-financial performance, while taking into consideration the benefits brought by the tangible value of businesses (such as, cash flow and earnings) as well as the intangible value of businesses (such as, brand, customer experience, intellectual capital, organizational culture and reputation).

Employee Costs of Corporate Bankruptcy

Abstract: We show that corporate bankruptcy leads to a significant reduction in employee earnings, which in turn increases financial distress costs for firms via higher ex ante wages. Annual employee earnings deteriorate by 10% when a firm files for bankruptcy and remain below pre-bankruptcy earnings for at least six years. Affected employees are likely to work fewer hours and leave the firm, industry, and local labor market. We estimate that compensating wage differentials for this “bankruptcy risk” increase the present value of ex ante wages paid by the firm by up to 12% of annual wages. Overall, this paper shows that bankruptcy risk reduces risk-sharing between the firm and workers, and the resulting additional labor costs are large enough to be a first-order consideration in corporate capital structure decisions.

A study on factors driving the capital structure decisions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India

Abstract: The prime focus of the study is to empirically examine the factors affecting the capital structure decisions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India The sample consists of 174 non-financial firms Generalised method of moments (GMM) has been applied to find out the firm specific factors affecting financing decisions of SMEs in India The study specifically examines the effect of firm's profitability, tangibility, size, age, growth, liquidity, non-debt tax shield, cash flow ratio, and return on equity on the leverage of the firm It confirms the applicability of the pecking order theory for SMEs in India

The Impact of Corporate Diversification and Financial Structure on Firm Performance: Evidence from South Asian Countries

Abstract: We examined the impact of corporate diversification and financial structure on the firms’ financial performance. We collected data from 520 manufacturing firms from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. We used panel data of 14 years from 2004–2017 to analyze the results. We applied a two-step dynamic panel approach to analyze the hypotheses. We found that product diversification and geographic diversification significantly affected the firms’ financial performance. We further found that dividend policy and capital structure had a significant impact on the firm’s financial performance.

Climate Risk and Capital Structure

Abstract: We use new data that measure forward-looking physical climate risk at the firm level to examine the impact of climate risk on capital structure. We find that greater climate risk leads to lower leverage in the post-2015 period, i.e., after the Paris Agreement. Our results hold after controlling for firm characteristics known to determine leverage, including credit ratings. Our evidence shows that the reduction in leverage related to climate risk is shared between a demand effect (the firm’s optimal leverage decreases) and a supply effect (lenders increase the spreads when lending to firms with the greatest risk).

The Effect of Capital Structure on Profitability: An Empirical Panel Data Study

Abstract: One of the most perplexing issues faced by finance managers is to know about the effect of capital structure on the profitability of firm. Many studies have been carried out to examine the effect o...

Presidential Address: Collateral and Commitment

Abstract: Optimal dynamic capital structure choice is fundamentally a problem of commitment. In a standard trade‐off setting with shareholder‐debtholder agency conflicts, full commitment counterfactually predicts the firm would rely almost exclusively on debt financing. Conversely, absent commitment a Modigliani‐Miller‐like value irrelevance and policy indeterminacy result holds. Thus, the content of dynamic trade‐off theory must depend on the commitment technology. In this context, collateral is valuable as a low‐cost commitment device. Because ex ante optimal commitments are likely to be suboptimal ex post, observed capital structure dynamics will exhibit hysteresis and depart significantly from standard predictions.

The capital structure puzzle – evidence from Indian energy sector

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors affecting the capital structure of companies engaged in the Indian energy sector.,Capital structure theories and empirical literature have been reviewed to formulate propositions concerning the factors/variables determining the capital structure of Indian energy companies. The examination is done using panel data techniques for the sample 141 companies operating in the Indian energy sector.,The results show firms’ age, asset turnover ratio, liquidity and firms’ size to be significant determinants of capital structure for the Indian energy companies, while profitability, debt service capacity, sales growth, non-debt tax shield and tangibility ratio to be insignificant determinants. Historically, profitability has shared a significantly negative relationship with debt ratio; however, the relation here is not significant.,The focus of the current study is on Indian energy sector, the results obtained will not be applicable for other sectors.,The current research gives an insight into the determinants of capital structure of the companies engaged in the Indian energy sector, which are mostly overlooked due to the laws, policies and regulations governing the sector as a whole.

Capital structure, competitive intensity and firm performance: evidence from Pakistan

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of competitive intensity between the existing relationship of capital structure and firm performance.,Using the balanced panel data of listed non-financial firms of Pakistan, the present study adopts both the panel and OLS estimation techniques to draw the inferences.,The results exhibit that high debt ratio is harmful for the accounting performance of the selected sample firms of Pakistan. In addition, product market competition negatively moderates the relationship between capital structure and firm performance which suggests that high product market competition can be used as a substitute of debt financing to align the interests of a firm’s managers and shareholders.,The findings of the research provide evidence for the policy makers/regulators that the sample firms should discourage the high debt financing in the presence of competitive intensity in the product marketplace.,The core contribution of the current research is to examine the moderating role of product market competition on the leverage–performance relationship because, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no single study has previously explored this relationship in the context of Pakistan.

Investigating the differences in entrepreneurial success through the firm-specific factors: Microeconomic evidence from the Czech food industry

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the effect of firm-specific determinants on the entrepreneurial success (measured through the objective financial performance) of the Czech food processing firms over 2003-2014 and with the main particular focus on capital structure and productivity as the tough challenges of the firms in transition and emerging economies.,Determinants of profitability are tested econometrically, as for the estimation technique, both-way fixed effects controlling for variety over the time and across enterprises were applied. The collected micro-panel data set consists of 10,509 observations and includes 1,804 firms. Estimated regression models with fixed effects are used to quantify the determinants of the financial performance, operationalized through three key performance indicators – price–cost margin, return on assets and return on equity.,Estimated econometric models supported hypothesis assuming a positive relationship between the labour productivity and profitability. In line with the assumptions based on the development of the Czech food market, high leverage of firms led to the decrease of profitability, which can be explained by the high financial distress costs and worsened market position of firms in the competitive environment. Ageing of firms and firm size were associated with the increase of profitability indicators.,The findings of the presented research are important for investors considering agribusiness as a part of their investment portfolios and for policymakers to enhance the economic efficiency of the food industry through regulations and public support, and particularly, from the firm management viewpoint, e.g. to pay attention to the debt policy due to the negative impact of high indebtedness on firm profitability, and to the productivity factors, which proved to be important drivers of entrepreneurial success.,Although the firm-specific factors responsible for firm performance have already been studied, the food processing industry has received limited interest from the empirical analysts, and the results are not always unequivocal. This study is expected to contribute to the literature on this subject, both empirically and methodologically, as to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has been encountered yet where the factors determining the profitability of the Czech food processing industry have been the focus. With regards to the collected micro-data set and the estimation technique, the study can be considered as extensive not only from the perspective of the research in the Czech Republic but also from the international perspective.

News media coverage and corporate leverage adjustments

Abstract: We examine the impact of the media on firms’ leverage adjustments. Using a comprehensive sample of global news across 33 countries, we find that greater news coverage and more positive news sentiment are associated with greater leverage adjustment speeds. This finding is consistent with the argument that media coverage and content help lower the cost of firms’ adjustment toward target leverage. We further find evidence supporting two mechanisms through which the news media affects leverage adjustments: information dissemination and monitoring. Overall, our results are consistent with the dynamic trade-off theory of capital structure.

Capital structure and firm performance in European SMEs: Does credit risk make a difference?

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the relationship between capital structure and firm performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is moderated by credit risk.,The authors empirically test whether an SME’s credit risk affects the SME’s relationship between capital structure and firm performance by using a 2012 cross-sectional sample of European SMEs from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.,The empirical results suggest that in low credit risk SMEs, the debt ratio is negatively related to firm performance; however, this relationship is not present in high credit risk SMEs. Therefore, it is indicated that SME credit risk moderates the relationship between capital structure and firm performance.,The findings of the paper will enable financial managers to understand the importance of SMEs’ credit risk and will assist them in maximizing firms’ performance.,This paper extends the findings of previous studies by examining whether credit risk affects the relationship between capital structure and firm performance.

Effect of determinants on financial leverage in Indian steel industry: A study on capital structure

Abstract: Because India is neither a developed country nor its steel companies are financially self‐sufficient, they are bound to depend on the external capital, resulting the decision to be taken on the leverage ratio as even more crucial. India being the top exporter of iron ores has the potential to be counted as one of the top exporters of steel if the steel companies follow optimal capital structure. Thus, the leverage ratio needs thorough investigation in order to decide the optimal capital structure. Although there have been some attempts, they are not extensive. The objective of this study is to empirically investigate the present capital structure of Indian steel industry from years 2010 until 2017 and the determinants of capital structure and how these determinants correlate with financial leverage. The research objectives are (1) to identify the significant determinants that affect the capital structure and (2) to conduct an extensive and empirical research in order to estimate the correlations of the determinants with the financial leverage. Seven key determinants have been found: They are profitability, asset structure, size, growth opportunities, non‐debt tax shield, liquidity, and risk. The profitability is found to be highly correlated with the debt ratio as was expected and reported in previous studies. The correlations among the determinants such as asset structure, size, and non‐debt tax shield are statistically significant. Profitability and liquidity carry positive relationship with debt ratio, although there is a negative relationship between debt ratio and asset structure.