RESEARCH PAPER
Factors Associated with the Capital Structure of Polish Companies in the Long and Short Term
More details
Hide details
1
Capital Markets Department, Collegium of World Economy, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland
Submission date: 2019-09-21
Final revision date: 2020-01-19
Acceptance date: 2020-01-20
Publication date: 2020-03-31
Corresponding author
Natalia Szomko
Capital Markets Department, Collegium of World Economy, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554, Warszawa, Poland
GNPJE 2020;301(1):55-74
KEYWORDS
JEL CLASSIFICATION CODES
ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to assess the long-term and short-term association between selected factors and the capital structure of Polish companies. In light of trade-off theory and pecking order theory, the main factors associated with the capital structure of firms are identified. Subsequently, a set of factors associated with debt ratios is analysed on the basis of previous empirical studies. Due to the properties of data describing the capital structure, it is argued that Between and Within fixed-effects estimators can be used to assess the long-term and short-term association of selected factors with the debt ratios of Polish companies. In both the long and short run, the capital structure of Polish companies is associated with profitability, the tangibility of assets, the non-debt tax shield, the tax rate, business risk, and liquidity. Growth opportunities, dividend payments, capital expenditures, and the financial deficit are only associated with debt ratios in the long term. In the short term, size and the industry median debt ratio play a significant role. The results of the study indicate that the direction and magnitude of the association of the studied factors with the debt ratios of Polish listed companies may differ between the long and short term.
REFERENCES (59)
1.
Ang J. S., Cole R. A., Lawson D. [2010], The role of owner in capital structure decisions: an analysis of single-owner corporations, The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 14 (3): 1–36.
2.
Arioglu E., Tuan K. [2014], Speed of adjustment: Evidence from Borsa Istanbul, Borsa Istanbul Review, 14 (2): 126–131.
3.
Balakrishnan S., Fox I. [1993], Asset specificity, firm heterogeneity and capital structure, Strategic Management Journal, 14 (1): 3–16.
4.
Baltagi B. [2008], Econometric analysis of panel data, John Wiley & Sons.
5.
Baltagi B., Griffin, J. M. [1984], Short and long run effects in pooled models, International Economic Review, 25: 631–645.
6.
Bancel F., Mittoo U. R. [2004], Cross-country determinants of capital structure choice: a survey of European firms, Financial Management: 103–132.
7.
Białek-Jaworska A., Nehrebecka N. [2015], Determinants of Polish Companies’ Debt Financing Preferences, Social Sciences, 87 (1): 10–32.
8.
Bradley M., Jarrell G. A., Kim E. [1984], On the existence of an optimal capital structure: Theory and evidence, Journal of Finance, 39 (3): 857–878.
9.
Brendea G. [2014], Financing behavior of Romanian listed firms in adjusting to the target capital structure, Finance a Uver, 64 (4): 312.
10.
Brennan M. J., Schwartz E. S. [1978], Corporate income taxes, valuation, and the problem of optimal capital structure, Journal of Business: 103–114.
11.
Brounen D., De Jong A., Koedijk K. [2006], Capital structure policies in Europe: Survey evidence, Journal of Banking and Finance, 30 (5): 1409–1442.
12.
Chang Y.‑K., Chou R. K., Huang T.‑H. [2014], Corporate governance and the dynamics of capital structure: New evidence, Journal of Banking and Finance, 48: 374–385.
13.
Chang X., Dasgupta S. [2009], Target behavior and financing: how conclusive is the evidence?, The Journal of Finance, 64 (4): 1767–1796.
14.
Dang V. A., Garrett I. [2015], On corporate capital structure adjustments, Finance Research Letters, 14: 56–63.
15.
Dang V. A., Kim M., Shin Y. [2012], Asymmetric capital structure adjustments: New evidence from dynamic panel threshold models, Journal of Empirical Finance, 19 (4): 465–482.
16.
Dang V. A., Kim M., Shin Y. [2014], Asymmetric adjustment toward optimal capital structure: Evidence from a crisis, International Review of Financial Analysis, 33: 226–242.
17.
de Haas R., Peeters H. [2004], Firms’ dynamic adjustment to target capital structures in transition economies, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
18.
DeAngelo H., Roll R. [2015], How stable are corporate capital structures?, The Journal of Finance, 70 (1): 373–418.
19.
Farhat J., Cotei C., Abugri B. [2006], The pecking order hypothesis vs. the static trade-off theory under different institutional environments, preliminary draft, researchgate.net, access date: 30 September 2019.
20.
Faulkender M., Flannery M. J., Hankins K. W., Smith J. M. [2012], Cash flows and leverage adjustments, Journal of Financial Economics, 103 (3): 632–646.
21.
Fischer O., Heinkel R., Zechner J. [1989], Dynamic capital structure choice: Theory and tests, Journal of Finance, 44 (1): 19–40.
22.
Flannery M. J., Hankins K. W. [2013], Estimating dynamic panel models in corporate finance, Journal of Corporate Finance, 19: 1–19.
23.
Flannery M. J., Rangan K. P. [2006], Partial adjustment toward target capital structures, Journal of Financial Economics, 79 (3): 469–506.
24.
Gajdka J. [2002], Teorie struktury kapitału i ich aplikacja w warunkach polskich, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Łódź.
25.
Graham J. R., Harvey C. R. [2001], The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the field, Journal of Financial Economics, 60 (2): 187–243.
26.
Grilliches Z., Hausman J. A. [1986], Errors in variables in panel data, Journal of Econometrics, 31: 93–118.
27.
Hamada R., Kane A., Marcus A. J., McDonald R. L. [1984], How big is the tax advantage to debt?, Journal of Finance, 39 (3): 841–853.
28.
Houthakker H. S. [1965], New Evidence on Demand Elasticities, Econometrica, 33: 277–288.
29.
Huang R., Ritter J. R. [2009], Testing theories of capital structure and estimating the speed of adjustment, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 44 (2): 237–271.
30.
Jõeveer K. [2013], Firm, country and macroeconomic determinants of capital structure: Evidence from transition economies, Journal of Comparative Economics, 41 (1): 294–308.
31.
Kayo E. K., Kimura H. [2011], Hierarchical determinants of capital structure, Journal of Banking, Finance, 35 (2): 358–371.
32.
Klapper L. F., Sarria-Allende V., Zaidi R. [2006], A firm-level analysis of small and medium size enterprise financing in Poland, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 3984, August: 1–43.
33.
Kuh E. [1959], The Validity of Cross-sectionally Estimated Behaviour Equations in Time Series Applications, Econometrica, 27: 197–214.
34.
Leland H. E. [1994], Corporate debt value, bond covenants, and optimal capital structure, Journal of Finance, 49 (4): 1213–1252.
35.
Lemma T. T., Negash M. [2014], Determinants of the adjustment speed of capital structure: Evidence from developing economies, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 15 (1): 64–99.
36.
Lemmon M. L., Roberts M. R., Zender J. F. [2008], Back to the beginning: persistence and the cross-section of corporate capital structure, Journal of Finance, 63 (4): 1575–1608.
37.
Lockhart B. [2014], Credit lines and leverage adjustments, Journal of Corporate Finance, 25: 274–288.
38.
Lucas D. J., McDonald R. L. [1990], Equity issues and stock price dynamics, Journal of Finance, 45 (4): 1019–1043.
39.
Mairesse J. [1990], Time-series and cross-sectional estimates on panel data: Why are they different and why should they be equal?, in: J. Hartog, G. Ridder and J. Theeuwes (eds.), Panel Data and Labor Market Studies, North-Holland, Amsterdam: 81–95.
40.
Matemilola B. T., Noordin B. A. A., Ngah W. A. S. W., Nassir A. M. [2015], Unobservable effects and speed of adjustment to target capital structure, International Journal of Business and Society, 16 (3): 470.
41.
Mazur K. [2007], The determinants of capital structure choice: evidence from Polish companies, International Advances in Economic Research, 13 (4): 495–514.
42.
Miao J. [2005], Optimal capital structure and industry dynamics, Journal of Finance, 60, no. 6: 2621–2659.
43.
Mundlak Y. [1978], On the pooling of time series and cross-section data, Econometrica, 46: 69–85.
44.
Myers S. C. [1984], The capital structure puzzle, Journal of Finance, 39 (3): 574–592.
45.
Myers S. C., Majluf N. S. [1984], Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have, Journal of Financial Economics, 13 (2): 187–221.
46.
Nivorozhkin E. [2005], Financing choices of firms in EU accession countries, Emerging Markets Review, 6 (2): 138–169.
47.
Oino I., Ukaegbu B. [2015], The impact of profitability on capital structure and speed of adjustment: An empirical examination of selected firms in Nigerian Stock Exchange, Research in International Business and Finance, 35: 111–121.
48.
Ozkan A. [2001], Determinants of capital structure and adjustment to long run target: evidence from UK company panel data, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, 28 (1–2): 175–198.
49.
Öztekin Ö., Flannery M. J. [2012], Institutional determinants of capital structure adjustment speeds, Journal of Financial Economics, 103 (1): 88–112.
50.
Pirotte A. [1999], Convergence of the static estimation toward long run effects of dynamic panel data models, Economics Letters, 53: 151–158.
51.
Rajan R. G., Zingales L. [1995], What do we know about capital structure? Some evidence from international data, Journal of Finance, 50 (5): 1421–1460.
52.
Roberts M. R., Leary M. T. [2005], Do Firms Rebalance their Capital Structures?, Journal of Finance, 60 (6): 2575–2619.
53.
Roberts M. R., Leary M. T. [2010], The pecking order, debt capacity, and information asymmetry, Journal of Financial Economics, 95 (3): 332–355.
54.
Roodman D. [2006], How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata, North American Stata Users’ Group Meetings Working Paper, 103.
55.
Ruiz A. U. [2016], Long run and short run components in explanatory variables and differences in Panel Data estimators, 22nd International Conference of Panel Data – Curtin Business School in Perth, Australia.
56.
Shyam-Sunder L., Myers S. [1999], Testing static tradeoff against pecking order models of capital structure, Journal of Financial Economics, 51 (2): 219–244.
57.
Stiglitz J. E. [1973], Taxation, corporate financial policy, and the cost of capital, Journal of Public Economics, 2 (1): 1–34.
58.
Strebulaev A. [2007], Do tests of capital structure theory mean what they say?, The Journal of Finance, 62 (4): 1747–1787.
59.
Titman S., Tsyplakov S. [2007], A dynamic model of optimal capital structure, Review of Finance, 11 (3): 401–451.