RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Debt, or not debt, that is the question: A Shakespearean question to a corporate decision
A1 Saona, Pablo
A1 Vallelado González, Eleuterio
A1 San Martin, Pablo
K1 Sociedades - Deudas
K1 Zero-debt
K1 Capital structure
K1 Panel data
K1 Credit rationing
K1 Agency conflicts
K1 5303.01 Contabilidad Financiera
AB Capital structure theories are unable to properly explain the zero-debt puzzle, frequently observed in firms around the world. Our paper’s contribution is to identify the variables that measure either firm’s characteristics or environmental effects, in order to explain why firms have and eventually keep a debt-free policy. Our study includes a comprehensive sample of firms from 47 countries in the period 1996–2014. Our results indicate that all equity companies are small, with no growth opportunities, with a low level of tangible assets, high proportion of liquid assets, profitable, and with diluted insider ownership. Furthermore, it is more probable to find low levels of debt in countries with good governance indicators or when the economy is not growing.
PB Elsevier
SN 0148-2963
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/68066
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/68066
LA eng
NO Journal of Business Research, julio 2020, vol. 115, p. 378-392
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 06-abr-2025