Capital structure revisited. Do crisis and competition matter in a Keiretsu corporate structure?

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Danso, Albert;Fosu, Samuel;Owusu-Agyei, Samuel;Ntim, Collins G.;Adegbite, Emmanuel
Abstract

We investigate firm-level determinants of capital structure using a large sample of 4,284 Japanese firms over a 19-year period (i.e., over 61,000 firm-year observations), a hitherto less examined sample for this purpose. We conduct our analysis and interpret our findings predominantly within the pecking order, the trade-off and the agency theoretical frameworks. We uncover three new findings. First, our evidence indicates that insights derived from the extant literature on capital structure are cross-national and are applicable in the context of Japan, despite the unique characteristics of Japanese firms. Second, financial crisis significantly impacts the relationship between leverage and firm-level determinants, particularly accentuating the effect of asset tangibility and growth. Third, product market competition significantly impacts the observed relationship between firm-level determinants and leverage. Our results are robust, controlling for the joint effects of competition and crisis.

Journal

International Journal of Finance & Economics

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Volume

26

ISBN/ISSN

1099-1158

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Issue

4

Pages Count

20

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Publisher

Wiley

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Publisher Location

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Date

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EISSN

N/A

DOI

10.1002/ijfe.2055