The Interrelationship between Culture and Capital Structure:Evidence from International Retailers

The present study investigates the influence of cultural factors in 2022 on the capital structure of global retailers.There are sixteen retailers from eight countries in the sample.In recent times,numerous academicians have taken an interest in examining the capital structure and business model of retailers,owing to their swift and consistent growth.However,the fact that the majority of research originates from the retailers’host country gives rise to debate regarding the applicability of the capital structure of said retailers to countries with distinct cultural environments.Consequently,academics have begun to investigate whether the capital structure of multinational retailers is impacted by the diversity of national cultures.

A Critical Review of the Effects of Stock Returns and Market Timing on Capital Structure

Capital structure is regarded as the combination of debt and equity firms used to finance operations and investments.The choice of capital structure significantly impacts a company’s cost of capital,profitability,and risk profile.Among a series of factors that affect capital structure,this paper focuses on stock returns and market timing.In this review,an array of papers is analyzed to summarize what current research claims regarding the influence of stock returns and market timing on capital structure.This paper centers on the stock return and market timing theories and also discusses other theories like the trade-off theory,the pecking order theory,and the signaling theory.

The effects of managerial ability on firm performance and the mediating role of capital structure:evidence from Taiwan

This study utilizes mediation analysis and bootstrapping to analyze the mediating effect of capital structure on the association between managerial ability and firm performance.The dataset consists of 6384 firm-year observations from the Taiwan Residents electronics industry during 2005–2018.Our results indicate that(1)low(high)levels of debt are likely observed in firms with CEOs with high(low)ability,(2)managerial ability positively affects firm performance,and(3)capital structure mediates the positive relationship between managerial ability and firm performance.Overall,the findings may have limited generalizability due to the specific sample characteristics and provide convincing support for the importance of capital structure as a mediator in the managerial ability-firm performance nexus.Specifically,this study highlights the need for examining the effect of managerial ability on firm performance through a mediator.

Performance and capital structure of IPOs in Pakistan from 2000 to 2015

Background:When a privately owned firm or privatized government entity raises capital by selling its stocks for the first time to general public,is known as initial public offering(IPO).The underpricing phenomenon and ownership structure are important characteristics of IPO process that significantly affect the short-run and long-run performance of private firm and privitized entity.This study compares the short-and long-run performance,and factors affecting these performances for both private IPOs and privatized IPOs in Pakistan.It further investigates the relationship between capital structor and initial underpricing for both group of IPOs.Methods:Event study methodology is used to compares short-and long-run performance spanning from March 2000 to June 2015 of two categories of IPOs issued in the Karachi Stock Exchange(KSE).Multivariate regression analysis is applied to examine the factors that affect the short-run and long-run performance as well as for investigating the relationship betwen underpricing and ownership structure for both group of IPOs.Results:We find that both categories outperform in IPOs at which they are offered to investors on first day of trading,although differences in mean are insignificant.Over a five-year buy-and hold strategy,privatizing IPOs outperform and private IPOs underperform returns on the benchmark KSE 100 Stock Index.The results reveal that the size of the private firm or government entity,aftermarket risk of IPOs,and subscription ratio are significantly associated with the underpricing of IPO shares brought to market.First-day returns,market volatility and retained ownership are associated with higher five-year performance.We find that the concentration of ownership is similar,for both categories of IPOs;and significantly positive related to underpricing.The size of the firm/entity,aftermarket risk,return on assets and subscription ratio also affect ownership concentration.Conclusions:Same level of underpricing in both private and privatized IPOs reveals that Pakistan’s government is committed to its privatization policies as they developed capital markets by underpricing of IPOs.To make dispersion in ownership structure and to involve more small investors,the regulatory authorities such as Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP are required to take some steps to minimize concentration in ownership structure).There is a need of some specific range of underpricing by issuers and SECP.

Co-alignment between Environment Risk,Capital Structure,Growth and High-tech Firm Performance

To examine whether there is a co-alignment relationship between environment risk, capital structure, growth and high-tech firm performance, the environment risk was measured from the viewpoint of environment change, the long-term debt ratio was adopted as the measure of the capital structure, and the total asset growth and sales growth were chosen to measure the growth of high-tech firms. Regression analysis shows that there is a significant relationship between environment risk, growth and performance of hightech firms measured by the return on equity and cash flow, respectively.

Determinant Factors of Capital Structure of Firms-An Empirical Analysis Based on Evidence From Chinese Listed Retail Companies

This paper investigates the effectiveness of various factors upon the capital structure decisions of Chinese firms by conducting an empirical analysis of Chinese-listed retail companies.An unbalanced panel dataset was formed with a sample of 110 companies observed for 12 years(2010~2021).Each observation is measured quarterly.Traditional explanatory variables are adopted in the study,including profitability,company size,tangibility of assets,internal financing ability,tax ratio,growth opportunities,and volatility.By employing the Fama-Macbeth approach,the regression results are interpreted to determine the impact of independent variables upon the leverage a company takes on.To solve the reverse causality problem,we include the lag term(last quarter’s data)of the debt-to-equity ratio as control variables.Consistent with previous theoretical and empirical studies,firms’leverage ratio is positively related to size,tangibility,tax ratio,and last quarter’s debt level.Companies’profitability and internal financing ability are negatively correlated with their debt-to-equity ratio.Firms’earning volatility and growth opportunities do not show significant relationship with the debt-to-equity ratio.The study has provided more empirical evidence on capital structure theories regarding emerging financial markets.

Government ownership and the capital structure of firms:Analysis of an institutional context from China

Emerging economies provide interesting scenarios for examining how institutional context influences the financing behavior of firms. In this study, we examine the capital structure of Chinese listed firms following the SplitShare Structure Reform of 2005. This reform allowed a reduction of government ownership by making government shares tradable. We find that the impact of government ownership on leverage is dependent on whether the government is the largest shareholder in a firm and whether the government ownership is through a parent state-owned enterprise. In addition, we document that the largest non-government shareholder positively influences leverage.Overall, our results reveal that the largest controlling shareholder, either government or non-government, has a significant impact on the capital structure of Chinese firms.

Effect of Digital Economy Development onHuman Capital Structure

Based on the panel data on 276 prefectural-level cities from 2011 to 2018,this paper uses longitudinal fixed effects models,panel threshold effects and instrumental variables to explore the relationship between digital economy development and human capital structure advancement.In addition,this paper examines how the development of the digital economy is related to human capital levels.The results show that digital economy development significantly boosts human capital structure advancement,as well as low-level and high-level human capital.However,the effect of digital economy development on midlevel human capital is not statistically significant.In terms of heterogeneity,we find that digital economy development significantly promotes human capital structure advancement in eastern and central-western regions of China,as well as in core and peripheral cities.Effects on the various levels of human capital show significant differences.Furthermore,digital economy development has a positive effect on human capital structure when industrial structure advancement is low.Past a certain threshold,however,the effect reverses.This paper suggests that each region should accelerate the development of digital infrastructure,rationally promote industrial structure advancement and boost the effectiveness of human resources to achieve high-quality economic development.

Index Analysis System of Capital Structure for Listed Firms

Capital structure research usually emphasizes on corporate tax, personal tax, agency cost, bankruptcy cost, etc. These standards aren′t so easy to be quantified that it is difficult to carry out detailed capital structure analysis. This paper tries to set up an index system of capital structure to make the analysis clearer and more determined. The system includes index system of financial statements, index system of financial figures per share, and index system of risk. Finally a case study is shown in this paper.

Does Financial Reporting Quality Affect Optimal Capital Structure？ Evidence from China

In this study, we investigate the association between financial reporting quality and a firm＇s deviation from its optimal capital structure. We find that a firm＇s deviation from its optimal capital structure is decreasing in financial reporting quality. The results suggest that high-quality financial reporting helps to reduce a firm＇s deviation from its optimal capital structure. In addition, we document that the relationship is intensified in non-SOEs, in which financial reporting quality plays a more crucial role. Furthermore, we find that bank connections diminish the role of financial reporting quality in optimal capital structure. Our results hold when we control for potential endogeneity in financial reporting quality and capital structure decisions. Our study contributes to both financial reporting quality and capital structure literature. We also contribute to the literature on informal contracts in organizational decision-making.

Human Capital Structural Upgrade in Catch-Up Economies: An International Comparison

Based on international comparison, this paper arrives at the following conclusions:(1) with the progress of industrialization and rising per capita GDP, successful catch-up countries will experience an upgrade from low-level human capital to highlevel human capital;(2) the leap phenomenon exists in the deepening of high-level human capital and the universalization of tertiary education is normally completed within a relatively short period of time, which has cumulative causation with high productivity;(3) most developing countries face the critical mass of human capital upgrade, excessive lowlevel human capital and slow improvement of efficiency;(4) problems of China's human capital structure are mainly reflected in the excessive secondary human capital with poor quality and insufficient accumulation of tertiary human capital. According to the patterns of human capital deepening, the fostering of human capital in the current stage determines whether China's economic transition can succeed in the coming couple of decades. In order to mitigate the potential risks of belated transition, China must proactively seek the path of human capital upgrade.

OPTIONS-GAME ANALYSIS FOR FIRM WITH INSURED DEBT

The strategic model for insured bond of firm is a new model which is developed based on options pricing model and game theory. When firm’s bond was insured against bankruptcy, some interesting results about endogenous bankruptcy and optimal capital structure are obtained.

Intrinsic Value and Market Timing of Initial Public Offerings

To avoid debates on the interpretation problem of market-to-book, the residual income model is employed to calculate the intrinsic value and estimate the extent of mis-pricing by market. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 1998 to 2003, the empirical evidence supports that equity market mis-pricing plays a significant role in decision making on the initial public offering. Our evidence verifies that the market timing theory can be applied to the analysis of financing behavior of Chinese listed companies, but the long-lasting effect is insignificant.

Consequences of Exits from Political Unions on Leverage: The Case of Sudan Split

This paper examines the consequences of exits from political unions and the split of countries on capital structure decision especially the leverage,taking Sudan split(2011)as a practical case.Where the split between the two countries presents a challenge to companies in Sudan,especially they have not faced such a situation before in their businesses.This paper studies the impacts of the split on the capital structure during the period before and after the split,between 2008 and 2015,using a database of five different companies from different sectors,from Sudan.A regression model was adopted to study the impact of the split on the variables in order to analyze the variation in the ratios before and after the split.The results show that the political decisions such as split have a lot of consequences on the capital structure.

Spatio-temporal characteristics of regional sustainable economic growth drivers of China

Intellectual capital(IC)has become a universal performance indicator for the socioeconomic development of countries and regions.Based on a review ofnational intellectualcapital(NIC)and regional intellectualcapital(RIC)evaluation literature,we used the regional intellectualcapitalindicator(RICI)as a model for China’s RIC evaluation to indirectly understand China’s potential economic growth drivers.Specifically,we collected statisticaldata of31 provinces(including municipalities and autonomous regions)in China from 2004 to 2016to measure RICI and analyze its dynamic characteristics from temporal and spatial perspectives.In this paper,Delphi analysis was used to construct RICI model,and cluster analysisand exploratory spatial data analysis were used to analyze the temporal and spatial characteristics of RICI in China.The results showedthat RICI,which represents China’s overall economic growth drivers,increases annuallyand is consistent with economic developmentlevelduring the study period.Regarding the geo-spatial space,RICI follows the trend of“high in the east and low in the west”,gradually decreasing from eastern to western China.ForRIC structure,the shape of the radar chart of IC structure located in the eastern coastal areas is usually biased towards strong external relational capital,while that in western China is generally biased towards structural capital.For spatial correlation,China’s RICI has dependence on geographical adjacent space and economic space.Our research can provide policy suggestions for the sustainable development of regional economy from an IC perspective.

Knowledge Transfer Framework for Managing Knowledge in Relief Organisations

In recent years,knowledge management(KM)theory has become an omnipresent and important element of organisational development.It includes processes intended to improve organisational effectiveness and it describes the convergence of people,processes,and systems.However,its application is limited to the development of technology for document repository and sharing.To promote new ways of approaching KM,this paper focuses on four knowledge topics:the use of human capital,social capital,structural capital,and artificial intelligence.Accepting that the four components of KM:people,processes,tools,and organisation,are interdependent,nested,and porous,then getting relevant knowledge to those who need it,when they need it,is critical for knowledge transfer.This paper considers whether the recovery of forgotten knowledge will create value for organisations.It proposes a new holistic framework to enhance the transferability of tacit and implicit knowledge in emergency relief organisations.It considers the application of artificial intelligence in the aid sector as a means of achieving this,and it proposes its use for providing ready-to-use knowledge for decision making in emergencies.Using a quantitative and qualitative research approach,this research resolves several ambiguities in the application of the KM discipline within emergency relief organisations.It found that there is no relationship between the employees’age and their attitude to communicating across organisational boundaries to exchange knowledge,yet age is a factor in the use of organisational social networks as a communication tool.Further,it found little difference in the way employees of various designations comprehend the human,structural,and social capital elements of an organisation,yet the importance,selection,and use of each of these elements is dependent on the employees’designation and/or position in the organisational hierarchy.Finally,it found that age is a key factor in the frequency of changing jobs,which contributes to the loss of tacit and implicit knowledge in aid organisations.This paper concludes by providing recommendations for action within each of the five knowledge sharing dimensions:individual,social,managerial,cultural,and structural.

Value-added Tax and Leverage:Evidence from China's Value-added Tax Rate Reform

This paper uses China's value-added tax(VAT)rate reform as a quasi-natural experiment to identify the impacts of VAT rate shocks on corporate financial leverage.The results indicate that the reform reduced corporate total leverage significantly.There was a decrease in short-term leverage,but long-term leverage showed no significant change.These results remained robust across a series of robustness checks.Mechanism analysis shows that increasing profitability and improving cash flows acted as intermediary channels for the reform's impact on leverage.The reform also contributed to the mitigation of the asset–liability mismatch problem and the reduction of debt risk,while having no apparent impact on corporate investments.Finally,enterprises with more elastic demand and those with lower intermediate input ratios were affected most by the deleveraging effect of the VAT rate reform.This study suggests how the VAT rate cut shaped corporate capital structure.It thus helps to explain the economic consequences of VAT rate shocks.