A verificação de uma trajetória de valorização do câmbio ao longo de 2004 e 2005, que diminui a competitividade do produto brasileiro e a rentabilidade do setor exportador, ressaltou a importância das operações com adiantamentos de contratos de câmbio (ACCs) como meio de driblar os percalços de um câmbio adverso e manter a atratividade, em termos de lucratividade, da atividade exportadora. Este trabalho, então, busca aumentar o conjunto de informações dos exportadores que vislumbram a possibilidade de realizar operações de arbitragem com ACCs, analisando mais detalhadamente os fatores que determinam os resultados das operações com ACCs e verificando o papel da dinâmica cambial sobre esses ganhos. Para tal, são utilizados modelos econométricos de variância condicionada auto-regressiva (ARCH), cujos resultados sinalizam uma relação significativa e positiva entre volatilidade do câmbio e maiores margens de retorno na arbitragem com ACCs. / The appreciation path described by the exchange rate along 2004 and 2005, which reduced the Brazilian product competitiveness and the exportations profitability, showed the anticipation of exchange rate contracts (ACCs) importance as a way to overcome an adverse exchange rate and maintain the attractiveness of the exportation activity. Afterward, we try to increase the set of information of the exporters that look forward an ACC arbitrage operation possibility, analyzing more carefully the issues that determine their results and verifying the exchange rate dynamics role in those gains. Indeed, employing auto regressive conditioned heteroscedasticity (ARCH) econometric models, the results point out a significant and positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and larger ACC arbitrage returns.

Il presente lavoro di tesi analizza da un punto di vista teorico i contratti di debito con collaterale e la scelta di specializzazione degli asset produttivi. Le imprese soggette a vincoli finanziari danno in pegno i loro asset come collaterale per migliorare l’accesso al credito. Tuttavia, i prenditori di fondi trovano spesso difficoltà nel finanziare progetti con asset eccessivamente specializzati perché il loro valore di liquidazione è basso (asset troppo specializzati hanno un valore di riutilizzo limitato) anche quando i progetti hanno un rendimento atteso elevato. In questo contesto, questa tesi vuole rispondere alle seguenti domande di ricerca: in quale modo la scelta di specializzare un asset produttivo influisce sui contratti finanziari? Quali sono gli effetti delle diverse scelte di specificità su quantità e condizioni del credito? E sulla competizione nel mercato del prodotto? La tesi tratta sia temi di finanza aziendale che temi di organizzazione industriale, e, utilizzando un nuovo approccio teorico, analizza congiuntamente il grado di specificità degli asset e il loro valore di liquidazione. La specializzazione degli asset aumenta il ritorno dei progetti ma diminuisce il valore di liquidazione degli asset stessi. Quando le imprese devono impegnare gli asset come collaterale, questo implica un aumento del costo del debito. Analizzando questo “specificity trade-off”, la tesi dimostra che: nel mercato secondario il valore di liquidazione di un asset dipende dal grado di specificità, dai costi di riutilizzo e dalla presenza di potenziali acquirenti; imprese che devono ricorrere a finanziamenti investono meno in specializzazione degli asset rispetto a imprese che riescono ad auto-finanziarsi; la struttura del mercato e il grado di specializzazione scelto sono influenzati dalle condizioni finanziarie; quando il grado di specificità degli asset produttivi influisce sul grado di differenziazione dei prodotti, il trade-off implica che le imprese che devono finanziarsi attraverso il mercato dei capitali investono meno in specializzazione e, di conseguenza, sono esposte ad un grado di concorrenza maggiore nel mercato del prodotto. / My dissertation is about collateral debt contracts and the choice of specializing productive assets, from a theoretical perspective. Financially constrained firms pledge their productive assets as collateral in order to enhance their access to credit. However, firms may find it difficult to finance projects when their collateralized productive assets are too specialized since their liquidation value is low (as a matter of fact redeployability of those assets to alternative uses is scarce) even when their projects have large expected returns. In this context, my dissertation aims to answer the following research questions: how does the choice of asset specialization affect financial contracts? Which are the implications of different degree of asset specificity for the amount of credit and product market competition? This dissertation is at a cross road between industrial organization and corporate finance and uses a novel approach where the choice of asset specialization and the liquidation value of a productive asset are analyzed together. Asset specialization increases firms' project returns, but decreases the liquidation value of productive assets. When firms are credit constrained this implies a higher cost of debt. By examining this specialization trade-off, I am able to prove the following results: in the secondary market the resale value of a productive asset is determined by its degree of asset specificity, redeployability costs and the presence of firms willing to acquire the it; financially constrained firms invest less in asset specialization compared to self-financing firms; market structure and the degree of asset specialization may be influenced by financial choices; when asset specificity affects product market differentiation, the specialization trade-off implies that financially constrained firms invest less in product differentiation, and, as a consequence, face tougher competition compared to non-financially constrained firms.

L’objectif principal de cette thèse est d’estimer la valeur d’utilité de l’immobilier des entreprises en examinant cet actif aux travers de différents prismes. Nous avons tout d’abord étudié les principales théories macroéconomiques qui régissent la gestion des portefeuilles diversifiés d’actifs, puis mesuré les effets de l’immobilier de l’entreprise sur la perception du couple rentabilité/risque de différents secteurs industriels par l’analyses graphiques et des mesures de corrélation. Nous nous sommes intéressés à deux entreprises représentatives d’industries présentant des singularités fortes : le groupe Casino, que nous avons associé à sa foncière Mercialys, et le groupe Accor. L’étude de ces structures a permis de mettre en lumière des stratégies et des comportements différenciés essentiellement centrés sur la problématique du couple rentabilité/risque. Nous avons souhaité vérifier par la suite les hypothèses émises lors de l’étude de ces deux groupes en nous replaçant dans la perspective plus générale des acteurs et en testant in vivo la perception de la valeur d’utilité de l’immobilier des entreprises. Nous avons pour cela orienté cette recherche vers une approche empirique basée sur une enquête. Nous avons ainsi validé le fait que l’immobilier est essentiellement perçu par les acteurs comme un outil de la gestion du couple rentabilité/risque de la société (et particulièrement de la dette) avec, cependant, des composantes associées plus ou moins affirmés selon le paradigme, les finalités et la perception de la classe d’acteurs qui le considérait. La situation de l’entreprise pouvait de même faire évoluer la nature de cette valeur pour les répondants avec pour objectif systématique la maximisation de leur bien-être. Enfin, nous avons précisé dès le début de cette recherche que cette dernière était marquée par sa temporalité et qu’elle devra être mise à jour dans dix ans à la lumière de données statistiques plus significative sur la durée. / The principal objective of this study is to estimate the utility value of a company’s Real Estate by analysing this asset utilising different methods. In the beginning, we studied the principal theories of macroeconomics which lead to the creation of a diverse portefolio of assets. We then measured the impact of the company’s real estate value on the perception of the profitability/risk ratio within different industrial sectors. To achieve this, we used a graphic analysis tool and we measured the level of correlation between different indexes. We have examined in detail two representative companies of specific indexes which demonstrated strong and unusual strengths: the Casino Group, that we have linked to its Real Estate investment trust Mercialys and the Accor Group. The study of these businesses has allowed us to demonstrate unique strategies and adaptive behaviors based on the optimization of the profitability/risk ratio. We wanted to verify thereafter the specific hypotheses created during the study of these two companies. For that, we adopted a more general approach and we tested in vivo the perception of the utility value of a company’s Real Estate. We oriented the research to an empirical approach based on the survey data. We validated the fact that Real Estate is essentially considered by the people involved in this industry as a tool for managing the profitability/risk ratio of a company (and particularly the level of the debt) with more or less significant additional components according to the paradigm, the objectives and the personal perception of each group within each segment. The current situation of the company could significantly change the perception of the nature of its value for a specific group with the systematic objective of maximizing their position. We specified when we started this research project that this work is relevant to the date it was produced and it has to be updated in ten years with more significant temporal data.

[pt] A avaliação de oportunidades de investimentos é sem duvida um tema de grande interesse, pois é o modo pela qual as firmas norteiam suas decisões de investimento ao avaliar que este ou aquele projeto cria ou não valor para esta firma. A teoria de avaliação de investimentos produtivos inicia seu caminho partindo do Valor Presente Líquido (VPL) e vai se ramificando ao longo se sua literatura, percorrendo sempre o objetivo de incorporar a incerteza nos modelos. O estágio atual desta caminhada é a avaliação por opções reais, e tudo que a antecede passou a ser chamado de teoria clássica. Mas muitos problemas enfrentados nas abordagens encontradas na literatura de avaliação de opções reais são antigos. Em função da analogia com as opções financeiras, a metodologia proposta para avaliação das opções reais originaram dos modelos de apreçamento de opções financeiras. Mas esta extensão metodológica é em si problemática, pois os ativos ditos reais e os ativos financeiros guardam entre si importantes diferenças como: risco privado, completude dos mercados, diferenças de liquidez, reversibilidade e uma profunda diferença entre os níveis de assimetria de informação. Estas diferenças comprometem a significância dos resultados finais desta avaliação, pois violam algumas hipóteses que estão por de trás da teoria de apreçamento de opções financeiras, além de não incorporar a parcela de risco privado na avaliação, apenas risco de mercado. Outras abordagens para avaliação de opções reais surgiram para tentar resolver o problema da incompletude dos mercados, mas também retornam a outros problemas já discutidos na teoria clássica como, por exemplo, a dificuldade da escolha da taxa de desconto e a subjetividade da estimativa de um fluxo de caixa equivalente certo. Apesar de ter criado um novo paradigma na concepção de valor dos projetos de investimento, a literatura da teoria de opções reais é ainda divergente quanto aos métodos de avaliação. Este trabalho tem como objetivo discutir as dificuldades práticas de se avaliar/ quantificar as opções de um ativo real que se dá tanto pela inadequação dos métodos de apreçamento próprios para derivativos financeiros, quanto pela subjetividade que se incorre com a utilização de métodos alternativos. / [en] The valuation of investment opportunities is undoubtedly a topic of great interest as it is the manner by which firms guide their investment decisions and assess whether this or that project creates or not value. The valuation theory of productive investments starts its way on the Net Present Value Rule (NPV) and branches along its literature, pursuing always the goal of incorporating the uncertainty into the models. The current stage of this path is the valuation of real options, and so everything that precedes it is now called classical theory. Nevertheless, many problems in the approaches found in literature for assessing real options are old. As the analogy with financial options is common, the proposed methodology for pricing real options bases itself in the financial options models. But this methodological extension is in itself problematic, as the so-called real assets and financial assets retain important differences between themselves such as private risk, completeness of markets, differences in liquidity, reversibility and a dramatic difference in the levels of information asymmetry. These differences undermine the significance of the valuation’s final results, as they violate some of the assumptions behind the pricing theory of financial options. As well as that, only the market component of risk is considered in the assessment, leaving private risk unattended. Other approaches for pricing real options have emerged in order to tackle the problem of market incompleteness, but are not able to prevent other issues already discussed in the classical theory, such as the difficulty in choosing the discount rate and the subjectivity of the certainty equivalent cash flow estimation. Despite having created a new standard in the understanding of what does the value of an investment project represent, real options literature is still uneasy with regards to valuation methods. The aim of this dissertation is to discuss the practical difficulties in the valuation/ quantification of the options present in a real asset. These are given both by the inadequacy in the methods that were designed specifically for financial derivatives, and by the subjectivity that is incurred when one makes use of alternative methods.

A verificação de uma trajetória de valorização do câmbio ao longo de 2004 e 2005, que diminui a competitividade do produto brasileiro e a rentabilidade do setor exportador, ressaltou a importância das operações com adiantamentos de contratos de câmbio (ACCs) como meio de driblar os percalços de um câmbio adverso e manter a atratividade, em termos de lucratividade, da atividade exportadora. Este trabalho, então, busca aumentar o conjunto de informações dos exportadores que vislumbram a possibilidade de realizar operações de arbitragem com ACCs, analisando mais detalhadamente os fatores que determinam os resultados das operações com ACCs e verificando o papel da dinâmica cambial sobre esses ganhos. Para tal, são utilizados modelos econométricos de variância condicionada auto-regressiva (ARCH), cujos resultados sinalizam uma relação significativa e positiva entre volatilidade do câmbio e maiores margens de retorno na arbitragem com ACCs. / The appreciation path described by the exchange rate along 2004 and 2005, which reduced the Brazilian product competitiveness and the exportations profitability, showed the anticipation of exchange rate contracts (ACCs) importance as a way to overcome an adverse exchange rate and maintain the attractiveness of the exportation activity. Afterward, we try to increase the set of information of the exporters that look forward an ACC arbitrage operation possibility, analyzing more carefully the issues that determine their results and verifying the exchange rate dynamics role in those gains. Indeed, employing auto regressive conditioned heteroscedasticity (ARCH) econometric models, the results point out a significant and positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and larger ACC arbitrage returns.

Submitted by Orlando Laércio de Souza Cavalcante Vilar (orlandovilar@gmail.com) on 2016-01-08T12:59:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Orlando Vilar 07 jan 2016_v5.pdf: 707346 bytes, checksum: 65a8488da2068fb61203197572d6ed19 (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: Orlando, boa tarde Por gentileza, realizar as alterações mencionadas abaixo para que possamos aceitar seu trabalho: CAPA: Seu nome deve estar um pouco acima do título (centralizado). O título deve estar em letra maiúscula na CAPA e CONTRACAPA. Em seguida realizar uma nova submissão do trabalho. At on 2016-01-08T14:23:54Z (GMT) / Submitted by Orlando Laércio de Souza Cavalcante Vilar (orlandovilar@gmail.com) on 2016-01-08T16:43:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Orlando Vilar 08 jan 2016_v6.pdf: 707109 bytes, checksum: 4877b3b357324b1b8da8a7cb63f818ff (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br) on 2016-01-08T16:45:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Orlando Vilar 08 jan 2016_v6.pdf: 707109 bytes, checksum: 4877b3b357324b1b8da8a7cb63f818ff (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-08T16:50:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Orlando Vilar 08 jan 2016_v6.pdf: 707109 bytes, checksum: 4877b3b357324b1b8da8a7cb63f818ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-14 / This paper studies whether the introduction and utilization of interest on equity (IOE) payments affected the leverage ratios of Brazilian companies. To test the hypothesis that IOE led companies to use less debt, a matching estimator procedure is used, considering as control group a pool of companies that did not pay IOE and as treatment group the ones that did pay it, on a sample comprised of 40 companies during the years of 1995 to 1998. As expected from previous studies, the empirical evidence supports the argument that the average treatment effect (ATE) for companies that pay IOE will result in a reduction of their leverage ratio. However, there were no significant results to leverage reduction when we analyze the average treatment effect on the treated (ATET or ATT). / Este trabalho tem como proposta estudar como a introdução e a utilização do pagamento de juros sobre capital próprio (JSCP) afetaram o nível de endividamento das empresas brasileiras. Para testar a hipótese que os JSCP levaram as empresas a usarem menos capital de terceiros, são utilizados matching estimators, estabelecendo como grupo de controle as empresas que não pagaram JSCP e como grupo de tratamento as que o fizeram, em uma amostra composta de 40 companhias durante os anos de 1995 até 1998. Em linha com estudos anteriores, foi encontrada evidência empírica indicando que o efeito médio do tratamento (ATE) para empresas que decidem pagar JCSP é o de reduzir o seu nível de endividamento. Contudo, não houve resultado significativo de redução de endividamento ao analisarmos o efeito médio do tratamento dentre o grupo de empresas tratadas (ATET ou ATT).

Le premier chapitre est une présentation des principaux concepts et résultatsconcernant la finance d'entreprise à la lumière de certains développementsrécents de l'économie du travail.Le deuxième chapitre vise à établir les propriétés d'optimalité concernantl'investissement et l'embauche d'une entreprise dans le cadre de lamaximisation d'une utilité linéaire.Le troisième chapitre traite de la problématique (éventuelle) du désinvestissementet du licenciement. Nous étudions en particulier les problèmesde la prise de décision optimale du dirigeant faisant face soit à une croissancedu marché, soit au contraire à une chute de la demande pour son produit.Le quatrième chapitre reconsidère la question en prenant en compte spécifiquementd'une borne supérieure sur la quantité pouvant être réellementvendue.Le cinquième chapitre prend en compte le phénomènes possibles de retourà la moyenne du prix unitaire du produit vendu.Le sixième et dernier chapitre reconsidère les problèmes de décision optimalepour différentes formes de dette possibles. / The first chapter is an overview of the main concepts and resultson corporate finance in the light of certain developmentsrecent labor economics .The second chapter aims to establish the optimal properties forinvestment and hiring a company under themaximizing a linear utility .The third chapter deals with the problem (if any) divestmentand firing . Nosu study particular problemsthe optimal decision of the leader facing either growthmarket , on the contrary to a drop in demand for its product.The fourth chapter reconsiders the issue , taking into account specifican upper bound on the amount that can actually besold.The fifth chapter considers the possible phenomena of retuthe average unit price of the product sold .The sixth and final chapter reconsiders the problems of optimal decisionfor different possible forms of debt

This study examines the divide between finance theory and practice by analysing the significance of the determinants of capital structure choice among 123 listed firms on the JSE, to determine whether these firms follow the trade-off theory or the pecking-order theory. Data obtained from McGregor’s Bureau of Financial Analysis database was analysed using standard multiple regressions, stepwise regressions and ANOVA techniques to test for financing behaviour. The results indicated that the trade-off model has both cross-sectional and time-series explanatory power for explaining the financing behaviour, while tests on the pecking-order model were weak. The results further revealed a significant positive correlation between debt financing and financial distress, and a significant negative correlation between debt financing and the collateral value of assets during the period under study (1995-2005). These findings suggest a divergence between finance theory and practice for JSE listed firms and manifest conflicting ideologies between finance practices of developed and developing economies. / Business management / M. Com. (Business Management )

Dans les trois chapitres de cette thèse nous explorons le lien entre les performances des entreprises et les caractéristiques psychologiques des dirigeants. Dans un premier chapitre conceptuel, nous étudions les fondements théoriques des travaux en finance comportementale d'entreprise en analysant l'hubris et les concepts qui lui sont apparentés. Nous suggérons des pistes de recherche futures qui, pour certaines, sont mises en oeuvre dans les deux autres chapitres de ce travail. Dans le second chapitre, nous étudions l'impact du narcissisme des dirigeants acquéreurs et cibles sur les aspects privés d'un échantillon de fusions-acquisitions américaines. Nos résultats indiquent que desniveaux de narcissisme plus élevés chez les dirigeants acquéreurs sont associés à une plus forte probabilité que l'acquéreur initie l'opération et à une période plus courte entre l'initiation de l'opération et son annonce publique. Nos résultats suggèrent également que des niveaux de narcissisme plus élevés chez les dirigeants cibles sont positivement associés à la prime offerte et négativement associés aux rendements anormaux cumulés de l'acquéreur. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous analysons l'effet du leadership authentique du dirigeant sur les performances boursières etd'exploitation d'un échantillon d'entreprises du SBF 250. Nous collectons des données sur le leadership authentique par le biais de questionnaires. Nous analysons la différence entre les performances des entreprises en les affectant à trois portefeuilles selon le niveau de leadership authentique en utilisant l'analyse en trois facteurs de Fama et French. Nous ne trouvons aucun lien significatif entre le niveau de leadership authentique du dirigeant et la performance boursière. Dansles analyses des performances d'exploitation, nous trouvons un lien positif et significatif entre le niveau de leadership authentique et la rentabilité économique (ROA). / We study the effect of CEO psychological characteristics on firm performance in three papers. We first consider the theoretical background to work in behavioral corporate finance in a conceptual paper analyzing hubris and related psychological concepts. In this paper we put forward ideas for future research, some of which we implement subsequent papers. In paper 2, we study the effect of acquirer and target CEO narcissism on the private aspects of the takeover process in a sample of US M&A deals. We find that higher levels of acquirer CEO narcissism are associated with a higher probability of deal initiation by the acquirer and with a shorter length of time between deal initiation and announcement. Concerning value effects, our results suggest that higher levels of target CEO narcissism are positively related to bid premium and negatively related to acquirer cumulative abnormal returns. In addition, the difference between acquirer and target CEO narcissism is a significant factor in explaining the different aspects of the takeover process. In the third paper, we analyze the effect of CEO authentic leadership on the market and operating performance of a sample of listed French firms. We collect data on CEO authentic leadership using questionnaires. We analyze the difference in performance of firms sorted into three portfolios according to the level of CEO authentic leadership using a Fama French three factor analysis. We fail to find a significant relationship between CEO authentic leadership and market performance. In the operating performance analyses, we find a positive association between CEO authentic leadership and ROA.

Shareholder activism has exploded in popularity since the turn of the century, due in large part to impressive relative returns generated by its major participants. The result has thus been a surge in assets invested in the category, to in excess of $170 billion today up from less than $3 billion in 2000 (Inglis 2015; Romito 2015). This influx of capital, in absolute dollars and pace of growth, has caused many to wonder whether activists truly create shareholder value and, if so, if the value generated is sustainable. Numerous studies of activist interventions prior to 2009 reveal significant stock price gains around the time of activist arrival and positive longer term buy-and-hold abnormal returns as well. The question remains, however, whether those trends have continued as volume of transactions and number of activists have increased post the recent global financial crisis. In this report, we perform an empirical analysis focused on a hand-collected dataset of 1,088 activist interventions from 1995-present. This dataset includes all 13D filings, as well as Under the Threshold activist campaigns. First, we analyze stock price returns for this group over short- and long-term periods and find that activists continue to unlock shareholder value in recent deals comparable to that of earlier ones. We then perform a proprietary regression to identify which factors drive the most successful returns. Such insights should prove informative for investors employing an activist strategy and companies looking to manage areas of vulnerability.