This dissertation contains two essays on the aggressive behavior of corporations in product market competition. In the first essay, I investigate how market structure can impact a firm's risk of facing predation by rivals, and hence, its financial policy decisions. Using a simple model, I demonstrate that a firm faces a greater predation threat when it meets the same competitor in many markets, as this competitor is able to internalize more of the benefit, degrading the firm's ability to compete in the future through aggressive actions today. I then test the predictions of the model using 2003-2011 panel data on store location across retail store chains in the US. I find that firms tend to expand more aggressively in markets shared with a competitor experiencing a substantial increase in leverage, or a decline in a credit rating, when they face that competitor in more of the other markets. The expansion relationship was found to be stronger in data from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, a period when difficulty in rolling over or obtaining new debt made it especially hard for weak firms to absorb losses. I also show that a firm facing the same competitors in many markets choose lower levels of leverage and that it decreases that leverage when a merger in the industry increases the amount of competitive overlap it has with other firms. These results suggest that firms are aware of the predation risk due to a competitive overlap and select financial policies to minimize this risk. In the second essay, I study the impact of internally generated funds on product market competition. More specifically, I investigate the idea that firms compete aggressively when their competitors face cash flow shortfalls. Testing this idea is challenging because competitor's cash flow changes are potentially endogenous with respect to firm's behavior. I address this problem in three ways. First, I investigate firm's reaction in a given market when its competitors face cash flow shortfalls outside of that market; this analysis is conducted using store location data on retail store chains. Second, I focus on the 2008-2009 financial crisis period in which retail store chains were hit by a negative demand shock which was hardly expected ex ante. Finally, I use a shock to local economic conditions which varies across markets and the different distributions of store locations across firms as instruments for the changes in competitors' cash flows. I find that a firm expands more in a given market in which it competes with rivals which face a more negative cash flow shortfall in the other markets. This relation is stronger when the competitors were highly leveraged before the crisis. Finally, I illustrate evidence that a firm responds more aggressively to competitor's cash flow shortfalls if it competes with that competitor in many of the same markets; this result is consistent with the prediction of the model in Chapter 1. These essays contribute to the literature by adding new evidence on the predatory behavior of corporations in product market competition. / text

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Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται το θέμα των χρηματοοικονομικών περιορισμών που καλούνται να αντιμετωπίσουν οι επιχειρήσεις προτού πάρουν την απόφαση ή όχι να αναλάβουν μια επένδυση. Συγκεκριμένα θα μελετήσουμε πως το μέγεθος μιας επιχείρησης και η μόχλευση επηρεάζουν την επενδυτική της απόφαση ή καλύτερα πώς η εσωτερική χρηματοδότηση επιδρά στην επένδυση σε διαφορετικά επίπεδα μόχλευσης και μεγέθους της επιχείρησης. Η εργασία αποτελείται από εφτά(7) κεφάλαια. Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο αποτελεί την εισαγωγή μας η οποία παραθέτει εν συντομία αυτά που θα δούμε στα επόμενα έξι(6) κεφάλαια. Το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο είναι μια επισκόπηση της βιβλιογραφίας. Παρουσιάζονται οι δύο διαφορετικές απόψεις όσον αφορά τις επενδύσεις, η νεοκλασική η οποία υποθέτει οποία υποθέτει πλήρη ανταγωνισμό στην αγορά κεφαλαίου και πλήρη πληροφόρηση και άρα οι επενδυτικές αποφάσεις δεν υπόκεινται σε περιορισμούς και η εναλλακτική άποψη η οποία υποθέτει ότι βρισκόμαστε σε ατελείς αγορές και άρα η χρηματοοικονομική κατάσταση της επιχείρησης επηρεάζει την επενδυτική της απόφαση. Το κεφάλαιο ολοκληρώνεται με μια εκτενής παρουσίαση των προηγούμενων εμπειρικών μελετών. Στο τρίτο κεφάλαιο γίνεται μια παρουσίαση των δεδομένων καθώς και μια ανάλυση της μεθόδου GMM με την οποία θα εκτιμήσουμε την συνάρτηση επένδυσης. Στο κεφάλαιο αυτό γίνεται επίσης μια αναφορά της βάσης δεδομένων BACH από την οποία αντλήσαμε τα δεδομένα μας. Τέλος, παραθέτουμε και κάποια ενδιαφέρονται στατιστικά χαρακτηριστικά των μεταβλητών μας. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο, το οποίο είναι και το ουσιαστικότερο, παρουσιάζουμε τα εμπειρικά μας αποτελέσματα. Συγκεκριμένα με την βοήθεια του οικονομετρικού προγράμματος STATA είδαμε πώς τον μέγεθος της επιχείρησης και η μόχλευση επηρεάζουν την επενδυτική της απόφαση, πώς δηλαδή η εσωτερική χρηματοδότηση επιδρά στην επένδυση σε διαφορετικά επίπεδα μόχλευσης και μεγέθους της επιχείρησης. Να σημειώσουμε ότι για το μέγεθος της επιχείρησης έχουν γίνει τρεις(3) διαφορετικές μετρήσεις οι οποίες και παραθέτονται λεπτομερώς. Το πέμπτο κεφάλαιο αποτελεί τα συμπεράσματά μας δηλαδή γίνεται μια σύνοψη όσων έχουν αναφερθεί στα προηγούμενα κεφάλαια και καταλήγουμε ότι τα εμπειρικά μας αποτελέσματα συμφωνούν πλήρως τόσο με την υπάρχουσα βιβλιογραφία όσο και με τις προηγούμενες εμπειρικές μελέτες. Τέλος η παρούσα εργασία ολοκληρώνεται με τα κεφάλαια έξι και εφτά όπου παραθέτουμε την βιβλιογραφία που έχουμε χρησιμοποιήσει, καθώς και ένα παράρτημα όπου παρουσιάζονται τα διαγράμματα οι πίνακες που έχουμε χρησιμοποιήσει στην εργασία. / This work deals with the issue of financial constraints facing undertakings before take the decision or not to take an investment. In particular we consider that the size of the company and the leverage affecting the investment decision or how cash flow affects investment at different levels of leverage and firm’s size The work consists of seven(7) chapters. The first chapter is the introduction us which sets out briefly what we will see in the coming six(6) Chapters The second chapter is an overview of the literature. Presented the two different views as regards the investment, neoclassical, which assumes full competition to the capital market and full information and therefore the investment decisions not subject to restrictions and the alternative view, which assumes that we are in an environment of uncertainty and hence the financial situation of the firm affects the investment decision. The chapter ends with an extended presentation of the previous empirical studies In the third chapter there is a presentation of our data and an analysis of the method GMM with the aid of it, we will estimate the relation investment. In this chapter there is also a reference of the BACH database from which we took our data. Finally, we hold some interested statistical characteristics of our variables. In the fourth chapter, which is the most meaningful, we are presenting our empirical results. In particular, with the assistance of the econometric program STATA we have seen that the size of the firm and the leverage affects its investment decision how cash flow affects investment at different levels of leverage and firm’s size. It’s worth noting that, concerning the size of the firm, we have made three (3) different measurements which are presented in detail. The fifth chapter presents our conclusions. There is a summary of what has been reported in the previous chapters and we conclude that our empirical results agree fully with both the literature and previous empirical studies. Finally, this paper concludes with chapters six and seven, where we present the literature we have used, as well as an appendix showing charts and tables we have used in this paper.

Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs, hereafter) are important drivers of the global economic development. For the SMEs, to establish and growth, having access to the sources of finance is of great importance. Anecdotal evidence suggeststhat while the importance of having access for the SMEs is apparent, they have been disadvantageous in many different ways. The disadvantage position of the SMEs can even be worse when they are younger (e.g., The World bank, 2001, p. 6-7). Prior research documents many factors that affect the financial constraints of SMEs. In this study, we investigate the association between SMEs age and financial constraints. In addition, we test the moderating effect of collectivism on SMEs’ financial constraints, as collectivism is documented to have an effect on bank corruption. We first hypothesize that there is a negative association between SMEs’ age and financial constraints. We further propose that the negative association between SMEs’ age and financial constraints decreases as collectivism (at the country level) increases. Using a World Bank’s sample of 31422 firms across 38 countries, we find that younger firms, compared to the older firms, experience higher level of financial constraints.Further, we observe an insignificant results regarding the moderating effect of collectivism on the proposed association.We offer contribution to the existing empirical evidence onfactors that affect financial constraints. Providing such an evidence may be found relevant to the economic institutions such as the World Bank and regulatory bodies, as they are allocating resources and making macro level decisions regarding the economicdevelopment through SMEs around the world.

Utilizando informações financeiras de 226 firmas brasileiras nos anos de 2000 até 2015, este estudo buscou investigar se a mispricing (avaliação equivocada do preço das ações) presente no mercado financeiro possui influência nas decisões de investimento dessas firmas. A restrição financeira também foi incorporada ao modelo ao se utilizar os índices KZ, WW e SA na classificação das firmas: financeiramente restrito e financeiramente não restrito. Buscou-se evidenciar como firmas financeiramente restritas e irrestritas ajustam suas fontes de recursos financeiros em resposta à avaliação equivocado dos preços das ações. Estimou-se através do GMM-System um modelo de investimento dinâmico considerando as variáveis de investimento defasado e quadrático, fluxo de caixa, alavancagem, crescimentos das vendas, q de Tobin, e como proxy da mispricing, Accruals discricionárias e Composite Share Issuance. Os principais resultados apontaram que a mispricing atua de maneira positiva no nível de investimento das empresas brasileiras. Elevadas accruals e CSI contribuem para o que o investimento seja impulsionado em virtude da sobrevalorização dos preços das ações e consequente valoração de mercado das firmas. Essa sobrevalorização torna possível a captação de recursos via mercado e a implantação de novos projetos. Os efeitos da mispricing podem inclusive auxiliar na superação de questões de sub-investimentos e propiciar o aumento dos investimentos na economia, atuando como \"relaxador\" das restrições financeiras e incentivando a execução de projetos eficientes. / Through financial information from 226 Brazilian firms between 2000 and 2015, this study investigated whether mispricing in the financial market influences the firm\'s investment decisions. The financial constraint was also incorporated in the study using the KZ, WW and SA indices to classify the firms into two groups: financially and non-financially constraint. It was expected to evidence how financially and non-financially constraint firms adjust their sources of resources in response to stock prices misjudgment. A dynamic investment model was estimated using the GMM-System, considering the lagged and quadratic investment variables, cash flow, leverage, sales growth, Tobin\'s q, and as a proxy for mispricing, discretionary accruals and Composite Share Issuance. The main results pointed out that mispricing acts positively on the level of investments of Brazilian companies. High accruals and CSI would contribute to the investment being boosted by the overvaluation of stock prices and the consequent market value of the firms. This overvaluation would allow the capture of resources via the market and the implementation of new projects. The mispricing effects could also indicate the issues of underinvestment and allow the increase of investments in the economy, presenting a \"relaxing\" effect of financial constraints and encouraging the execution of efficient projects.

A presente pesquisa busca verificar empiricamente o impacto da lei do dividendo obrigatório sobre o investimento das empresas de capital aberto. Para alcançar este objetivo três hipóteses foram criadas. A primeira objetiva testar se o valor marginal do caixa diminui com o pagamento de dividendos acima do mínimo obrigatório, testando assim o pagamento de dividendos no Brasil como proxy para restrição financeira, visto que esta classificação é importante em modelos de investimento. A segunda busca mensurar o impacto do dividendo obrigatório no investimento de empresas brasileiras de capital aberto que distribuem apenas o dividendo mínimo. A última hipótese avalia a influência deste mecanismo legal em uma amostra multi-países. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o dividendo obrigatório impacta direta e indiretamente no investimento das companhias. E, este efeito é ainda maior e mais relevante para as empresas restritas financeiramente. Considerando o contexto nacional, onde as fontes de financiamentos são caras e escassas, esta evidência obtida pela presente pesquisa possui grande relevância para o mercado financeiro. / The present research seeks to empirically verify the impact of the mandatory dividend on publicly traded companies’ investment. To achieve this goal, three hypotheses were created. The first one aims to test if the marginal value of cash decreases with the payment of dividends above the mandatory minimum, thus testing the distribution of dividends in Brazil as proxy for financial constraint, since this classification is important in investment models. The second seeks to measure the impact of the mandatory dividend on the investment of Brazilian publicly traded companies that distributed only the minimum dividend. The last hypothesis evaluates the influence of this legal mechanism on a multicountry sample. The results indicate that the mandatory dividend has a direct and indirect impact on the companies’ investment. And, this effect is even greater and more relevant for financially constrained companies. Considering the national context, where the sources of financing are expensive and scarce, this evidence obtained by the present research has great relevance for the financial market.

Essay 1: I examine sales of private firms to better understand the effect of relaxing financial constraints on firm value. My empirical tests exploit an exogenous shock to financial constraints caused by interstate bank branching deregulation. On a sample of 557 sales of private firms to public acquirers, I find that relaxed financial constraints lead to a statistically significant increase of 7.3% in valuation multiples of private targets. I also find a significant increase in private target valuation multiples benchmarked to public target valuation multiples. These effects are more pronounced for firms in the sample with below median annual sales. Acquirer returns are negatively impacted when financial constraints on private targets are relaxed. The evidence supports the prediction that relaxing financial constraints allows private targets to substitute bank credit for some of the financing benefits provided by acquirers and bargain for a higher valuation.

A presente pesquisa busca verificar empiricamente o impacto da lei do dividendo obrigatório sobre o investimento das empresas de capital aberto. Para alcançar este objetivo três hipóteses foram criadas. A primeira objetiva testar se o valor marginal do caixa diminui com o pagamento de dividendos acima do mínimo obrigatório, testando assim o pagamento de dividendos no Brasil como proxy para restrição financeira, visto que esta classificação é importante em modelos de investimento. A segunda busca mensurar o impacto do dividendo obrigatório no investimento de empresas brasileiras de capital aberto que distribuem apenas o dividendo mínimo. A última hipótese avalia a influência deste mecanismo legal em uma amostra multi-países. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o dividendo obrigatório impacta direta e indiretamente no investimento das companhias. E, este efeito é ainda maior e mais relevante para as empresas restritas financeiramente. Considerando o contexto nacional, onde as fontes de financiamentos são caras e escassas, esta evidência obtida pela presente pesquisa possui grande relevância para o mercado financeiro. / The present research seeks to empirically verify the impact of the mandatory dividend on publicly traded companies’ investment. To achieve this goal, three hypotheses were created. The first one aims to test if the marginal value of cash decreases with the payment of dividends above the mandatory minimum, thus testing the distribution of dividends in Brazil as proxy for financial constraint, since this classification is important in investment models. The second seeks to measure the impact of the mandatory dividend on the investment of Brazilian publicly traded companies that distributed only the minimum dividend. The last hypothesis evaluates the influence of this legal mechanism on a multicountry sample. The results indicate that the mandatory dividend has a direct and indirect impact on the companies’ investment. And, this effect is even greater and more relevant for financially constrained companies. Considering the national context, where the sources of financing are expensive and scarce, this evidence obtained by the present research has great relevance for the financial market.

A presente pesquisa busca verificar empiricamente o impacto da lei do dividendo obrigatório sobre o investimento das empresas de capital aberto. Para alcançar este objetivo três hipóteses foram criadas. A primeira objetiva testar se o valor marginal do caixa diminui com o pagamento de dividendos acima do mínimo obrigatório, testando assim o pagamento de dividendos no Brasil como proxy para restrição financeira, visto que esta classificação é importante em modelos de investimento. A segunda busca mensurar o impacto do dividendo obrigatório no investimento de empresas brasileiras de capital aberto que distribuem apenas o dividendo mínimo. A última hipótese avalia a influência deste mecanismo legal em uma amostra multi-países. Os resultados obtidos indicam que o dividendo obrigatório impacta direta e indiretamente no investimento das companhias. E, este efeito é ainda maior e mais relevante para as empresas restritas financeiramente. Considerando o contexto nacional, onde as fontes de financiamentos são caras e escassas, esta evidência obtida pela presente pesquisa possui grande relevância para o mercado financeiro. / The present research seeks to empirically verify the impact of the mandatory dividend on publicly traded companies’ investment. To achieve this goal, three hypotheses were created. The first one aims to test if the marginal value of cash decreases with the payment of dividends above the mandatory minimum, thus testing the distribution of dividends in Brazil as proxy for financial constraint, since this classification is important in investment models. The second seeks to measure the impact of the mandatory dividend on the investment of Brazilian publicly traded companies that distributed only the minimum dividend. The last hypothesis evaluates the influence of this legal mechanism on a multicountry sample. The results indicate that the mandatory dividend has a direct and indirect impact on the companies’ investment. And, this effect is even greater and more relevant for financially constrained companies. Considering the national context, where the sources of financing are expensive and scarce, this evidence obtained by the present research has great relevance for the financial market.

Utilizando informações financeiras de 226 firmas brasileiras nos anos de 2000 até 2015, este estudo buscou investigar se a mispricing (avaliação equivocada do preço das ações) presente no mercado financeiro possui influência nas decisões de investimento dessas firmas. A restrição financeira também foi incorporada ao modelo ao se utilizar os índices KZ, WW e SA na classificação das firmas: financeiramente restrito e financeiramente não restrito. Buscou-se evidenciar como firmas financeiramente restritas e irrestritas ajustam suas fontes de recursos financeiros em resposta à avaliação equivocado dos preços das ações. Estimou-se através do GMM-System um modelo de investimento dinâmico considerando as variáveis de investimento defasado e quadrático, fluxo de caixa, alavancagem, crescimentos das vendas, q de Tobin, e como proxy da mispricing, Accruals discricionárias e Composite Share Issuance. Os principais resultados apontaram que a mispricing atua de maneira positiva no nível de investimento das empresas brasileiras. Elevadas accruals e CSI contribuem para o que o investimento seja impulsionado em virtude da sobrevalorização dos preços das ações e consequente valoração de mercado das firmas. Essa sobrevalorização torna possível a captação de recursos via mercado e a implantação de novos projetos. Os efeitos da mispricing podem inclusive auxiliar na superação de questões de sub-investimentos e propiciar o aumento dos investimentos na economia, atuando como \"relaxador\" das restrições financeiras e incentivando a execução de projetos eficientes. / Through financial information from 226 Brazilian firms between 2000 and 2015, this study investigated whether mispricing in the financial market influences the firm\'s investment decisions. The financial constraint was also incorporated in the study using the KZ, WW and SA indices to classify the firms into two groups: financially and non-financially constraint. It was expected to evidence how financially and non-financially constraint firms adjust their sources of resources in response to stock prices misjudgment. A dynamic investment model was estimated using the GMM-System, considering the lagged and quadratic investment variables, cash flow, leverage, sales growth, Tobin\'s q, and as a proxy for mispricing, discretionary accruals and Composite Share Issuance. The main results pointed out that mispricing acts positively on the level of investments of Brazilian companies. High accruals and CSI would contribute to the investment being boosted by the overvaluation of stock prices and the consequent market value of the firms. This overvaluation would allow the capture of resources via the market and the implementation of new projects. The mispricing effects could also indicate the issues of underinvestment and allow the increase of investments in the economy, presenting a \"relaxing\" effect of financial constraints and encouraging the execution of efficient projects.