Previous researchers, especially on large enterprises, have revealed that debt financing structure influences enterprise performance. Though the issue has been extensively researched, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have traditionally been operating differently as compared to large enterprises in terms of their financial decisions, ownership and management style, and behaviour. Therefore, this study will explore the gaps encountered by all MSMEs to grow their businesses. These include forms and type of industry, firm size, asset tangibility, and a firm’s current assets in relation to its current liabilities and profitability level. The study examines the influence of financing structures on performance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in South Africa. The ordinary least squares (OLS) technique of measurement is applied to examine the effects of financing structure on performance across various industrial sectors in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. The findings in this study indicate an increase in the use of leverage to drive the influence of total debt on performance in all industrial sectors of MSMEs in South Africa. From the cross-sectional regression analysis, the results show that financing structure has a negative effect on the profitability of MSMEs, although not absolutely. The findings show that the size of the enterprise, asset tangibility, and the ratio of current assets to current liabilities are the most influential of borrowing decisions in total debt, short-term debt, and long-term debt. A significantly negative effect is observed for long-term debt, while short-term debt (STDR) exhibits a significantly positive effect. Thus the influence on MSMEs’ leverage on performance is driven by the usage of short-term debt. The variables of size of the firm, and ratio of current assets to current liabilities, do not have the same effect in all debt levels; the significance is substantially higher for long-term debt than for total debt and short-term debt. On the other hand, our empirical results suggested that transactional costs, and an asymmetric information problem in smaller firms, may lead to a mainly negative influence on size and total debt. The asset structure on profitability observed across the years showed mixed experiences. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities was found to be positive and significant on long-term debt and short-term debt leverage.

Die Klimaneutralität wird von einer zunehmenden Anzahl von Staaten der Welt auf die politische Agenda gesetzt, darunter Deutschland und Europa. Das Ziel, in Europa bis zum Jahr 2050 Treibhausgasneutralität zu erreichen, ist durch den europäischen Green New Deal politisch beschlossener Konsens. Doch wie soll eine ökologische, ökonomische und gesellschaftliche Transformation dieser Größenordnung finanziert werden? So vielfältig und plural die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels sind, so dezentral und fragmentiert sind die politischen und finanziellen Kooperationen zur Klimawandelminderung und -anpassung. Die Masterarbeit geht deshalb der Frage nach: Wovon hängt der Fragmentierungsgrad der globalen Klimafinanzierung ab und wie kann dieser empirisch erfasst werden? Ausgehend von einer theoretischen Perspektive der fragmentierten Klimafinanzierung werden deutsche, europäische und globale Akteure mithilfe einer visuellen Netzwerkanalyse ausgewertet und strukturelle Muster hinsichtlich eines Fragmentierungsgrades interpretiert. Postkoloniale Strukturen, Normenwandel und sektorale Verschiebungen lassen sich somit genauso herausarbeiten, wie Veränderungen der Akteurskonstellationen und deren Typen. Im Ergebnis lässt sich die deutsche Ebene als überwiegend synergetisch fragmentiert interpretieren. Die europäischer Ebene ist dagegen mehrheitlich kooperativ fragmentiert, während die globale Ebene als kooperativ bis konfliktiv fragmentiert angesehen wird. Der innovative Ansatz, die Kooperation in der Klimafinanzierung anhand von OECD-Daten netzwerkanalytisch auszuwerten, geht mit Chancen und Risiken einher. Neben den inhaltlichen Ergebnissen trägt die Methodenreflexion daher zu einem wissenschaftlichen Diskurs der Sinnhaftigkeit, Nutzbarkeit und Didaktik der Methode in den Internationalen Beziehungen bei. / Climate neutrality is being put on the political agenda of an increasing number of countries around the world, including Germany and Europe. The goal of achieving greenhouse gas neutrality in Europe by 2050 is a politically agreed consensus through the European Green New Deal. But how should an ecological, economic and social transformation of this magnitude be financed? As diverse and plural as the effects of climate change are, the political and financial cooperation for mitigating and adapting to climate change is decentralized and fragmented. The master's thesis therefore examines the question: What does the degree of fragmentation of global climate finance depend on and how can this be empirically recorded? Starting from a theoretical perspective of fragmented climate finance, German, European and global actors are evaluated with the help of a visual network analysis and structural patterns are interpreted with regard to the degree of fragmentation. Post-colonial structures, changes in norms and sectoral shifts can thus be worked out, as can changes in the constellations of actors and their types. As a result, the German level can be interpreted as largely synergetically fragmented. The European level, on the other hand, is mostly cooperatively fragmented, while the global level is viewed as cooperatively to conflictively fragmented. The innovative approach of evaluating cooperation in climate finance using OECD data in a network analysis is associated with both opportunities and risks. In addition to the content-related results, the method reflection therefore contributes to a scientific discourse on the meaningfulness, usability and didactics of the method in international relations.

過去對公司資本結構的研究可分為兩大方向，一是對資本結構理論的探討，一是對影響公司資本結構因素的探討。我國於87年對投資所得改採兩稅合一制度後，兩稅合一對公司資本結構影響的探討成為研究的主流。本研究所要探討的問題有三。第一，兩稅合一後，公司的負債融資比例是否下降；第二，兩稅合一後，有效稅率、現金股給付率和獲利率與負債比率間的交互作用情況為何；第三，不同有效稅率或公司規模對負債比率的影響。 本研究的實證結果如下： （一）兩稅合一後，公司的負債比率會下降。 （二）兩稅合一前後，有效稅率與負債比率均呈正向關係；而且兩稅合一 後，有效稅率對負債比率的影響下降。 （三）兩稅合一前後，現金股利給付率與負債比率均呈反向關係；而且兩 稅合一後，現金股利給付率對負債比率的影響下降。 （四）兩稅合一前後，獲利率和負債比率均呈反向關係；而且兩稅合一 後，獲利率對負債比率的影響上升。 （五）兩稅合一之後，原有效稅率較高之公司的負債比率下降程度較多， 而原有效稅率較低之公司的負債比率下降程度較少。 （六）兩稅合一之後，原規模較大之公司的負債比率下降程度較少，而原 規模較小之公司的負債比率下降程度較多。 / The past researches on corporate financing structure can be divided into two lines, one in the corporate financing theories and the other in the determinants of corporate financing decisions. After the tax integration, the research whether the adoption of tax integration has a significant impact on corporate financing structure have become a mainstream. The study investigates three issues. The first is to investigate whether the debt ratio decreases after tax integration. The second is to investigate the effect of effective tax ratio, dividend payout ratio, profitability on the debt ratio. The third is to investigate whether the effect of tax regime change on the debt ratio is difference between effective tax ratio and firm size. The empirical results show follows: (1) After tax integration, the firm’s debt ratio decreased. (2) Effective tax ratio has positive relation with debt ratio no matter before or after tax integration. After tax integration, the degree of effective tax ratio effect on debt ratio declined. (3) Dividend payout ratio has negative relation with debt ratio no matter before or after tax integration. After tax integration, the degree of dividend payout ratio effect on debt ratio declined. (4) Profit ratio has negative relation with debt ratio no matter before or after tax integration. After tax integration, the degree of profit ratio effect on debt ratio increased. (5) After tax integration, the decline of debt ratio for company with higher debt ratio is more than the decline of debt ratio for company with lower debt ratio. (6) After tax integration, the decline of debt ratio for small firms is more than the decline of debt ratio for large firms.

O objetivo principal desta tese é estudar a estrutura de financiamento das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto do setor de construção civil do segmento de incorporação de empreendimentos imobiliários e compreender o contexto das decisões de financiamento por emissão de ações, tomando por base algumas variáveis previamente consideradas na literatura e suportadas pela Teoria de Finanças. Secundariamente, analisa-se o perfil de financiamento das demais empresas brasileiras não financeiras de capital aberto, com a finalidade de comparar aos resultados encontrados para o setor. Para atingir o objetivo, são realizadas pesquisas bibliográfica, exploratória e empírico-analítica. A pesquisa bibliográfica busca o levantamento das principais correntes teóricas e evidências relacionadas ao tema. A pesquisa exploratória, descritiva e comparativa se caracteriza na análise de informações econômicofinanceiras das empresas não financeiras de capital aberto e no estudo do seu perfil de financiamento. A partir de dados contábeis é desenvolvida estatística descritiva, para conhecer as fontes de recursos das empresas, com destaque para as construtoras, avaliando não só a proporção entre capital próprio e capital de terceiros, mas também o tipo de financiamento utilizado. Finalmente, a pesquisa empírico-analítica busca, através de modelo estatístico de regressão em painel, os determinantes da estrutura de financiamento do setor de construção civil e das empresas brasileiras não financeiras de capital aberto. A partir dos resultados obtidos, observa-se relação negativa entre endividamento total e tangibilidade e oportunidades de crescimento para a amostra de empresas do setor. Para a amostra ampla de empresas, por outro lado, observa-se relação positiva entre endividamento oneroso líquido e tangibilidade e negativa entre endividamento oneroso líquido e as variáveis oportunidades de crescimento e rentabilidade, resultados em conformidade com estudos anteriores sobre o tema. Também são observadas variações nas fontes de financiamento em função do porte e o do tipo de controle acionário. A análise dos tipos de dívida permitiu, também, identificar diferenças entre o setor e a amostra ampla de empresas. Conclui-se que as características setoriais influenciam a estrutura de financiamento; o setor de construção civil apresenta endividamento inferior à média das demais empresas, mais concentrado em moeda nacional e aplicações financeiras superiores à dívida onerosa; e o setor apresenta características que, de acordo com estudos anteriores em Finanças, indicam o baixo uso de recursos de terceiros e, que, portanto, explicariam as emissões de ações: baixa tangibilidade, empresas de menor porte, elevado crescimento, elevada volatilidade de resultados. / The main objective of this thesis is to study the financial structure of the Brazilian publicly held civil construction companies. The research focused on the incorporation of real estate developers industry. The purpose is to understand the fund raising structure stemming from stock issues, based on variables previously considered in literature and supported by the Theory of Finance. The second aim is to analyze the financing pattern of Brazilian nonfinance publicly held companies and compare them to the sector\'s results. Bibliographical, empirical and analytical research was carried out. The bibliographical research consisted of an empirical analysis of the main theoretical works. The descriptive and comparative research looked at economic and financial statements of publicly held companies and their financing structure. The analysis was supported by descriptive statistics to identify the companies\' sources of funds and focused on construction firms to assess not only the debtequity ratio, but also the type of financing applied. Finally, the empiric-analytical research looked at the determinant factors of the financing structure for both the civil construction industry and the Brazilian publicly held companies, through a statistical panel regression model. Results unveil a negative relation between total debt-equity ratio and both asset structure and growth for the industry sample. On the other hand, a positive relation between net onerous indebtedness and asset tangibility as well as a negative relation between net onerous indebtedness and growth and yield were observed for the total sample of publicly held companies. Those findings were in compliance with the findings observed in previous studies on the same topic. In addition, variations in the financing sources resulting from the firm size and of the type of shareholding control were observed. The analysis of the types of debt also enabled the identification of differences between the civil construction industry and the total sample of corporations. The conclusion is that industry characteristics influence the financial structure; the civil construction industry presents low debt-equity ratio in relation to the average of the companies, which is concentrated in domestic funds, and, additionally, its cash and short-term investments are higher than its onerous debt; the industry presents characteristics that, in accordance with previous studies in the Finance field, indicate the low debt rates which in turn explains the recent issues of shares: low asset tangibility, small size, growth, and high volatility of earnings.

O objetivo principal desta tese é estudar a estrutura de financiamento das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto do setor de construção civil do segmento de incorporação de empreendimentos imobiliários e compreender o contexto das decisões de financiamento por emissão de ações, tomando por base algumas variáveis previamente consideradas na literatura e suportadas pela Teoria de Finanças. Secundariamente, analisa-se o perfil de financiamento das demais empresas brasileiras não financeiras de capital aberto, com a finalidade de comparar aos resultados encontrados para o setor. Para atingir o objetivo, são realizadas pesquisas bibliográfica, exploratória e empírico-analítica. A pesquisa bibliográfica busca o levantamento das principais correntes teóricas e evidências relacionadas ao tema. A pesquisa exploratória, descritiva e comparativa se caracteriza na análise de informações econômicofinanceiras das empresas não financeiras de capital aberto e no estudo do seu perfil de financiamento. A partir de dados contábeis é desenvolvida estatística descritiva, para conhecer as fontes de recursos das empresas, com destaque para as construtoras, avaliando não só a proporção entre capital próprio e capital de terceiros, mas também o tipo de financiamento utilizado. Finalmente, a pesquisa empírico-analítica busca, através de modelo estatístico de regressão em painel, os determinantes da estrutura de financiamento do setor de construção civil e das empresas brasileiras não financeiras de capital aberto. A partir dos resultados obtidos, observa-se relação negativa entre endividamento total e tangibilidade e oportunidades de crescimento para a amostra de empresas do setor. Para a amostra ampla de empresas, por outro lado, observa-se relação positiva entre endividamento oneroso líquido e tangibilidade e negativa entre endividamento oneroso líquido e as variáveis oportunidades de crescimento e rentabilidade, resultados em conformidade com estudos anteriores sobre o tema. Também são observadas variações nas fontes de financiamento em função do porte e o do tipo de controle acionário. A análise dos tipos de dívida permitiu, também, identificar diferenças entre o setor e a amostra ampla de empresas. Conclui-se que as características setoriais influenciam a estrutura de financiamento; o setor de construção civil apresenta endividamento inferior à média das demais empresas, mais concentrado em moeda nacional e aplicações financeiras superiores à dívida onerosa; e o setor apresenta características que, de acordo com estudos anteriores em Finanças, indicam o baixo uso de recursos de terceiros e, que, portanto, explicariam as emissões de ações: baixa tangibilidade, empresas de menor porte, elevado crescimento, elevada volatilidade de resultados. / The main objective of this thesis is to study the financial structure of the Brazilian publicly held civil construction companies. The research focused on the incorporation of real estate developers industry. The purpose is to understand the fund raising structure stemming from stock issues, based on variables previously considered in literature and supported by the Theory of Finance. The second aim is to analyze the financing pattern of Brazilian nonfinance publicly held companies and compare them to the sector\'s results. Bibliographical, empirical and analytical research was carried out. The bibliographical research consisted of an empirical analysis of the main theoretical works. The descriptive and comparative research looked at economic and financial statements of publicly held companies and their financing structure. The analysis was supported by descriptive statistics to identify the companies\' sources of funds and focused on construction firms to assess not only the debtequity ratio, but also the type of financing applied. Finally, the empiric-analytical research looked at the determinant factors of the financing structure for both the civil construction industry and the Brazilian publicly held companies, through a statistical panel regression model. Results unveil a negative relation between total debt-equity ratio and both asset structure and growth for the industry sample. On the other hand, a positive relation between net onerous indebtedness and asset tangibility as well as a negative relation between net onerous indebtedness and growth and yield were observed for the total sample of publicly held companies. Those findings were in compliance with the findings observed in previous studies on the same topic. In addition, variations in the financing sources resulting from the firm size and of the type of shareholding control were observed. The analysis of the types of debt also enabled the identification of differences between the civil construction industry and the total sample of corporations. The conclusion is that industry characteristics influence the financial structure; the civil construction industry presents low debt-equity ratio in relation to the average of the companies, which is concentrated in domestic funds, and, additionally, its cash and short-term investments are higher than its onerous debt; the industry presents characteristics that, in accordance with previous studies in the Finance field, indicate the low debt rates which in turn explains the recent issues of shares: low asset tangibility, small size, growth, and high volatility of earnings.

The aim of my Master Thesis is to provide the reader a holistic picture about the current situation on the renewable energy market, specifically in the area of biomass energy. Firstly, the complex research, which had been conducted by the European Union, Czech government and individual research groups, was examined to make a comprehensive overview about the Czech energy mix of renewable sources. Secondly, the biomass energy fundamentals were elaborated in more details to provide the reader solid insights into the biomass origins, methods of energy conversion as well as its current market circumstances. Next, the financing structure of biomass energy projects together with SWOT analysis on biomass was conducted based on the personal work experience from the Department of Renewable Energy Financing at xxxxxxxxxx bank and the available analytical materials. Consequently, the recommendations for potential biomass investors were concisely described together with the market prediction and possible outlook that was suggested based on the previous analysis.