The main objective of the thesis was to investigate the factors that determine capital structures of financial firms using two separate samples of banks and insurance companies. In the first instance, the results of the study showed that the financing behaviour of banks mirrors that of non-financial firms. It was also observed bank financing behaviour can be best explained by the pecking order theory. Risk and size variables were observed to be negatively related to the Tier 1 regulatory capital ratio, whereas the dividend variable was positively related. Similarly, risk and size were found to be negatively associated with buffer capital, while dividends were positively related. The 2007–2009 global financial crisis (GFC) was found to have negatively affected the financial structures of banks. Consistent with similar studies, it was observed that banks have a target capital structure, and adjust to this target at an adjustment speed of 44%. With regard to insurance companies, it was observed that the firm-level determinants of capital structure explain insurer leveraging. Unlike banks, the 2007–2009 GFC positively affected the capital structure of insurance companies. Similar to banks, results showed that insurers have target capital structures which they seek to achieve in their financing and adjust to such targets at a rate of 21%, which is lower than that of banks. The study contributes to the body of knowledge in four major ways. Firstly, it adds to the literature on the capital structure of financial firms, which area has not been extensively and conclusively studied. Using a different environment, it validates the ‘standard corporate finance view’ as has been observed in the few studies on financial firms. Secondly, it validates the ‘buffer view’ and ‘regulatory view’ of capital structures of financial firms that have taken prominence since the last GFC. Thirdly, the study recognises that banks and insurance companies are fundamentally different with regard to capital structure and regulation and therefore warranted separate treatment in studies. This is in contrast with recent studies that do not recognise the heterogeneity of the two types of firms. Fourthly, to the researcher’s knowledge this study is the first to examine the impact of business cycles/financial crises on the financing patterns of financial firms. Confirming the fundamental differences between banks and insurance companies, the study observed that financial crises have a negative impact on capital structures of banks (meaning that they deleverage during crises). In contrast, financial crises have a positive impact on capital structures of insurance companies (meaning, unlike banks, they leverage during crises). / Business Management / D. Phil. (Management Studies)

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 )

Esta pesquisa busca investigar quais os direcionadores-chave da estrutura de capital corporativa na América Latina durante o período de 1996 a 2006. Para tanto, são levantados 28 potenciais determinantes do endividamento organizacional a partir da literatura, sendo os mesmos segmentados em fatores específicos da empresa, do setor e do país. A análise dos dados consiste na estimação de um modelo estático e um dinâmico, os quais controlam qualquer efeito constante no tempo que afete o nível de dívida das empresas. A partir dos resultados, verifica-se que 10 variáveis apresentaram efeito significativo sobre o grau de alavancagem corporativa, sendo as mesmas relativamente bem distribuídas entre os grupos de fatores explicativos. Comparando os sinais dos coeficientes encontrados com os preconizados pela literatura, é constatado que a teoria do tradeoff estático, dos custos de agência e da assimetria de informação e pecking order se complementam ao explicar as estimativas obtidas. Uma comparação entre os determinantes do endividamento corporativo da América Latina e dos Estados Unidos apresenta indícios de que as imperfeições de mercado superiores que as empresas latino-americanas enfrentam são mais relevantes para a tomada de decisão de estrutura de capital. Por fim, verifica-se que os fatores específicos das empresas são os direcionadores-chave do endividamento das organizações latino-americanas. / This study aims to investigate which are the key drivers of corporate capital structure in Latin America during the period from 1996 to 2006. To do so, I select 28 potential determinants of firms' debt ratio based on the literature, which are divided into firm, industry and country-specific factors. The data analysis consists in the estimation of a static and a dynamic model, where both control any effect constant through time that affect the level of firm debt. The results show that 10 variables have a significant effect on the degree of corporate leverage. These variables are relatively well distributed among the groups of explanatory factors. Comparing the signs of the coefficients found with those predicted by the literature, one can observe evidence that the static tradeoff, the agency costs and the asymmetric information and pecking order theories complement each other to explain the estimates obtained. A comparison between the determinants of corporate leverage in Latin America and United States shows vestiges that the superior market imperfections Latin American companies face are more relevant to the capital structure decision making. Lastly, I find that firm-specific factors are the key drivers of the Latin American firms' leverage.

Cette thèse de doctorat s'inscrit dans le courant de recherche qui étudie les implications financières associées à une meilleure responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE). Après un chapitre préliminaire qui nous permet de présenter la littérature antérieure et de situer notre recherche, nous effectuons trois études empiriques. Dans la première étude, nous étudions l'impact de la RSE sur le risque financier des entreprises (mesuré par le risque total, systématique et spécifique). En utilisant un échantillon de 5716 observations entre 2001 et 2011, nous montrons que les entreprises socialement responsables réduisent significativement leur risque systématique. Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent aussi que ces entreprises disposent d'un capital moral qui absorbe l'impact de potentiels chocs spécifiques. Quant à l'analyse des dimensions de la RSE, nous démontrons que les “ressources humaines” réduisent le plus le risque financier des firmes, suivies par le “ comportement sur le marché” et le “gouvernement d'entreprise”. Dans la deuxième étude empirique, nous nous intéressons à l'impact de la RSE sur la maturité de la dette des entreprises. En utilisant un large échantillon d'entreprises américaines, nous montrons que les entreprises socialement responsables réduisent significativement la maturité de leur dette. Nous montrons aussi que ces entreprises substituent les capitaux propres à la dette long-terme. Un niveau élevé de RSE réduit la proportion des investissements financés par de la dette long-terme et augmente la proportion des investissements financés par des capitaux propres et de la dette court-terme. Dans la troisième étude empirique, nous utilisons un échantillon de 22389 observations entre 1991 et 2012 et nous nous intéressons à la relation entre la RSE et la politique de dividendes. Nous soulignons que les entreprises socialement responsables paient plus de dividendes que les entreprises non socialement responsables. Nous démontrons aussi que les entreprises socialement responsables ont une politique de dividendes plus stable. Globalement, nos résultats empiriques valident nos hypothèses. Ils suggèrent que les entreprises socialement responsables utilisent la maturité de leur dette et leur politique de dividendes comme des mécanismes qui permettent de contrôler les phénomènes de surinvestissement en RSE. Ces mécanismes permettent de renforcer les effets positifs liés à une meilleure RSE (i.e., la réduction du risque). / Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is, nowadays, considered one of the most debated topics in both theory and practice. This dissertation investigates some financial implications associated with high CSR involvement. After Synthesizing the existing literature in the field, we perform three empirical studies. The first empirical study examines the impact of CSR on firm financial risk (measured by total, systematic and specific risks). Using a database of 5,716 firm-year observations between 2001 and 2011, we show that a socially responsible firm avoids certain risks acknowledged by the financial market as socially responsible systematic risks, like environment penalties and consumer disloyalty. Socially responsible firms also own a moral capital that reduces the impact of some firm specific shocks and thus the idiosyncratic risk level. It appears that the most important reduction of financial risk is due to the “human resources” sub-rating, followed by “business behavior” and “corporate governance”. The second empirical study investigates the impact of CSR on firm debt maturity. Using a large sample of US firms, we find robust evidence that high CSR firms significantly reduce their debt maturity. Furthermore, high CSR firms substitute shareholders' equity for long-term debt. CSR decreases the extent to which investments are financed with long-term debt and increases the extent to which investments are financed by short-term debt and shareholders' equity. The third empirical study uses a sample of 22,839 US firm-year observations over the 1991–2012 period in order to explore the relationship between CSR and dividend payout policy. We find that high CSR firms pay more dividends than low CSR firms. Moreover, socially irresponsible firms adjust dividends quicker than socially responsible firms: dividend payout is more stable in high CSR firms than in low CSR firms. Additional results show that firms involved in two controversial activities –military business and alcohol – are associated with low dividend payouts, which is likely to be due to the high cost of external funding for these firms. Overall, our results support the expectation that socially responsible firms use debt maturity and dividend payout as mechanisms to avoid CSR overinvestment problems and to maintain the positive effects associated with high CSR strategies (i.e., risk reduction).

Titel: Finns det ett samband mellan CSR och lånens löptid? - En kvantitativ studie på 300 publika bolag mellan 2008 - 2016 Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Matilda Tapper och Linda Tufvesson Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2018 – Maj Syfte: Företagens sociala ansvarstagande blir en allt viktigare fråga, inte minst för intressenter och långivare vid bedömning av företagsrisken och kreditrisken. Många forskare har studerat hur CSR påverkar ett företags kapitalstruktur och vi vet därför att CSR påverkar företagens möjlighet att ta kortfristiga lån eftersom socialt ansvarstagande företag har en lägre finansiell risk. Syftet med den här studien är därför att undersöka om CSR påverkar ett företags val mellan lång- och kortfristigalån. Metod: Studien utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi och har en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats. Studien har en kvantitativ strategi och tidsperspektivet består av en longitudinell design som genomförts med sekundärdata från Thomson Reuters databas Datastream med data för åren 2008 - 2016. Urvalet består av 300 publika europeiska bolag för vilka data har analyserats med multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS. Resultat & Slutsats: Resultatet indikerar på att det inte föreligger något samband mellan total CSR och lånens löptid, vilket troligtvis drivs av att miljödimensionen antar ett negativt samband som är lika starkt som företagsstyrningsdimensionens positiva samband. Studiens resultat visar inte heller på något samband mellan den sociala dimensionen och lånens löptid. Slutsatsen är därför att inget samband föreligger mellan total CSR och lånens löptid. CSR-aktiviteter inom miljödimensionen anses vara det som främst ligger i intressenternas intressen. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då det i studien visat sig att sambanden skiljer sig åt mellan de olika dimensionerna bör framtida forskning se till varje enskild dimension och se mer till de kategorier och indikationer som underbygger dessa dimensioner. Vi föreslår även att en liknande studie genomförs, med en löptid på tre år istället för ett år som definition på långfristiga skulder, för att ge underlag för jämförelser mellan Europa och USA. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till att fylla det forskningsgap som finns för europeiska bolag gällande sambandet mellan CSR och lånens löptid samt till att undersöka sambandet mellan varje enskild dimension och lånens löptid.Studien bidrar också till teorin gällande att användningen av eget kapital inte bara påverkas av sociala aktiviteter, utan även av total CSR. Det praktiska bidraget är i form av bevis på att företag kan påverka kostnaden för eget kapital genom CSR och därmed ett företags ekonomi som helhet. / Title: Is there a relationship between CSR and debt maturity? - A quantitative study of 300 public European companies between 2008 - 2016 Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Matilda Tapper and Linda Tufvesson Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2018 – May Aim: Corporate social responsibility becomes an increasingly important issue, not least for stakeholders and lenders in assessing corporate risk and credit risk. Many researchers have studied how CSR affects the capital structure of a company and we know that CSR affects companies' ability use short-term debt because socially responsible companies have a lower financial risk. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate whether CSR affects a company's choice between long-term and short-term debt. Method: The study assumes a positivistic research philosophy and has a hypothetical- deductible approach. The study has a quantitative strategy and the time perspective consists of a longitudinal design, implemented with secondary data from Thomson Reuters database Datastream with data from the years 2008 - 2016.The sample consists of 300 public European companies for which data were analyzed by multiple regression analyzes in the IBM SPSS statistics program. Result & Conclusion: The results indicates that there is no correlation between total CSR and debt maturity, which is probably driven by the environmental dimension assuming a negative relationship that is as strong as the positive relationship with the corporate governance dimension. The result of the study also shows no correlation between the social dimension and debt maturity. The conclusion is therefore that there is no correlation between total CSR and debt maturity. CSR-activities within the environmental dimension are considered to be the main interests of stakeholders. Suggestions for future research: As the study showed that the relationships differ between the different dimensions, future research should address each individual dimension and look more at the categories and indications that support these dimensions. We also suggest that a similar study may be conducted, with a debt maturity of three years instead of one year as the definition of long-term debts, to provide basis for comparisons between Europe and the United States. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes to filling the gap of research that exists for European companies regarding the relationship between CSR and debt maturity, as well as investigating the relationship between each individual dimension and debt maturity. The study also contributes to the theory that the use of equity is not only influenced by social activities but also by total CSR. Also, a practical contribution in the form of evidence that companies can influence the cost of equity through CSR and thus a company´s economy as a whole.

Today, the capital structure is an established research area in economics. Capital structure refers to the relationship between equity and liabilities, which through history has been explored through many different aspects. Capital structure is influenced by several factors and the results is ambiguous as to which of these factors are related to capital structure and which can explain the capital structure. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the share price and capital structure as well as investigate which control variable is correlating with capital structure. The study is of quantitative form, where data was collected between 2009-2017 from the 15 largest companies, set at market value, from Large Cap and Mid Cap listings from Nasdaq Stockholm. The result of the study shows that the share price and capital structure have a positive relationship for both lists, also share price could explain variations in the capital structure. The control variables result differ significantly depending on the list and variables. Profitability is the variable that explains the capital structure best, especially on the Large Cap list. Company size has no connection with the capital structure, and the explanation rate is reasonably comparable to share price as a single independent variable. Firm age has no connection with the capital structure and only affects the explanation negatively. / Idag är kapitalstruktur ett etablerat forskningsområde inom företagsekonomi. Kapitalstruktur avser förhållandet mellan eget kapital och skulder vilket har genom tiden utforskats ur mängder av aspekter. Utformningen av kapitalstrukturen påverkas av flera faktorer och idag är empirin tvetydig angående vilka av dessa faktorer som har samband med kapitalstrukturen och vilka som är kan förklara kapitalstrukturen. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka sambandet mellan aktiekursen och kapitalstrukturen samt undersöka vilka kontrollvariabler som korrelerar kapitalstrukturen. Studien är av kvantitativ form och data samlades in mellan 2009–2017 från de 15 största företagen, sett till börsvärde, från Large Cap och Mid Cap listorna från Nasdaq Stockholm. Resultatet från studien visar att aktiekursen och kapitalstrukturen har ett positivt samband för båda listorna och att aktiekursen kan förklara variationer i kapitalstrukturen. Kontrollvariablerna skiljer sig i resultatet markant beroende på lista och variabel. Lönsamhet är den kontrollvariabeln som förklarar kapitalstrukturen bäst bland kontrollvariablerna, speciellt på Large Cap listan. Företagsstorlek har inget samband med kapitalstrukturen och ökar förklaringsgraden någorlunda jämförelsevis med aktiekurs som ensam oberoende variabel. Företagsålder har inget samband med kapitalstrukturen och påverkar förklaringsgraden endast negativt.

The purpose of this study has been to examine the possible relationship between patterns on the stock market and the capital structure of IT-companies. Furthermore, the study attempts to contribute a deeper understanding of the ways Chief Financial Officers (CFO) and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) handle aspects pertaining to levels of debt, solidity, the market when making investment decisions and factors that influence a company´s value. This has been done using the Market Timing Hypothesis as the main theoretical frame of reference. The study has primarily been conducted using quantitative data analysis in the form of multiple regression. Qualitative interviews have been subsequently conducted with the purpose of enhancing the statistical findings. The results from the study indicate that financial decisions largely vary depending on the situation, albeit market value being an influencing factor. Moreover, the profitability of the company and the amount of fixed assets play a role in financial decisions. The respondents further noted that the amount of equity and debt of the company does affect its value. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka sambandet mellan aktiemarknadens fluktuationer och företag i IT-branschens val av kapitalstruktur. Även att söka en djupare förståelse genom att ta del av Chief Financial Officers (CFO) och Chief Executive Officers (CEO) perspektiv på skuldsättningsgrad, soliditet, aktiemarknadens rörelser vid kapitalplacering samt vad som påverkar ett företags värde. Detta har skett med Market timing hypotesen som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Den huvudsakliga undersökningsmetoden har bestått av en kvantitativ dataanalys i form av multipel regressionsanalys. Kvalitativa intervjuer har därefter utförts i syfte att komplettera datan och för att förtydliga hur dessa aspekter hanteras i den praktiska verkligheten. Resultaten från studien indikerar att finansieringsbeslut är högst situationsbetingade men att marknadsvärdet har en viss påverkan. Utöver detta visade sig lönsamhet och andel anläggningstillgångar i förhållande till totala tillgångar väga tungt. De respondenter som intervjuades menade även att mängden eget kapital och skuld ett företaget besitter påverkar dess värde.

A comparação entre duas teorias na área de finanças sobre estrutura de capital nas empresas é o objetivo deste trabalho. Usando testes desenvolvidos por Shyam-Sunder & Myers (1999) e Rajan & Zingales (1995), os dados de empresas brasileiras, não financeiras, de capital aberto foram analisados entre os anos de 2000 e 2010 para verificar se preferiram os comportamentos previstos na Static Trade-off Theory ou os da Pecking Order Theory. As maneiras de se financiar e as causas e conseqüências dessas decisões nas empresas são importantes questões que vêm sendo debatidas em inúmeros trabalhos acadêmicos. Este trabalho procurou analisar a bibliografia relacionada ao tema e replicar testes realizados no exterior, visando verificar as semelhanças, diferenças e os motivos relacionados a tais resultados. Os resultados obtidos apontam para a provável preferência do comportamento previsto pela Pecking Order Theory, isto é, as empresas estudadas, no período analisado, usaram, em primeiro lugar, recursos gerados internamente (caixa operacional), usando em segundo lugar recursos de terceiros, por meio de empréstimos bancários ou emissão de debêntures, somente emitindo ações como última alternativa. Outra conclusão foi que as empresas brasileiras de capital aberto provavelmente não procuram alcançar ou manter uma meta ideal de endividamento, que equilibre os custos e benefícios gerados pelos empréstimos. / The comparison between two theories in the finance area of capital structure in business is the goal of this work. Using tests developed by Shyam-Sunder & Myers (1999) and Rajan & Zingales (1995), the data of Brazilian non-financial publicly traded were analyzed between the years 2000 and 2010 to determine whether they preferred the expected behaviors in the Static Trade-off Theory or the Pecking Order Theory. The ways to finance and the causes and consequences of these decisions in organizations are important issues that have been discussed in numerous scholarly works. This study sought to examine the literature related to the theme and replicating tests performed abroad in order to verify the similarities, differences and the reasons related to such results. The results indicate the problabe preference behavior provided by Pecking Order Theory, ie the companies studied in the period analyzed, used, first, internally generated funds (operating cash), second using third-party funds through bank loans or issuance of bonds or issuance of bonds, sending shares only as a last resort. Another conclusion is that Brazilian companies traded problaby did not seek to achieve or maintain an ideal goal of indebtedness, wich balances the costs and benefits generated by the loans.

De acordo com a teoria de market timing, as empresas aproveitam janelas de oportunidade para a captação de recursos, com a intenção de explorar flutuações temporárias no custo de fontes alternativas de financiamento. Assim, a estrutura de capital seria determinada por tentativas passadas de emitir títulos em momentos considerados favoráveis para a emissão. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo examinar o comportamento de market timing em companhias abertas brasileiras, buscando verificar a existência e persistência de um comportamento oportunista quando da escolha dentre diferentes fontes de financiamento. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos dois estudos complementares. Primeiramente, investiga-se o comportamento de market timing por meio da análise da influência de valores de mercado históricos sobre a estrutura de capital de companhias brasileiras que realizaram IPO no período 2001-2011. Como principal resultado, verifica-se uma relação negativa entre valores de mercado históricos e alavancagem, evidenciando que, em momentos de altos valores de mercado, as empresas reduzem o endividamento, por ser mais vantajosa a emissão de ações, e vice-versa, o que pode indicar um comportamento oportunista na captação de recursos. No entanto, o comportamento não é permanente em todo o período, a ponto de determinar a estrutura de capital destas empresas. Assim, julgou-se necessário examinar diretamente os efeitos do market timing sobre a estrutura de capital de companhias brasileiras relacionando indicadores de custo de capital (próprio e de terceiros) com os níveis de endividamento destas companhias. Para tanto, foram utilizadas duas amostras: a primeira foi composta por 235 companhias abertas ativas na BM&FBOVESPA, analisadas no período 2000-2011; a segunda foi composta por 75 companhias abertas ativas e com ratings de crédito atribuídos pelas principais agências de classificação de risco, analisadas no período 2005-2011. Foram utilizadas quatro proxies para o custo de capital próprio, baseadas no Modelo de Precificação de Ativos Financeiros - CAPM, e duas proxies para o custo de capital de terceiros, sendo uma delas baseada no custo médio do passivo oneroso e a outra no rating de crédito das companhias, esta última testada apenas para a amostra 2. Os resultados obtidos com os modelos de dados em painel indicaram que quanto maior o custo de capital próprio, maior o nível de endividamento, bem como, quanto maior o custo de capital de terceiros, menor a utilização de dívida como fonte de financiamento. Estes resultados estão de acordo com o esperado pela teoria de market timing, refletindo que as empresas estão atentas ao custo de diferentes fontes de recursos, em busca das melhores alternativas de financiamento. Este comportamento se justifica e é confirmado por meio dos resultados obtidos: no primeiro estudo, verifica-se que o valor de mercado, em média, caiu após a abertura de capital, tornando indesejável a emissão de novas ações e preferível a utilização de dívida. No segundo estudo, verifica-se que as proxies para custo de capital se mostraram as variáveis mais significativas, exercendo forte influência sobre a estrutura de capital das empresas. Assim sendo, os resultados obtidos se complementam e levam à confirmação da tese proposta: o market timing influencia a estrutura de capital de companhias abertas brasileiras, sendo que as empresas aproveitam janelas de oportunidades para a captação de recursos para financiar seus projetos de investimento. / According to market timing theory, the companies use windows of opportunity to raise funds, aiming to explore temporary fluctuations in alternative sources of capital. Thus the capital structure would be determinate by past attempts to issue securities when security issue was considered propitious. The present thesis aimed to examine the market timing behavior in Brazilian public companies, trying to verify the existence and persistence of opportunistic behavior when choosing among different sources of capital. In order to do so, we developed two complementary studies. Firstly we investigate market timing behavior by analyzing the influence of historical market value on capital structure of Brazilian companies that performed IPO from 2001 to 2011. The main result was that there is a negative relation between historical market value and leverage, evidence shows that in moments of high market value, companies reduce indebtedness because equity issue is more advantageous and vice-versa, it might indicate an opportunistic behavior when raising funds. However, the behavior is not permanent throughout the period to determine the capital structure of these companies. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to directly examine market timing effects on capital structure of Brazilian companies matching cost of capital proxies (equity and debt) with indebtedness levels of these companies. In order to do so, we used two samples: the first was composed by 235 active public companies listed at BM&FBOVESPA that were analyzed from 2000 to 2011; the second was composed by 75 active public companies with credit ratings assigned by major credit rating agencies, they were analyzed from 2005 to 2011. Four proxies were used for cost of equity capital, based on Capital Asset Pricing Model - CAPM and two proxies for cost of debt, one of them was based on average cost of book value of debt and the other on credit rating of companies, the last was tested only for sample 2. The results found with panel data model show that the higher the cost of equity, the greater the level of indebtedness, as well as the higher the cost of debt, the less the use of debt as a financing source. These results are according to the expected by market timing theory, they reflect that the companies are aware of the cost of different financing sources in the search for the best financing alternatives. This behavior is justified and confirmed by the results reached: in the first study we can see that the market value, on average, dropped after the initial public offering making it undesirable to issuing equity and preferable to using debt. In the second study we verify that the proxies for cost of capital were the most significant variables, exerting strong influence on the capital structure of companies. Thus, the results obtained are complementary and lead to the confirmation of the proposed thesis: market timing has influence on the capital structure of Brazilian public companies, and in order to raise funds to finance their investment projects they use windows of opportunity.

The study about the way companies structure their policy of financing has been the object of study of several researches, which have originated theories that consider different attributes as determinants of capital structure. However, due to the diversity of factors that can influence the companies decision-making process, none of them could demonstrate precisely the financing mix that companies should use in order to achieve their optimal value. One of these approaches, the Pecking Order theory, which focuses on the informational asymmetry as an important determinant of the capital structure of companies. The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of this informational component in the capital structure of the companies that comprise the special segments of São Paulo Stock Exchage (Bovespa), which were created in 2001 with the aim of distinguishing the companies by the compliance with corporate rules such as the increasing dissemination of information as well as companies that comprise the Traditional Group. To achieve the aim, the methodology of panel data analysis has been used, which has allowed the analysis of the influence of control variables (tangibility, size, profitability, risk and market value) and proxies and dummies related to informational asymmetry in the indebtedness of companies which comprise the special segments: New Market, Levels 2 and 1 of Corporate Governance, and also companies which belong to the Traditional Group. Therefore, the analysis was carried out in two periods: P2, from 2001 to 2013, and P1, from 2007 to 2013. The results demonstrated that in companies, which have adhered the segments of Bovespa, the indebtedness has been used in a lesser extent, furthermore, the proxies related to informational asymmetry have shown negative signals and statistically significance in the segments in which the diffusion of information is more rigid, New Market and Level 2 of Corporate Governance. / O estudo sobre a forma com que a empresa estrutura sua política de financiamento tem sido objeto de estudo de várias pesquisas, as quais deram origem às teorias que levam em consideração diferentes atributos como determinantes da estrutura de capital. Entretanto, devido à diversidade dos fatores que podem influenciar o processo decisório das empresas, nenhuma delas conseguiu com exatidão explicar o mix de financiamento que as empresas devem utilizar para alcançar o valor ótimo. Uma dessas abordagens, a teoria do Pecking Order, a qual foca na assimetria informacional como um importante determinante da estrutura de capital das empresas. No presente estudo, busca-se analisar a influência desse componente informacional na estrutura de capital das empresas que compõem os segmentos especiais da Bovespa, os quais foram criados em 2001 com o objetivo de diferenciar as empresas por meio do cumprimento de regras societárias, como a maior divulgação de informação, bem como das empresas que compõem o Grupo Tradicional. Para o alcance do objetivo foi utilizada a metodologia de análise de dados em painel, a qual permitiu a análise da influência de variáveis de controle (tangibilidade, tamanho, rentabilidade, risco e valor de mercado) e proxies e dummies relacionadas à assimetria informacional no endividamento das empresas que compõem os segmentos especiais: Novo Mercado e Níveis 2 e 1 de Governança Corporativa, e das empresas pertencentes ao grupo Tradicional. Para tanto, a análise foi realizada em dois períodos: P2 correspondente aos anos de 2001 a 2013 e, P1 referente ao período 2007 a 2013. Os resultados demonstraram que nas empresas que aderiram aos segmentos da Bovespa, o endividamento foi utilizado em menor escala, além disso, as proxies relacionadas à assimetria informacional apresentaram sinais negativos e estatisticamente significativos nos segmentos em que a divulgação de informações é mais rígida, Novo Mercado e Nível 2 de Governança Corporativa.