Background: A company’s choice of capital structure is influenced by the access to internal and external capital but also by the opportunities and threats that the management perceives in the environment and the management’s attitude towards risk. How an individual perceives and interpret the environment depends on the cognitive structures, which are shaped by personality, background and earlier experiences. Accordingly cognitive structures can be expected to influence the choice of capital structure. Purpose: Out of a cognitive perspective we intend to study the relationship between the way a company views it’s environment and what capital structure it chooses to have, in order to contribute to an increased understanding about what lies behind a company’s capital structure policy. Delimitations: Debt policy refers to the choice of capital structure. Cognition is briefly presented as a phenomena and in relation to risk judgement in decision processes. Realization: Our empirical studies are based on information from the annual reports of H&M, JC and Lindex from the period of 1989-2000. Results: The studied companies have a very similar view on the environment and their capital structures are relatively similar since all of them have a high share of equity. Consequently the choice of capital structure can be said to be influenced by the company’s view on the environment even though this is not the only influencing factor.

<p>Background: A company’s choice of capital structure is influenced by the access to internal and external capital but also by the opportunities and threats that the management perceives in the environment and the management’s attitude towards risk. How an individual perceives and interpret the environment depends on the cognitive structures, which are shaped by personality, background and earlier experiences. Accordingly cognitive structures can be expected to influence the choice of capital structure. </p><p>Purpose: Out of a cognitive perspective we intend to study the relationship between the way a company views it’s environment and what capital structure it chooses to have, in order to contribute to an increased understanding about what lies behind a company’s capital structure policy. </p><p>Delimitations: Debt policy refers to the choice of capital structure. Cognition is briefly presented as a phenomena and in relation to risk judgement in decision processes. </p><p>Realization: Our empirical studies are based on information from the annual reports of H&M, JC and Lindex from the period of 1989-2000. </p><p>Results: The studied companies have a very similar view on the environment and their capital structures are relatively similar since all of them have a high share of equity. Consequently the choice of capital structure can be said to be influenced by the company’s view on the environment even though this is not the only influencing factor.</p>