Syftet med denna studie var att analysera och beskriva huruvida det föreligger ett samband mellan kapitalstruktur och lönsamhet i små- och medelstora företag inom smycke- och klockbranschen. Valet av denna inriktning grundar sig på avsaknaden av tidigare forskning inom detta specifika område samt detaljhandelns dynamiska natur, vilket bidrog till ett ökat intresse. Studiens teoretiska ramverk baserades på pecking-order teorin. En kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats har använts. Sekundärdata har hämtats från databasen Retriever Business. För att uppnå studiens ändamål har olika dataanalyser genomförts med hjälp av variablerna: lönsamhet (mätt som ROA och ROE), långfristiga skulder, kortfristiga skulder, storlek och ålder. Studien omfattar observationer från 166 mikroföretag inom smycke- och klockbranschen, verksamma under tidsperioden 2018-2022.  Resultaten utifrån regressionsanalysen visade ett negativt samband mellan kapitalstruktur och lönsamhet, vilket betonar riskerna med hög skuldsättning. Ett statistiskt signifikant samband visades mellan kortfristiga skulder och lönsamhet och indikerar att höga nivåer av kortfristiga skulder är associerade med lägre lönsamhet. Detta går delvis i linje med pecking order-teorin, men osäkerheten i resultaten kräver ytterligare forskning. Ett statistiskt signifikant samband påvisades mellan långfristiga skulder och lönsamhet vilket stöttas av pecking order-teorin. Resultaten för sambandet mellan företagsstorlek och lönsamhet var tvetydiga. Inga signifikanta samband hittades mellan företagens ålder och lönsamhet, vilket innebär att företagens ålder inte har någon statistiskt signifikant inverkan på lönsamhet i smycke- och klockbranschen.   Resultatet har analyserats utifrån tidigare forskning och pecking order-teorin som visar studiens varierande resultat. Vissa resultat stöttades av ställda hypoteser medan andra sa emot dem. / The purpose of this study is to analyze and describe the relationship between capital structure and profitability in small and medium- sized enterprises within the retal sector, with a specific focus on the jewelry and watch industry. This particular focus is chosen due to the lack of previous research in this specific area and the dynamic nature of the retail industry, which adds to its interest. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the pecking order theory. A quantitative method with a deductive approach had been utilized. Secondary data has been sourced from the Retriever Business database. To achieve the study's objectives, various data analyses were conducted using the variables: profitability (measured as ROA and ROE), long-term debt, short-term debt, size, and age. The study included observations from 166 micro-enterprises within the jewelry and watch industry, operating during the period 2018-2022. The results from the regression analysis demonstrated a negative relationship between capital structure and profitability, highlighting the risks associated with high levels of debt. A statistically significant relationship was found between short-term debt and profitability, indicating that higher levels of short-term debt are associated with lower profitability. This finding is partially in line with the pecking order theory, but the uncertainty in the results calls for further research. A statistically significant relationship was also observed between long-term debt and profitability, which supported the pecking order theory. The results for the relationship between firm size and profitability were mixed. No significant relationships were found between the age of the firms and profitability, suggesting that firm age does not have a statistically significant impact on profitability in the jewelry and watch industry. The results have been analyzed in the context of previous research and the pecking order theory, showing the study's varying outcomes. Some results supported the stated hypotheses, while others contradicted them.

Bolag står ständigt inför beslut kring val av finansiering och dessa beslut resulterar i bolagens kapitalstruktur. Kapitalstrukturen har undersökts sedan en lång tid tillbaka och flera olika teorier har växt fram. Än idag finns det dock ingen teori som kan förklara kapitalstrukturen på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Eftersom det inte finns några tydliga tecken på att det finns en optimal kapitalstruktur eller hur en sådan skulle kunna se ut, kan kapitalstrukturen variera. Denna undersökning har tagit fasta på två av de mest kända teorierna för att förklara kapitalstrukturen, trade-off teorin och pecking order teorin. Undersökningen har en tvärsnittsdesigns utformning och studerar hur lönsamhet, tillväxt, storlek, materiella tillgångar, likviditet, icke-skuld skattesköld och bransch påverkar kapitalstrukturen. Fokus ligger på den svenska marknaden och ämnar att kunna generalisera kring svenska börsnoterade bolag. Resultatet av denna undersökning bidrar till en ökad förståelse för kapitalstrukturen men vi är långt ifrån en fullständig bild av ämnet. Undersökningens slutsatser skiljer sig till viss del från tidigare forskning eftersom den hittar stöd för båda teorierna. Ingen av teorierna går dock att applicera i sin helhet på den svenska marknaden vilket tyder på att forskningsområdet fortfarande behöver utvecklas och nya idéer tillkomma. / Companies are constantly faced with making decisions regarding their choice of financing and these decisions result in the company’s capital structure. The capital structure has been studied for a long time and several theories have emerged. Still to this day there’s no theory that can explain the capital structure in a satisfying way. Since there are no clear signs that an optimal capital structure exists nor how one would look, the capital structure can vary. This study has its foundation in two of the most well-known theories that try to explain capital structures, the trade-off theory and the pecking order theory. This cross-sectional study examines how profitability, growth, size, tangible assets, liquidity, non-debt tax shield and industry affect capital structure. The focus lies on the Swedish market and intends to generalize about listed Swedish companies. The result of this paper contributes to an increased understanding of capital structure but we are far from a complete comprehension of the subject. The conclusion of this study partially differs from previous research as it finds support for both theories. However none of the theories are applicable on the Swedish market as a whole which suggests that further research is required along with the addition of new ideas. This paper is written in Swedish.

Purpose: The thesis purpose is to, with regards to relevant theories, explain how the variables industry affiliation, growth, uniqueness and tangiability affect modern, swedish firms capital structure. Method: A quantitative method along with a deductive approach has been used to make this study. Multiple regression analysis has been applied in order to identify statistical relationships between various variables. Conclusion: The empirical results can only to a certain degree confirm what the theories are claiming. The statistical relationship the growth, profitability, uniqueness in a firm has with leverage is negative. Moreover, tangibility turned out to have a positive relationship to leverage, which coincides with said theories. / Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att utifrån relevanta teorier förklara hur variablerna lönsamhet, branschtillhörighet, tillväxt, unikhet och tillgångsstruktur påverkar svenska bolags kapitalstruktur. Metod: En kvantitativ metod med deduktiv ansats har använts för att möjliggöra denna studie. Multipel regressionsanalys har tillämpats för att statistiskt kunna identifiera samband mellan olika variabler. Slutsats: Resultatet stämmer nästan genomgående med teoriernas antaganden. Sambandet mellan tillväxt, lönsamhet, unikhet mot skuldsättningen är negativt. Det visade sig dessutom att det finns ett positivt samband mellan tillgångsstruktur och skuldsättningsgrad, vilket stämmer med vad teorierna hävdar.

This thesis contain three chapters. Default Risk in Corporate Bond Pricing. This chapter provides a model for how the corporate bond default risk influences the systematic risk and an empirical analysis of the systematic and idiosyncratic parts of U.S. corporate bond returns during 2001-2005. The average corporate bond beta is low and positive (0.06). Investment grade bonds have negative betas (between - 0.01 and -0.13) and non-investment grade bonds have positive betas (between 0.11 and 1.48), but both groups have similar within groups systematic risks. When controls for interest rate and liquidity risks are introduced there are still remaining default probabilities, implying that the default risk is in part systematic and in part idiosyncratic.   Returns to Defaulted Corporate Bonds.   In the second chapter short term excess returns in a sample of 279 defaulted US corporate bonds are tested for using multiple regression analysis. There are robust excess returns after controlling for market and liquidity risk. The expected recovery rate during 2001-2006 is estimated to be, on average, four percentage points lower the first month after default than the present value of the recovery rate after nine months. Capital Structure Choices.   The trade-off and pecking order theories are tested using both established tests from the literature and new tests. The main contributions of this chapter are the new tests of financing of operating net assets (for the pecking order theory), the mean reversion tests (for the trade-off theory) and the test of mean reversion and trends. These tests allow for extended conclusions on the validity of the pecking order versus the tradeoff theory. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2008 Sammanfattning jämte 3 uppsatser</p>

This paper describes and develops a trade off model of optimal capital structure by Bradley et al. (1984). The model is then tested to examine how changes in corporate tax rates affect the optimal capital structure of firms. Based on theoretical implications of the model, four hypotheses are derived stating that firms’ optimal debt-to-value ratio is (1) negatively related to financial distress costs, (2) negatively related to non-debt tax shields, (3) negatively related to firm volatility and (4) positively related to the corporate tax rate. Based on the results of two regression models applied on 753 Scandinavian and German firms, we find empirical support for hypothesis 1 and 3 while we find no empirical support for hypothesis 2 and 4. These results can be explained by problematic empirical proxies and in the light of the pecking-order theory.

本篇論文探討亞太地區債券市場中是否存在著擇時行為，以此區域中三個經濟區為代表—澳洲、新加坡及香港，透過分析此區域2000~2009期間的絕對利率、相對利率與絕對債券發行量、相對債券發行量間之關係，以及進一步控制影響企業債券發行之因素，包括市場的成長機會、再融資及企業特性等，最後，實證結果指出亞太地區之債券市場並無擇時行為之存在，且其融資行為較傾向支持靜態抵換理論，亦即亞太企業進行舉債融資時較可能同時考慮舉債所帶來的正面及負面效果，因此有一最適資本結構存在的可能。 / The purpose of this thesis is to test whether there is market timing behavior existing in Asia-pacific bond market. Using the data during 2000~2009 in three representative places, including Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, we compare both the absolute and relative interest rate to both the absolute and relative amount of debt issue. In addition, we further control the factors that affect the debt issue of firms, including the market growth opportunities, refinancing and the characteristics of firms. Finally, we find there is no market timing behavior in Asia-pacific bond market. Besides, firms’ financing behavior in Asia-pacific are better explained by the trade-off theory, which means it is possible that there is a optimal capital structure for each firm.

Submitted by Neusa Fagundes (neusa.fagundes@unioeste.br) on 2018-02-27T14:38:05Z No. of bitstreams: 2 André_Gallina2017.pdf: 1856721 bytes, checksum: b9572845f772a3d4c2da52bf9cecdb70 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-27T14:38:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 André_Gallina2017.pdf: 1856721 bytes, checksum: b9572845f772a3d4c2da52bf9cecdb70 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-18 / The capital structure has been studied since the mid-1950s, especially since Durand (1952), and the subject has been explored by Modigliani and Miller (1958), Myers and Majluf (1984), and others, always with different approaches over time. One of the theoretical fronts is the pecking order theory, led by Myers (1984) and Myers and Majluf (1984), which analyzes the influence of information asymmetry on the capital structure of organizations. Therefore, in order to verify the influence of the asymmetry on the capital structure of Brazilian and North American companies from 2011 to 2015, a panel data analysis was carried out, modeling variables linked to information asymmetry to verify if they influenced, or not, the indebtedness of the companies analyzed, in order to respond to the following research problem: "What is the influence of information asymmetry in determining the capital structure of Brazilian and US publicly traded companies in the period from 2011 to 2015?". Thus, it is expected that the study will contribute, in particular, to the accomplishment of the comparative analysis between the mentioned countries, identifying the behavior of the data and the adequacy of the companies to the precepts of the financial theories mentioned, emphasizing that the comparative analysis undertaken is the main gap in the study, given the scarcity of comparative studies within the capital structure. As for main findings, it was verified that the existence of lower information asymmetry indexes led to lower indebtedness in both Brazilian and North American companies, which is recommended by pecking order, that is, it was verified that in fact, the information asymmetry has an influence on corporate indebtedness. However, the beha vior of the variables in Brazilian and North American companies diverges, and not always the variables showed the expected behavior, according to what the theory suggested. In addition, differences in the economic environment, market structure, cost of credit and others may cause a result initially contrary to that predicted by the theory is not necessarily a divergent result. As a practical contribution of the study, when analyzing data from two different countries, a broader view is given, especially for the investor (as an external user of the accounting information) and the administrator (as internal user), about the debt behavior, and on which variables are able to affect this behavior, in particular to assess the influence of the variables related to the asymmetry of information in this theme. With this, it can be verified empirically as relevant business issues, such as corporate governance, influence the directions taken by companies. Finally, although the subject is widely studied, it remains available and with research gaps, with ample space for studies that contribute to the better understanding of the issue. / A estrutura de capital vem sendo estudada desde meados dos anos 1950, em especial a partir de Durand (1952), tendo o tema sido explorado ainda por Modigliani e Miller (1958), Myers e Majluf (1984), e outros, sempre com diferentes abordagens ao longo do tempo. Uma das frentes teóricas que se dedica ao tema é a pecking order theory, encabeçada por Myers (1984) e Myers e Majluf (1984), que analisa a influência da assimetria de informação na estrutura de capital das organizações. Diante disso, e visando verificar a influência da assimetria na estrutura de capital das empresas brasileiras e norte-americanas de 2011 a 2015, realizou-se uma análise com dados em painel, modelando-se variáveis ligadas à assimetria de informação para verificação se elas influenciaram, ou não, o endividamento das empresas analisadas, para responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: “Qual a influência da assimetria de informação na determinação da estrutura de capital de empresas brasileiras e americanas de capital aberto no período de 2011 a 2015?”. Com isso, espera-se que o estudo contribua, em especial, no sentido da realização da análise comparativa entre os países mencionados, identificando o comportamento dos dados e a adequação das empresas aos preceitos das teorias financeiras, salientando que a análise comparativa empreendida se apresenta como a principal lacuna do estudo, dada a escassez de estudos comparativos dentro da temática da estrutura de capital. Como principais resultados, verificou-se que a existência de menores índices de assimetria de informação conduziu a um menor endividamento tanto nas empresas brasileiras quanto nas norte-americanas, o que é preconizado pela teoria pecking order, ou seja, constatou-se que de fato a assimetria de informação exerce influência no endividamento empresarial. Contudo, o comportamento das variáveis nas empresas brasileiras e norte-americanas diverge, e nem sempre as variáveis apresentaram o comportamento esperado, de acordo com o sugerido pela teoria, além de que diferenças de ambiente econômico, de estrutura de mercado, de custo de crédito e outros podem fazer com que um resultado inicialmente contrário ao previsto pela teoria não seja, necessariamente, um resultado divergente. Como contribuição prática do estudo, ao analisar dados de dois países distintos, tem-se uma visão mais ampla, em especial para o investidor (como usuário externo da informação contábil) e do administrador (como usuário interno), sobre o comportamento da dívida e sobre quais variáveis são capazes de afetar esse comportamento, em especial de aferir qual a influência das variáveis ligadas à assimetria de informação nessa temática. Com isso, pode-se verificar empiricamente como questões empresariais relevantes, como a governança corporativa, influenciam nos rumos tomados pelas companhias. Por fim, embora o tema seja amplamente estudado, continua aberto e com lacunas de pesquisa, com amplo espaço para realização de estudos que contribuam com a explicação da questão.

The aim of this thesis is to perform an analysis of capital structure of joint stock companies based in the Czech Republic. The first part of the thesis introduces modern theories and main determinants of capital structure. Further it stakes out basic models used for testing the validity of mentioned theories and the methodology used. The second part of the thesis focuses on practical results of the analysis. The first chapter summarises descriptive analysis of the passive structure, the level of leverage, the composition of equity and liabilities of the joint stock companies. These ratios are judged mainly according to industry classification and the type of ownership. In the next step, the relationship between leverage and profitability is closely explored since it is thought to be one of the main determinants. In the last chapter, the models are applied to the sample of Czech companies with the effort to judge the validity of capital structure theories and to evaluate the effect of determinants on capital structure.

Problematika výběru kapitálové struktury byla a stále je často diskutována akademickou obcí již přes půl století a stále ještě nebylo dosaženo jednoznačného souladu, která teorie kapitálu a jaké determinanty ovlivňují kapitálovou strukturu. Modligliani a Miller (1958) zformulovali moderní teorii kapitálové struktury. Tvrdí, že pokud jsou splněny přísné podmínky, kapitálová struktura je irelevantní pro hodnotu společnosti. Avšak pokud nějaké předpoklady nejsou naplněny, kapitálová struktura se stává významná. Nyní, dvě hlavní teorie kapitálové struktury převládají – teorie hierarchického pořádku a trade-off teorie. Teorie hierarchického pořádku je vysvětlena informační asymetrií mezi manažery a ostatními lidmi. Toto způsobuje rozdílné ocenění vydaných cenných papírů danými skupinami lidí. Proto společnosti preferují vydat cenné papíry nejméně citlivé na dostupné informace. Pokud potřebují volné finance, nejdříve použijí vnitřní zdroje, následně dluh a jako poslední možností je vydání nového vlastního kapitálu. Trade-off teorie řeší rovnováhu mezi daňovým štítem dluhu a náklady finanční tísně. Důsledkem tohoto substitučního vztahu je optimální kapitálová struktura, kterou by se společnosti měly snažit získat a dále udržet. Mnoho výzkumu týkající se výběru kapitálové struktury již bylo provedeno a jeho výsledky jsou stále neurčité. Protože mnoho článků stále nabízí bezvýsledné závěry a jejich výsledky se liší v rámci zemí a skrz časové období, cílem mé práce je prozkoumat kapitálovou strukturu a determinanty kapitálové struktury v rámci Višegrádských zemí v období od 2002 do 2007. Hlavním přínosem této práce je prozkoumat data, která ještě nebyla před tím prozkoumána. Důvod, proč tomu tak je, může být obtížnost v získávání a zpracování dat. Již mnoho článků bylo napsáno o kapitálové struktuře, ale mnohé měly nedostatky. První výhodou mé práce je, že zkontroluji veškeré předpoklady mé analýzy. Znázorňuji, že heteroskedasticita a autokorelace jsou občas přítomny a snažím se je odstranit. Tímto se vyhnu zkresleným výsledkům. Další výhodou mého výzkumu je, že používám relativně velké množství vysvětlujících proměnných. Mnozí autoři záměrně vynechávají proměnné jako likvidita, růstové příležitosti nebo volatilitu tržeb (obchodní risk). Navíc používám tři druhy dluhů jako vysvětlované proměnné – celkový, dlouhodobý a krátkodobý, které nejsou také běžně používané. Dále používám dynamický vztah v zadluženosti, jelikož současná zadluženost může záviset na minulosti z důvodu setrvání nebo pouze částečnému přizpůsobení. Schopnost tohoto docílit je unikátní pro panelová data, která používám v této práci. Výsledkem je, že zadluženost má paměť a závisí na zadluženosti z minulých let. Hlavní závěry mohou být rozděleny do dvou skupin. Do první skupiny patří výsledky regrese z České republiky a Polska a druhé z Maďarska a Slovenska. Výsledky z první skupiny ukazují pozitivní vztah mezi zadlužeností českých a maďarských společností a tempem růstu společností a nedaňovým štítem, který je použit jako náhrada za daňový štít. Zatímco ziskovost, likvidita, struktura aktiv, obchodní riziko a velikost firmy je negativně korelována s dluhem. Tyto závěry podporují teorii hierarchického pořádku. Na druhou stranu, výsledky z Maďarska a Slovenska podporují trade-off teorii. V této druhé skupině struktura aktiv, ziskovost, velikost firmy je kladně korelována se zadlužeností, zatímco zbylé proměnné ukazují zápornou korelaci.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Årligen sker uppstarter av nya företag men flera av dem läggs ned kort därefter. En faktor är svårigheterna till finansiering då externa finansiärer inte är benägna att ta risker och flera företag har dålig insikt om alternativen som finns när det kommer till val av finansiering. Därför anses det väsentligt att studera gapet genom ett antal mikro- och småföretag och diskutera finansieringsmetoder som de valt till sin verksamhet och hur det har påverkat företaget utifrån ägarfördelning och företagslivscykel.   Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse och kunskap om mikro- och småföretags möjligheter att skaffa kapital för att säkerställa verksamhetens fortlevnad och tillväxt. Genom ökad förståelse ges ett bidrag till att underlätta val av finansieringsmetod och ge värdefulla kunskaper inom ämnet.   Metod: Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ studie där materialinsamling sker genom semistrukturerade intervjuer för att skapa en djupare förståelse från respondenterna. Med en komparativ studie sammanvävs faktorerna finansiering, företagslivcykel och ägarfördelning då det saknas forskning som behandlar ämnena tillsammans. Undersökningen är en flerfallstudie där 12 företag har valts ut för empirisk materialinsamling.   Slutsats: Anledningar till företagens olika finansieringssätt beroende på olika stadier i livscykeln beror snarare av aktiva val som företagen gjort. Då ingen tydlig koppling mellan vissa finansieringssätt och stadier i livscykeln, upptäcktes istället ett teoretiskt gap i livscykelmodellen. Ägarfördelning gjorde stor påverkan vid val av finansiering för studiens deltagande företag där tydlig koppling ges mellan vad varje ägare anser om ägarandelar och vilken finansiering som då väljs. / Background and problem discussion: Every year, new companies start up, several of them are shut down shortly thereafter. One factor is the difficulty of financing as external financiers are not inclined to take risks and several companies have poor insight about the alternatives that exist when it comes to the choice of funding. Therefore, it is considered essential to study the gap through a number of micro and small companies and discuss funding methods that they have chosen for their business and how it has affected the company based on ownership distribution and business life cycle.   Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to create a deeper understanding and knowledge of the possibilities of micro and small companies to acquire capital in order to ensure the continuity and growth of the business. Through increased understanding, a contribution is made to facilitate the choice of financing method and provide valuable knowledge in the subject.   Method: The essay is a qualitative study in which material collection takes place through semi-structured interviews to create a deeper understanding of the respondents. With a comparative study, the factors financing, business life cycle and ownership distribution are combined where there is no research that deals with the topics together. The survey is a multiple-case study in which 12 companies have been selected for empirical material collection.   Conclusion: Reasons for the companies different funding methods depending on different stages of the life cycle are due rather to active choices made by the companies. Since no clear link between certain funding methods and stages in the life cycle, a theoretical gap was instead discovered in the life cycle model. Ownership distribution made a large impact on the choice of funding for the study's participating companies, where a clear connection is given between what each owner considers about ownership interests and what funding is then chosen.