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Sees the objective of teaching financial management to be to help managers and potential managers to make sensible investment and financing decisions. Acknowledges that financial theory teaches that investment and financing decisions should be based on cash flow and risk. Provides information on payback period; return on capital employed, earnings per share effect, working capital, profit planning, standard costing, financial statement planning and ratio analysis. Seeks to combine the practical rules of thumb of the traditionalists with the ideas of the financial theorists to form a balanced approach to practical financial management for MBA students, financial managers and undergraduates.

This chapter introduces dividend policy as both financial and business decisions. First, it presents the history of dividend payment, definition of dividend, and typical types of dividend. Dividends originate from liquidating payments of sailing vessels in the early 16th century and become popular with the development of corporations. In this book, a dividend is defined as a cash payment to shareholders. By payment time, there are three typical types of dividend including final dividend, interim dividend, and special dividend. Second, it presents definition, important dates, measures, and patterns of dividend policy. Dividend policy includes two decisions: the first is to pay or not to pay dividends, and the second is the dividend magnitude. Investors have to follow important dates of dividend payments in order to make their investment decisions. Important dates include declaration date, record date, ex-dividend date, and payment date. Dividend payout ratio and dividend yield are two common measures of dividend policy. Common patterns of dividend policy are no dividend policy, residual dividend policy, stable dividend policy, and irregular dividend policy. Finally, dividend policy is both financial and business-related decisions. Therefore, dividend decisions are affected by various levels of business environment such as internal, micro (industry), and macro-environment. Dividend theories are the behind mechanisms to explain the effect of each factor in the business environment on corporate dividend policy. Dividend policy, in turn, determines shareholders' wealth through its impact on stock price.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the signaling and free cash flow hypotheses of dividends in the context of an emerging financial market.

The authors use fundamental financial information of Chinese companies listed in the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. They examine the impact of cash dividend payments on future profitability of individual firms with and without controlling for non-linearity in their earnings to test the signaling hypothesis. They also determine the characteristics of dividend paying firms to examine the free cash flow hypothesis.

It was found that while dividend increases by publicly listed Chinese firms are followed by increases in earnings in two subsequent years, such relationship does not exist in the case of dividend decreases. However, under the assumption of non-linearity of earnings, it was found that neither dividend increases nor dividend decreases convey any valuable information about future changes in earnings of Chinese firms. Further, it was found that firms with high cash holdings, large profitability and high managerial efficiency are likely to pay dividends. The authors therefore conclude that announcements of cash dividend payments do not signal future performance but indicate good governance practices of publicly traded firms in China.

This evidence is critical for potential foreign investors in their portfolio investment decisions and for regulators in determining an efficient measure of corporate disclosure in China.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dividend payments and share repurchases of dual-class firms that have both their superior voting shares and inferior voting shares publicly traded.

This paper uses matched dual-class and single-class samples from 1994 to 2015 and logit models to evaluate the likelihoods of dividend payment and share repurchase between dual-class firms and single-class firms.

The results show that dual-class firms are more likely than the matched sample of single-class firms to pay dividends in both share classes. Dual-class firms, however, are more likely to repurchase their superior shares than single-class firms and their inferior shares.

The results suggest that dual-class firms do not use corporate payouts to either mitigate agency problems or maintain the private benefits of control. Instead, dual-class firms use dividend payments to mitigate agency problems while using repurchases of superior shares to maintain the private benefits of control, which supports the agency payout hypothesis.

This paper highlights the differences between dividend payments and share repurchases as forms of corporate payouts and suggests that firms may choose a particular form for a particular purpose.

This paper provides the first piece of empirical evidence on the corporate payouts of dual-class firms separating their superior voting shares and inferior voting shares.

The purpose of this paper is to explore unequal dividend payment policies called differentiated dividends (DDs) in Korea. The characteristics of firms are examined which allocate higher dividends to small shareholders than large shareholders within the same share class.

Logit analysis is used to compare firms that initiate DDs with those that pay conventional equal dividends. The abnormal market reaction to news of initiation of DDs is also examined.

Managers of firms facing cash insufficiency are more likely to initiate DDs. The DD scheme is used as a method to cater to high dividend demands in the market. The stock price reaction to the initiation of DDs is positive when the total dividend payments are increased, signifying that the market interprets it as good news.

Firms facing cash insufficiency can avoid an increase in the cost of capital by retaining extra cash from DDs rather than borrowing external funds. Additionally, managers can foster favorable market reactions by using DDs which helps firms in attracting new capital investments. Finally, regulatory bodies can consider encouraging managers to adopt unequal dividend schemes to allow higher dividend payments to small shareholders, especially in countries with weak legal protection for minority shareholders.

Similar unequal dividend policies exist in European countries but there is a lack of research conducted on those policies. The paper provides implications for the strategic use of unequal dividends to maximize firm value.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the catering incentives of dividends can influence firms' dividend payment decisions in Thailand.

The sample includes all listed stocks in the Stock Exchange of Thailand during the years 1992‐2009, excluding the firms from financial industries and firms with incomplete information. The catering incentives are measured by dividend premium. The firms' dividend payment decisions are measured by propensity to pay dividends and decision to change dividends.

The findings yield qualitatively consistent with the previous research. After controlling for the effect of the Asian Crisis during 1997‐1999, the result shows that the firm's decision to pay dividend could be affected by the catering incentives. Furthermore, dividend premium will reduce the probability that firms will decide to cut dividend payment from previous years.

The result is limited to the availability of historical data. The Stock Exchange in Thailand has been established for only 35 years. With the lack of availability and completeness of data, the historical data could be gathered for only 18 years.

Investors in Thailand show their preference for dividend incomes. This could be the catering incentive of the firm to decide to pay dividends.

This paper offers the evidence of catering incentives of dividend proposed by Baker and Wurgler in the emerging market. Even though the result is not strong, it can be the evidence supporting the catering theory of dividend, not only in well‐developed markets, but also in emerging markets such as Thailand.

This study attempts to examine the relationship between board characteristics and dividend payout decisions of conventional and Islamic banks.

This study employed unbalanced panel data of both Indonesian conventional and Islamic banks over the period 2008–2021, estimated using tobit and logit models. Dividend payout decisions were measured using the dividend payout ratio and probability to pay dividends. Meanwhile, board characteristics were represented by board size, board independence, board gender diversity, board meeting, board chairman tenure and board chairman tenure.

The results show that, in the context of conventional banks, board meetings, board chairman tenure and board chairman tenure are correlated with higher dividend payout decisions, while board gender diversity indicates lower dividend payout decisions. On the other hand, in the context of Islamic banks, board size and board meetings are associated with higher dividend payout decisions, while board independence and board chairman tenure are related to lower dividend payout decisions.

This study fills the gaps in the literature on bank dividend policy. It also provides additional insights regarding the relationship between board characteristics and dividend payout decisions in the context of conventional and Islamic banks. In addition, this study gives essential contributions to regulators and investors of both banks, especially in a developing country, Indonesia.

This study is one of the first to provide empirical results regarding the relationship between board characteristics and dividend payout decisions of conventional and Islamic banks. Board characteristics are indicated as one of the fundamental factors that determine dividend payout decisions of both conventional and Islamic banks in Indonesia.

On the basis of principal-agent and financing constraints theories, the purpose of this paper is to construct a unified research framework via mathematical models and to provide a logical and consistent explanation of the contradictory discovery of the relationship between dividend payment and I-CFO in the previous literature.

Establishing the economic mathematical models, this paper uses the comparative static analysis to figure out the equilibrium results, to further testify the conclusions, the authors initiate the empirical tests to make the discussion more realistic.

The authors observe that overinvestment caused by agency problems is the primary reason for I-C sensitivity when the investment expenditure is less than the internal capital; dividend payout suppresses the overinvestment caused by the agency problem, thus alleviating the investment’s dependence on the internal capital. However, underinvestment caused by the financing constraints is the primary cause of I-C sensitivity when the investment expenditure is greater than the internal capital. The payment of cash dividends increases the investment shortage caused by the financing constraints, thus increasing the sensitivity. Further, the authors explore the impact of dividend payments on I-CFO sensitivity. They argue that dividend payment is not an appropriate measure of financing constraints. Both I-CFO sensitivity and I-C sensitivity are functions of agency cost and information cost.

This study provides a logical and consistent explanation of the contradictory discovery of the relationship between dividend payment and I-CFO in the previous literature and provides a clear framework and reference for future studies on the impact of financial constraints, agency cost on the investment’s dependence on the internal capital.

The theoretical model of this paper supports this differentiated mandatory dividend policy and provides reference and evidence for China's financing policies and dividend distribution policies.

This study theoretically and empirically analyzes and verifies the roles of agency cost and financial constraints on the determinants of I-C sensitivity for the first time. First, different from earlier literature, this paper puts forward I-C sensitivity as a new measure of investment’s dependence on internal capital, making the measurement more accurate. In the case of a firm with positive liquidity reserves, using the I-CFO sensitivity as a measure of external financing constraints could overestimate the firm’s financial constraints. Second, by constructing an economic static analysis framework, this study analyzes how I-C and I-CFO sensitivities change with the agency cost, the financing constraints and the dividend payment ratio. The research provides a basic framework and explanation on the contradictions of the earlier literature. The results are supposed to serve as a foundation for estimations of investment’s dependence on internal capital and should be embedded in general empirical tests in future research.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse the propensity to pay dividends and investigate whether the catering theory is valid in an emerging market.

The sample of this study comprises listed firms on the stock market of Turkey, Borsa Istanbul, with 2,438 observations during the period 1999–2015. In line with previous studies in the literature, appropriate control variables are used that may have an impact on Turkish firms' dividend policy. Control variables are examined in the likelihood of paying dividends by using Fama–Macbeth (1973) style cross-sectional logistic regressions. In addition, the linkage between the dividend premium and the propensity to pay is revealed to test the validity of the catering theory.

The findings of the study confirm the tenets of the catering theory for Turkey. When a positive dividend premium exists, that is when investors demand dividend, firms cater them and distribute dividend; on the contrary, when there is no demand, firms prefer not to pay. The effect of catering incentives on the dividend policy provides useful information for managers because the catering theory claims that investors' demand for dividends has an impact on the valuation of firms.

In the aftermath of the 2001 financial crisis, Turkey implemented far-reaching reforms and policy initiatives to improve the efficiency of capital markets and to overcome the obstacles sourcing from their culture and civil law origin. With the adoption of these major economic and structural reforms, as a civil law origin country, Turkey has managed to ameliorate the protection of investors as in common law countries. Ferris et al. (2009) state that the catering theory is applicable to firms in common law countries but not in civil law countries. In addition, prior research is not so extensive regarding the impact of catering incentives on the dividend policy of firms in emerging markets. The results of the analyses suggest that the catering theory is valid for Turkey as a civil law origin emerging country, and to the best of authors' knowledge, this study is the first to test the catering theory in the Turkish capital markets.

This paper examines the impact of dividend policy on stock market liquidity, and whether the dividend payouts has an asymmetric effect on stock liquidity.

A multivariate panel-data regression analysis is conducted for a sample of the largest 411 nonfinancial US firms. Three main hypothesis are tested: (1) whether dividend payouts impact affect stock liquidity, (2) whether low and high dividend payments can asymmetrically effect on stock liquidity and (3) whether the presence of the GFC has an impact the relationship between dividend payments and stock liquidity.

The study finds that dividend policy is adversely associated with stock liquidity. This supports the prediction of the liquidity-dividend hypothesis. The authors also report that stock liquidity asymmetrically responds to changes in dividend payouts, confirming the prediction of the dividend-signaling approach. More specifically, higher dividend payments decrease stock liquidity by a lower magnitude than the increase in stock liquidity resulting from lower dividend payments. Finally, the presence of the GFC weakened the relationship between dividend payments and stock liquidity.

The paper can help in performing future research by using different dataset covering the COVID-19 crisis.

The paper allows market participants to better understand the impact of dividend policy and its asymmetric effects on stock liquidity. The authors’ analyses can direct investors and regulators to adopt new supervisory devices to create an appropriate level of dividend payouts that helps to effectively support the level of stock liquidity.

The paper intends to support the business community and to make strong contributions to the economic development and the welfare of the community.

The originality comes from its new evidence as it can help in assessing the importance of dividend policy and its asymmetric impact on stock liquidity in the full sample and during the GFC. The paper is helpful in performing future analyses using a new sample period for another set of data as well as accounting for COVID-19 pandemic crisis.