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The study aims to investigate the role of institutions, macroeconomic conditions, industry and firm characteristics on firm's capital structure decision within the context of nine African countries.

A sample of 986 firms over the period 1999-2008 were analysed using a series of models that link institutional, macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific characteristics, on the one hand, and measures of capital structure, on the other. The paper used system generalized method of moments and seemingly unrelated regression which are robust to data heterogeneity and endogeneity problems to estimate the relationships between variables. Furthermore, the paper checked the robustness of findings using various estimation procedures.

The paper found evidence that the legal and financial institutions, income level of the country in which a firm operates, growth rate of the economy and inflation matter in capital structure choices of firms in the sample countries. Furthermore, capital structure choice of firms in the sample countries was affected by industry and firm-specific characteristics. These findings signify the role that probability of bankruptcy, agency costs, transaction costs, tax issues, information asymmetry problems, access to finance and market timing play in capital structure decisions of firms in Africa.

As in most empirical studies, this study focused on listed firms. Nonetheless, future studies that focus on non-listed firms could add additional insights to the extant literature.

The findings have practical implications for corporate managers, governments, legislators and policymakers in the African continent.

The study focuses on firms in African countries for which cross-country studies such as this are rare. It also explicitly models industry variable as one of the determinants of capital structure, a marked departure from previous studies on capital structure decision of firms.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the variables having an impact on profitability of public private partnerships (PPPs) in India using a balanced panel data of 171 unlisted PPPs from different infrastructure sectors such as road, power generation, real estate and ports.

Estimations were done using Arellano–Bond dynamic panel data estimation and seemingly unrelated regression models on a balanced panel data of 855 firm-years for 171 unlisted PPPs in India. To further test the estimation robustness, panel-corrected standard errors model was used.

The study findings indicate that in firm-specific factors, leverage, size, non-debt tax shield, growth and risk have significant positive impact on PPPs’ profitability, whereas in macroeconomic factors, only inflation has significant positive relationship. Although the relationship of all determinants is in sync with various theories and approaches, but these are not significant. Using the robustness test, the results are found to be robust and consistent with resource-based view and strategy-structure-performance approaches.

As PPPs are gaining prominence in the development of infrastructural resources, their profitability is of significant importance to drive private investments in infrastructure development, the identification of factors which determine profitability is critical for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and fund providers such as equity investors and debt providers.

The empirical literature on profitability determinants is focused on various sectors including small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) and micro firms, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study, in both developed and developing economies, to empirically investigate the determinants of profitability for PPPs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of institutional, macroeconomic, industry, and firm characteristics on the adjustment speed of corporate capital structure within the context of developing countries.

The authors considers a sample of 986 firms drawn from nine developing countries in Africa over a period of ten years (1999-2008). The study develops dynamic partial adjustment models that link capital structure adjustment speed and institutional, macroeconomic, and firm characteristics. The analysis is carried out using system Generalized Method of Moments procedure which is robust to data heterogeneity and endogeneity problems.

The paper finds that firms in developing countries do temporarily deviate from (and partially adjust to) their target capital structures. Our results also indicate that: more profitable firms tend to rapidly adjust their capital structures than less profitable firms; the effects of firm size, growth opportunities, and the gap between observed and target leverage ratios on adjustment speed are functions of how one measures capital structure; and adjustment speed tends to be faster for firms in industries that have relatively higher risk and countries with common law tradition, less developed stock markets, lower income, and weaker creditor rights protection.

Future research should focus on examination of the adjustment speed of debt maturity structure. Identification of industry-specific characteristics that affect the pace with which firms adjust their capital structure to the optimum is another possible avenue for future research.

Our findings have practical implications for corporate managers, governments, legislators, and policymakers.

The study focuses on firms in developing countries for which the literature on adjustment speed of capital structure is virtually non-existent. Furthermore, unlike previous works on capital structure, it explicitly models industry variable as one of the determinants of adjustment speed. Therefore, it contributes to the literature on capital structure and adjustment speed in general and to the literature on developing countries in particular.

The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of macroeconomic variables on the capital structure of manufacturing companies in the Indian context.

The paper employs panel regression technique (random effects model) on a sample of 1,029 listed Indian manufacturing companies divided into two categories – large-size companies and mid-size companies for the last ten years from FY 2008–09 to FY 2017–18. Two separate models pertaining to long-term leverage (TTL_TNW ratio) and total leverage (TOL_TNW) have been examined.

Major findings show that macroeconomic variables play a relatively more important role in deciding the long-term debt component in the capital structure of the firms as compared to short-term loans. Similarly macroeconomic variables are found to be more significant in case of large-size companies as compared to mid-size companies. Also, there is a negative relationship between market capitalisation and leverage and bank credit and leverage, whereas money supply has a positive relationship with leverage.

The study makes an important contribution to the existing literature in understanding better how macroeconomic variables play an important role in determining the capital structure of firms. In the present dynamic economic environment, such a study lays down the macro areas on which the academicians, policymakers and financial managers can focus with respect to corporate financing decisions. The firm-specific factors have not been taken into account. Inclusion of these factors will make the results more robust.

The study focusses on the impact of macroeconomic variables on the capital structure decision of the Indian firms. Several studies in this area have been done in the context of the developed countries. However, there are not many studies in the Indian context that examine the relationship between financing decision and macroeconomic variables. The results that have been derived in case of developed economies may not be extended in the Indian context as there are considerable differences across countries related to corporate and legal environment, taxation system, corporate governance laws, interest rate environments, banking system, sources of funds and so on. Therefore, it becomes important to focus on countries individually.

Following the mandatory IFRS adoption in 2005, the Continental European accounting systems changed. This study investigates if it influenced the value relevance of intangible assets in Italy.

To measure the value relevance of intangible assets of non-financial firms listed on Borsa Italiana from 2000 to 2015, this study isolates the impact of several classes of intangible assets on stock prices and then classifies firms according to intangible asset intensity.

Goodwill, intellectual property and other rights, start-up costs or other intangible assets are significantly correlated with stock prices when Italian accounting standards were applied prior to 2005, whereas research and development expenditures are not associated with stock prices. The mandatory IFRS adoption has exerted positive effects only for goodwill and research and development expenditures, and it is negative for start-up costs. Further, when intangible-intensive firms are considered in the post-IFRS adoption period, declining value relevance exists relative to intellectual property and other rights or research and development expenditures; goodwill and other intangible assets increase in value relevance.

This study is subject to country-specific determinants and firm-specific characteristics. It treats accounting standards as exogenous, and the classification reflects the concentration of intangible assets in an industry. By relying on investors’ assessments of risk, it does not sufficiently explore the risk conveyed by future abnormal earnings and earnings volatility.

This study offers insights for measuring and reporting intangible assets, by specifying that their value relevance depends on their level and aggregation.

This study investigates the value relevance of intangible assets in the post-IFRS period, in reference to intangible-intensive firms. It also divides intangible assets into several classes to specify the value relevance of goodwill.

This study aims to examine the key determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of all listed banks that operate their function in an emerging market, Pakistan.

This study applied the principles of systems-oriented theories such as legitimacy, stakeholder and agency theory. The hypothesis is linking the bank’s social disclosure and its determinants are developed. The relevant data was gathered from the bank’s annual reports and Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2018. Further, governance attributes and performance measures are used as the predictor variable and the CSR score as the predicted variable. This study applied panel data analysis on the sampled banks to examine the proposed hypothesis for empirical estimation.

This study’s inclusive results confirm that the hypothesized determinants of board size, foreign directors on board and female directors on board positively impact the CSR disclosure potential. Board size significantly explains the CSR disclosure in all bank samples. The determined performance measures, profitability and liquidity show a significant positive relationship with CSR disclosure except for few exceptions.

This study’s results lack generalizability due to its unique setting; future researchers can extend the research scope in national–international settings and a regional context.

This study enriches the literature on CSR disclosure determinants and is relevant to practice in an emerging context. It can be helpful from a policy perspective; institutions (bodies) that regulate banks should recognize the governance and performance aspects essential to enhancing CSR disclosure and enhancing the bank’s performance hence value.

This research offers empirical evidence that sheds light on the key governance attributes and performance measures that partially affect CSR disclosure and its extent. In doing so, this study’s findings contribute to the literature significantly, along with regulators, shareholders, deposit holders, individual–institutional investors.

This paper aims to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects on a capital structure model.

The paper employs the restricted least squares method to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects in a fixed effects model that includes unobservable effects against a pooled ordinary least squares model that excludes unobservable effects.

The empirical findings indicate that models that include unobservable firm-specific effects are correctly specified.

The limitation of this study comes from lack of data to measure unobservable effects such as managerial ability or managerial skills. Future research can develop index measures of managerial ability or managerial skills and borrow from management theory to explain the connection between managerial ability or managerial skills and firms' capital structure.

The findings imply that a capital structure model that excludes firm-specific effects could be mis-specified because such a model does not control for unobservable firm-specific factors such as managerial ability or managerial skills which have significant effects on firms' capital structure decisions.

The findings are important because the paper applies the restricted least squares method to test the significance of unobservable firm-specific effects. This technique has not been applied previously. The paper contributes to capital structure research in the fast growing South Africa.

The nature of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms in an entity may influence the timeliness of the audited annual report. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the “quality” of CG in a firm has a significant association with the time it takes the audited annual report and financial statements to be released.

Using a set of 543 firm-year observations over the period 2007–2016, the authors examine whether a validated CG-Index is associated with audit report delay (ARD). The authors employ both granular as well as aggregated approaches to the analyses. In addition, the authors include control variables known to have an association with ARD in the panel data regressions.

The findings, which are robust for self-selection among other checks, reveal that financial expertise in the audit committee, board size, board meetings and independence in the board are associated with longer ARDs. Some CG attributes such as board diversity (i.e. women and different nationalities in the board) are associated with improved timeliness of the annual reports. The results also reveal that a longer tenure for independent directors in the board is associated with a shorter ARD. Overall, the authors find that the composite CG score has a positive influence on the timeliness of annual reports.

The study focuses on listed companies in one developing country. Additional studies focusing on other jurisdictions could yield more results.

The study is useful in highlighting those CG characteristics firms should focus on toward the attainment of timely corporate reporting to aid in decision making by users.

The study is unique since it emphasizes the importance of focusing on an aggregate CG-Index, and the contribution of the CG-Index toward the timeliness of annual reports.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the determinants of capital structure and their long-run equilibrium relationships with firm-specific and macroeconomic indicators for Indian manufacturing firms.

The study is conducted using the panel semi-parametric and non-parametric regression models to identify the key determinants of capital structure. Panel cointegration models are also employed for analyzing the long-run equilibrium association of capital structure with its determinants.

The study finds that each manufacturing sector has unique determinants of capital structure. The debt level is significantly affected by asset tangibility, growth opportunity, effective tax rate, non-debt tax shield, cash flow, profitability, firm size, foreign investment, government borrowing, economic growth, and interest rate. All these firm-specific and macroeconomic variables have strong long-run equilibrium relationship with capital structure as a whole.

The study analyzes the determinants of capital structure for eight manufacturing sectors of India, which helps firm managers and policy-makers to identify appropriate factors that maximize firm value. The sector-specific features of firms may lead to a new path with regard to corporate governance and ownership structure to enhance stakeholder's satisfaction.

The use of semi-parametric and non-parametric panel regression models to analyze the determinants of capital structure, and the use of panel cointegration approach to explore the long-run equilibrium relationship between the determinants and its factors are the unique contributions of the present research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the firm-specific and macroeconomic determinants of profitability of Indian manufacturing firms. It assesses the main determinants of firm’s profitability in the pre-crisis and post-crisis period from 2000 to 2015.

This methodology splits the factors that influence firm profitability in two groups: firm-specific (internal) factors and macroeconomic indicators. It further aims to look at the consistency of the factors in the pre-crisis and post-crisis period. The return on assets and the net profit margin are considered as proxy for corporate profits. The panel generalized least square and panel vector auto-regression model have been employed, and it is observed that the exchange rate seems to have played a major role in the crisis period by explaining the earning quotient for Indian firms.

This paper concludes that the firm-specific variables and exchange rate channels are quite relevant in explaining the profitability of Indian manufacturing firms. It accepts the hypotheses that size and liquidity enhances whereas leverage discourages the profitability. Few exceptions have been observed during the crisis period. The study also concludes that in the short run, the changes in exchange rate are not increasing profitability, but in the long run, it increases profitability as the volatility of nominal exchange rate is positively impacting profitability. Moreover, the study finds that the nominal exchange rate index is more informative and explains that profitability is better than real exchange rate index in the case of Indian manufacturing firms over the study period.

The managers and the policy makers should give utmost importance to the firm-specific determinants, especially after the crisis period, and consider the appropriate exchange rate to evaluate firm performance for making any change in the policy to make any business profitable.

This study has been conducted over a longer time by using advanced panel data analysis techniques on the recent data. The study period properly captures the crisis time and the research includes different selection of profitability that highlights corporate earnings pattern. Moreover, validation of the exchange rate sensitivity of profitability over nominal and real exchange rate increases the robustness of the study. Moreover, on Indian manufacturing firms, the study is very significant and unique.