Corporate board and dynamics of capital structure: Evidence from UK, France and Germany
研究了董事会特征对资本结构动态及调整速度的影响，发现利益相关者导向环境中的企业调整杠杆速度更快，且董事会构成在两种治理环境中均缓解代理冲突。
Abstract Theoretical arguments suggest that capital structure will adjust to the dynamics of the corporate governance environment. In line with this prediction, we examine the impact of board characteristics on capital structure dynamics and the speed of adjustment. Using 2690 firm‐year observations for 2009–2018, we find that firms in a stakeholder‐oriented corporate governance environment adjust their leverage faster than those in a shareholder‐oriented environment. We also find that corporate board characteristics influence firms' capital structure and speed of adjustment towards target leverage. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of leverage and endogeneity. The overall evidence supports the relevance of the corporate board's composition in both shareholder‐oriented and stakeholder‐oriented corporate governanc (CG) environments. We conclude that board composition mitigates agency conflict.