Antecedents of capital structure and firm performance: evidence from G-7 countries

Purpose - The main goal of this study is to analyze how monetary debt effects firm behavior of 167 registered manufacturing companies in G-7 countries. Design/methodology/approach - The sample of the present study is taken from the listed firms in G-7 countries. For the building companies, the yearly financial statements of 2007–2018 have been taken from world stock exchange and Thomson Reuters Data Stream. In this study, regression analysis are directed with panel data over the period of 2007–2018 using ordinary least square summary statistics, correlation matrix and generalized method moments. Data were analyzed by employing E Views and Stata 13 software. Findings - The significant findings of the current study indicated that fixed assets, tangible assets, taxes, net cash and profitability have positive association with debt level. Research limitations/implications - The current work include only registered manufacturing firms in G-7 countries. Moreover, ownership types are not accounted for in this study. Practical implications - The current analysis is an empirical investigation of antecedents of debt regarding G-7 countries with up-to-date data. Various regression inquires have been made to design the models using different measures of debt and measure of firm performance indicators. These works will assist G-7 countries firms to know the effects of identified factors on time raising debt level. Originality/value - The current work has been finalized using genuine data of yearly reports and database. This study incorporated antecedents of debt, which have limited discourse in prior literature. Furthermore, this study explores the connection between debt level and firm performance of G-7 countries.