IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jjrfmx/v17y2024i9p394-d1471396.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Twin Agency Problems and Debt Management around the World

Author

Listed:
  • Tatiana Salikhova

    (Collins College of Business, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA)

  • Svetlana V. Orlova

    (Collins College of Business, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA)

  • Li Sun

    (Collins College of Business, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of twin agency problems (political corruption and minority shareholders’ expropriation) on corporate debt management policies across a large number of countries. Our results show that in more corrupt countries, managers are more likely to shield liquid assets from potential political extraction by maintaining a higher level of leverage. This effect is magnified by the protection of shareholders’ rights. We further show that twin agency problems influence not only the level of debt in capital structures but also other aspects of debt management, including debt maturity, deviation from optimal leverage, capital structure stability, and the leverage speed of adjustments. The findings are robust due to their inclusion of different measures of corruption and a wide range of firm-level and country-level characteristics. Our study has implications for policymakers, as we show that the improvement of the country-level institutional environment and, particularly, addressing corruption can lead to more effective debt management by firms, ultimately resulting in higher firm values.

Suggested Citation

  • Tatiana Salikhova & Svetlana V. Orlova & Li Sun, 2024. "Twin Agency Problems and Debt Management around the World," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:9:p:394-:d:1471396
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/9/394/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/17/9/394/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mogha, Vipin & Williams, Benjamin, 2021. "Culture and capital structure: What else to the puzzle?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Conor M. O'Toole & Finn Tarp, 2014. "Corruption And The Efficiency Of Capital Investment In Developing Countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 567-597, July.
    3. Gyimah, Daniel & Kwansa, Nana Abena & Kyiu, Anthony K. & Sikochi, Anywhere (Siko), 2021. "Multinationality and capital structure dynamics: A corporate governance explanation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    4. Singh, Bhanu Pratap & Kannadhasan, M., 2020. "Corruption and capital structure in emerging markets: A panel quantile regression approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    5. Geert Hofstede, 1983. "The Cultural Relativity of Organizational Practices and Theories," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 14(2), pages 75-89, June.
    6. Andy C W Chui & Alison E Lloyd & Chuck C Y Kwok, 2002. "The Determination of Capital Structure: Is National Culture a Missing Piece to the Puzzle?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 99-127, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boubakri, Narjess & Saffar, Walid, 2016. "Culture and externally financed firm growth," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 502-520.
    2. Gill, Balbinder Singh & Choi, Jongmoo Jay & John, Kose, 2024. "Firm leverage and employee pay: The moderating role of CEO leadership style," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    3. Aram, Mohsen & Nejadmalayeri, Ali, 2023. "National culture, lines of credit, and firm liquidity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Filiz Bozagaç & Ömür Saltık & Mert Aktaş & Süleyman Değirmen, 2024. "A New Era of Capital Structure Choices in Technology Firms: Insights on Cultural Dimensions," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 69(69), pages 15-32, June.
    5. Sivathaasan Nadarajah & Muhammad Atif & Ammar Ali Gull, 2022. "State-Level Culture and Workplace Diversity Policies: Evidence from US Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 443-462, May.
    6. Revilla, Elena & Sáenz, María Jesús, 2014. "Supply chain disruption management: Global convergence vs national specificity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 1123-1135.
    7. Haifeng Hu & Minjing Qi, 2022. "New Evidence on National Culture and Corporate Financing: Does Institutional Quality Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-24, October.
    8. El Ghoul, Sadok & Zheng, Xiaolan, 2016. "Trade credit provision and national culture," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 475-501.
    9. Zheng, Xiaolan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2012. "National culture and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 468-488.
    10. Fidrmuc, Jana P. & Jacob, Marcus, 2010. "Culture, agency costs, and dividends," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 321-339, September.
    11. Wang, Daojuan & Hain, Daniel S. & Larimo, Jorma & Dao, Li T., 2020. "Cultural differences and synergy realization in cross-border acquisitions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    12. María Victoria Uribe‐Bohorquez & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2019. "Women on boards and efficiency in a business‐orientated environment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 82-96, January.
    13. Dowling, Michael & O’Gorman, Colm & Puncheva, Petya & Vanwalleghem, Dieter, 2019. "Trust and SME attitudes towards equity financing across Europe," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(6), pages 1-1.
    14. Henda Omri & Anis Omri & Abdessalem Abbassi, 2024. "Macro-level determinants of entrepreneurial behavior and motivation," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 2629-2667, December.
    15. Peter JANSEN & Gabriel Viorel RAITA, 2021. "Macro-Level Determinants of Board Effectiveness in UK and Romanian Listed Companies: A Conceptual Approach," CECCAR Business Review, Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania (CECCAR), vol. 2(10), pages 60-72, October.
    16. Boubakri, Narjess & Mirzaei, Ali & Samet, Anis, 2017. "National culture and bank performance: Evidence from the recent financial crisis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 36-56.
    17. Yung-Heng Lee & Yann-Haur Huang & Mei-Jane Chan, 2009. "An Empirical Study Of Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries And Joint Ventures For Entry Into China Markets," Global Journal of Business Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 3(2), pages 9-22.
    18. Galil, Koresh & Varon, Eva, 2024. "National culture and banks stock volatility," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Oleksiuk Adam & Pleśniak Agnieszka, 2022. "Environment Characteristics and Internationalization of SMEs: Insights from a Polish and Finnish Sample," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(3), pages 175-194, September.
    20. Tröster, Christian & Mehra, Ajay & van Knippenberg, Daan, 2014. "Structuring for team success: The interactive effects of network structure and cultural diversity on team potency and performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 245-255.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:17:y:2024:i:9:p:394-:d:1471396. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.