دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی "درک شرکت های رستورانی" تامین مالی بدهی سهام - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study was to extend the understanding of restaurant firms’ overall debt and equity financing practices by considering what drives equity financing. More importantly, this study attempted to identify whether or not an optimal financial leverage point exists in the relationship between debt financing and equity financing for restaurant firms. Design/methodology/approach – This study used fixed-effects regression models with a sample of 1,549 unbalanced firm-year panel data to identify restaurant firms’ financial practices and the impacts of financial constraints. Findings – First, restaurant firms tend to issue long-term debt in order to pay back existing debt. However, the amount of debt does not exactly match the debt’s maturity. Second, small restaurant firms’ net debt financing, as well as net equity financing, has an inverted-U shaped relationship with financial leverage. Lastly, the effect of financial leverage on external financing significantly differs between small and large restaurant firms. Practical Implications – Restaurant firms routinely use both debt and equity financing interchangeably to manage their financial constraints and target debt ratio. Further, firm size is an important indicator of financial constraints, while equity financing plays an important role in managing an optimal target debt ratio. Originality/value – This study is unique in that it considers determinants of restaurant firms’ long-term debt financing as well as equity financing. This study also examines differences in long-term debt and equity financing practices between financially constrained and unconstrained firms.

5. Discussion and conclusions

5.1 Conclusions

The main objective of this study was to investigate restaurant firms’ debt and equity financing behaviors based on debt maturity and financial constraints. Restaurant firms generally have difficulty accessing financial markets for many reasons, such as low profitability, high risk of bankruptcy, and severe market competition. For the same reasons, external financing is necessary for restaurant firms to grow and survive. Although many restaurant firms exist in the U.S., there has been little research in terms of restaurants’ financing behaviors. Therefore, this study will help to explain restaurant industry-wide debt and equity financing behaviors.

This study revealed several important empirical findings. First, restaurant firms issue long-term debt mainly to refinance existing debt, but the amount of longterm debt issued is not the same as the amount of debt retired. In other words, while restaurant firms use debt financing to refinance debt due within 1 year, they also borrow more to prepare for long-term debt that has not matured yet. Additionally, the amount of long-term debt financing is constrained by the amount of debt due in 2 and 3 years. Consequently, mismatched debt financing often causes extra financial expenses, including additional transaction costs. In contrast, restaurant firms use equity financing as a form of external financing, as well as to reduce their financial leverage. Not surprisingly, equity financing is not the last choice for restaurant firms but instead is an important and routine external financing source. In fact, many restaurant firms use both debt and equity financing at the same time.