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The evolution of debt policies: New evidence from business startups

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  • Hanssens, Jürgen
  • Deloof, Marc
  • Vanacker, Tom

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of entrepreneurial firms’ debt policies over a period of 15years after startup, considering leverage, debt specialization, debt maturity and debt granularity. Our analysis is based on a unique sample covering all non-financial Belgian firms founded between 1996 and 1998. We find that the debt policy of entrepreneurial firms is remarkably stable over time. The debt policy in the initial year of operation is a very important determinant of future debt policies, even after controlling for traditional contemporaneous determinants. The founder-CEO has an important impact on the stability of debt policies: the influence of initial debt policies on future debt policies is significantly reduced when the founder-CEO is replaced or when (s)he dies. Combined, our findings support imprinting theory.

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  • Hanssens, Jürgen & Deloof, Marc & Vanacker, Tom, 2016. "The evolution of debt policies: New evidence from business startups," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 120-133.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:65:y:2016:i:c:p:120-133
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2016.01.008
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    3. Joern H. Block & Douglas J. Cumming & Silvio Vismara, 2017. "International perspectives on venture capital and bank finance for entrepreneurial firms," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 44(1), pages 3-22, March.
    4. Walthoff-Borm, Xavier & Schwienbacher, Armin & Vanacker, Tom, 2018. "Equity crowdfunding: First resort or last resort?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 513-533.
    5. Goenner, Cullen F. & Lee, Kwan Yong, 2022. "The capital structure of domestic and foreign denominated debt: Firm-level evidence from South Korea," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
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    8. Siqueira, Ana Cristina O. & Guenster, Nadja & Vanacker, Tom & Crucke, Saskia, 2018. "A longitudinal comparison of capital structure between young for-profit social and commercial enterprises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 225-240.
    9. Inessa Love, 2020. "Entrepreneurial Access to Finance in the US," Working Papers 202004, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    10. Marc Deloof & Maurizio La Rocca & Tom Vanacker, 2019. "Local Banking Development and the Use of Debt Financing by New Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(6), pages 1250-1276, November.
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    12. González, Francisco, 2020. "Bank development, competition, and entrepreneurship: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
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    15. Michiel De Meyere & Heidi Vander Bauwhede & Philippe Van Cauwenberge, 2018. "The impact of financial reporting quality on debt maturity: the case of private firms," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(7), pages 759-781, November.
    16. Huang, Zhen & Gao, Weiwei & Chen, Liying, 2020. "Does the external environment matter for the persistence of firms' debt policy?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    17. Pankaj C. Patel & Marcus T. Wolfe & Maria João Guedes, 2023. "The triple‐edged sword of sensitivity of sales, cash flows, and debt to investments: Venture survival and capital investments," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 473-489, January.
    18. Qi, Qianru & Wang, Jing, 2021. "Debt structure instability using machine learning," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    19. Huang, Shuangfa & Battisti, Martina & Pickernell, David, 2023. "The roles of innovation strategy and founding team diversity in new venture growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
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    22. Zhen Huang & Weiwei Gao, 2022. "Has the past really passed? Strategic inertia and capital structure persistence," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(4), pages 883-893, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital structure; Debt structure; Entrepreneurial firms; Founder-CEOs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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