Abstract
[full article and abstract in English]
 The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that determine the dividend policy of non-financial firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in Poland and that of the annually paid dividends. Up to now, many empirical studies related to dividend policy were carried out, showing the differentiation of factors affecting the dividend policy and their interaction. Thus, with this study, it would be possible to give a view on the dividend policy of corporations listed on the WSE for the period from 2008 to 2016. The study covers non-financial companies listed on the WSE in Poland. The Tobit regression is used to identify the impact of factors influencing the companies’ distribution of dividends. The variables that may explain a firm’s dividend decision and that were used in this study are selected based on the theory and available empirical researches and then also determined by data availability. These are profitability, investment opportunities, measures of size, leverage, and liquidity. As a result of this study, the factors that determine the dividend policy of companies were verified in the context of the companies listed on the WSE. Moreover, it indicates which of the existing theories on dividend policy could be applied to the capital markets of Poland. Thus, it provides new insights into the theory of dividend policy.
Highlights
The discussion about what drives companies to pay dividends has persisted over the years
The company level variables that may influence dividend policies were analyzed. They are investigated based on a sample of non-financial companies that are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and that were paying dividends for the period of 2008–2016
The results found by Al-Ajmi and Hussain (2011) reveal that in the case of Saudi-listed companies, if they are more profitable, larger in size, with few investment opportunities, these companies pay high dividends
Summary
The discussion about what drives companies to pay dividends has persisted over the years. According to the most common definition of dividends, they are a form of earnings’ distribution in real assets among the company shareholders according their level of participation in the total capital. Dividends are the return that a shareholder receives from a company. Dividends are paid out of a company’s profits based on specific shareholding. Dividends are one out of two forms of equity investors’ returns, the other being capital gains (Frankfurter, Wood & Wansley 2003). The payout of dividends is influenced first by regulations and by management decisions regarding to the sort of a dividend policy
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