The influence of corporate governance on the relation between capital structure and value

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to focus on a well‐known topic in the financial literature: the relation between capital structure and firm value. The controversial empirical results on this topic can be attributable to a lack of attention to the interaction between capital structure and other corporate governance variables. In fact, capital structure represents a corporate governance device that can preserve corporate governance efficiency and protect its ability to create value.Design/methodology/approachThe paper, after a synthetic review of the main literature, defines, with a descriptive model, a theoretical approach that can contribute in clearing up the relation between capital structure, corporate governance and value. It provides a research proposition, and some suggestions, that should be applied for future empirical research on this topic while it also promotes a more precise design for empirical analysis.FindingsThe debate on the relation between capital structure and a firm's value needs to take directly into account the role of moderation and/or mediation of the corporate governance. It is necessary to consider the presence of complementarity between capital structure and other corporate governance variables such as: ownership concentration; managerial ownership; the role of the board of directors; and so on.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper promotes, as an aim for future research, a verification of the validity of this model through application of the analysis to a wide sample of firms.Originality/valueThe paper tried to suggest how to improve previous controversial analysis on this topic.