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Purpose: The aim of this study is, first to describe and explore equity agency costs; second, to explore the impact of capital structure on equity agency costs; and finally, to examine the impact of agency costs on the performance of listed companies. Methodology: Panel data regression has been used for research data analysis. Results: The results of the work show that equity to capital and long-term debt to capital variables have a positive and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in the Republic of Croatia. The study indicates that long-term debt to capital variable has a negative and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, we find evidence to suggest that changes in agency costs have little or no effect on the performance of listed companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The findings suggest that the capital structure decisions affect the agency costs of listed companies and the agency costs may affect corporate performance. Conclusion: This study makes a number of contributions to the agency costs literature. It presents the first study of agency costs of listed companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic that uses panel data, a technique that enables us to isolate both cross section and time series effects. The present paper can help managers to better understand equity agency costs and their effects on corporate performance.

Purpose: The aim of this study is, first to describe and explore equity agency costs; second, to explore the impact of capital structure on equity agency costs; and finally, to examine the impact of agency costs on the performance of listed companies. Methodology: Panel data regression has been used for research data analysis. Results: The results of the work show that equity to capital and long-term debt to capital variables have a positive and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in the Republic of Croatia. The study indicates that long-term debt to capital variable has a negative and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, we find evidence to suggest that changes in agency costs have little or no effect on the performance of listed companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The findings suggest that the capital structure decisions affect the agency costs of listed companies and the agency costs may affect corporate performance. Conclusion: This study makes a number of contributions to the agency costs literature. It presents the first study of agency costs of listed companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic that uses panel data, a technique that enables us to isolate both cross section and time series effects. The present paper can help managers to better understand equity agency costs and their effects on corporate performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to technological developments produced by scientists and engineers, franchising has grown to become a business model of choice for firm expansion in knowledge-intensive industries. We propose a formal model to explore to what degree franchisors should adapt their business practices or routines to successfully expand their franchises in newly targeted markets. By simultaneously considering the franchise's need to adapt locally in a new market and the level of business routine tacitness at the time of expansion, we integrate previously separate agency cost logics into one model. We offer refinements to the belief that expanding through a franchisee is the best when the business routines need adaptation, but expanding through a company-owned unit is best when these routines can be replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate if dividend policy is influenced by ownership type. Within the dividend literature, dividends have a signaling role regarding agency costs, such that dividends may diminish insider conflicts (reduce free cash flow) or may be used to extract cash from firms (tunneling effect) – which could be predominant in emerging markets. We expect firms with foreign ownership and those that are listed in overseas markets to have different dividend policies and practices than those that are not, and firms with more state ownership and less individual ownership to be more likely to pay cash dividends and less likely to pay stock dividends. Using firms from an emerging economy (China), we examine whether these effects exist in corporate dividend policy and practice. We find that both foreign ownership and cross-listing have significant negative effects on cash dividends, consistent with the signaling effect and the notion of reduced tunneling activities for firms with the ability to raise capital from outside of China. Consistent with the tunneling effect, we find that firms with higher state ownership tend to pay higher cash dividends and lower stock dividends, while the opposite is true for public (individual) ownership. Further analysis shows that foreign ownership mediates the effect of state ownership on dividend policy. Our results have significant implications for researchers, investors, policy makers and regulators in emerging markets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]