Financing strategies in mining industry across Europe.

This article aims to identify and assess the impact of capital structure factors on financing strategies of mining industry enterprises in Central and E astern E uropean (CEE) countries in comparison to W estern E uropean (WE) Union countries. The research contributes to determining which of the main theories of capital structure best describes the financial strategies employed in the examined sector. The analysis encompasses mining companies from eight WE and four CEE countries, utilising panel data models with information spanning from 2000 to 2020. The study covers various firm-specific variables commonly employed in similar research, along with the effects of country and year. The main findings indicate a significant similarity in both the capital structure and the influence of the analysed factors on leverage across the two regions. This homogeneity is attributed to the industrial specificity of the mining sector, which appears to supersede country-specific or firm-size specific features. Moreover, examining the impact of variables on capital structure considering different debt maturity terms reveals that the financial strategies of the analysed companies align with the pecking order and agency theory of capital structure. This suggests that mining companies predominantly rely on internal financing, viewing debt primarily as a tool to discipline managers. Due to data limitations in the employed BACH database, the study does not encompass all E U countries, highlighting the potential for further research incorporating other regions. The identified similarities in capital structure, along with the impact of various factors, provide insights for financial decision-makers in mining firms, and investors operating in both CEE and WE E U countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]