Informationssignaler vid konkurs : En kvantitativ studie om bakomliggande faktorer för konkursdrabbade företag

Bankruptcy has long been an important research topic in business. Despite extensive research bankruptcies still occur regularly for companies that fails to adapt to the market. An increasingly globalized society has increased the competition for Swedish companies, which now compete not only with each other but with companies from all around the world. While the business environment has become tougher, the opportunity to grow in new markets has flourished for those with an attractive business proposition. In order toavoid companies with high risk of bankruptcy and investment losses, external stakeholders are required new knowledge to understand how companies communicate. This study is quantitative in nature and focuses on identifying connections of the bankruptcy companies information signals. The sample consists of 105 companies in three different time periods, where the two most recent annual reports before bankruptcy are analyzed. Based on previous research in the area of bankruptcy and signal theory, eight hard and seven soft signals has been selected. The empirical material has been processed through correlation-, regression- and variance analysis. The results show that companies tend to weight the annual reports with positive signals, in an attempt to downplay the negative news and results. This by focusing on historically good results, or on the company’s potential and opportunities for returns in the future. Even when companies found themselves in a precarious financial situation, there have been more positive than negative signals. Of the eight hard signals the most significant indicators of the company’s financial condition are capital turnover, cash liquidity and solvency. Validerat; 20160608 (global_studentproject_submitter)