caa a22 4500 445877596 CHVBK 20180317145532.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110701xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11187-009-9229-z doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11187-009-9229-z Capital Structure Decisions During a Firm's Life Cycle [Elektronische Daten] [Maurizio La Rocca, Tiziana La Rocca, Alfio Cariola] The study reported here examines the financing choices of small and medium-sized firms, i.e., those most vulnerable to information and incentive problems, through the lens of the business life cycle. We argue that the controversy in the empirical literature regarding the determinants of capital structure decisions is based on a failure to take into account the different degrees of information opacity, and, consequently, firms' characteristics and needs at specific stages of their life cycles. The results show that, in a bank-oriented country, firms tend to adopt specific financing strategies and a different hierarchy of financial decision-making as they progress through the phases of their business life cycle. Contrary to conventional wisdom, debt is shown to be fundamental to business activities in the early stages, representing the first choice. By contrast, in the maturity stage, firms re-balance their capital structure, gradually substituting debt for internal capital, and for firms that have consolidated their business, the pecking-order theory shows a high degree of application. This financial life-cycle pattern seems to be homogeneous for different industries and consistent over time. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC., 2009 Capital structure nationallicence Financial growth cycle nationallicence Financing decisions nationallicence Small and medium-sized firms nationallicence Source of finance nationallicence La Rocca Maurizio University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut La Rocca Tiziana University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut Cariola Alfio University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut Small Business Economics Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 37/1(2011-07-01), 107-130 0921-898X 37:1<107 2011 37 11187 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9229-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9229-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- La Rocca Maurizio University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- La Rocca Tiziana University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Cariola Alfio University of Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 3C, Campus of Arcavacata, 87036, Rende (Cosenza), Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Small Business Economics Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 37/1(2011-07-01), 107-130 0921-898X 37:1<107 2011 37 11187 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer