Debt maturity in family firms: Heterogeneity across countries

•Listed family firms with a family CEO have shorter debt maturities.•Private family SMEs with a family CEO show longer debt maturities.•More concentrated ownership lengthens debt maturity in private family SMEs.•In weak environments private family SMEs have higher long-term debt.•The generational tr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of international financial markets, institutions & money institutions & money, 2022-11, Vol.81, p.101681, Article 101681
Main Authors: Feito-Ruiz, Isabel, Menéndez-Requejo, Susana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capital Structure
Debt Maturity
Family Firm
Legal and Institutional Environment
SMEs
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Listed family firms with a family CEO have shorter debt maturities.•Private family SMEs with a family CEO show longer debt maturities.•More concentrated ownership lengthens debt maturity in private family SMEs.•In weak environments private family SMEs have higher long-term debt.•The generational transition in family firms favors longer-term debt. This study examines whether the heterogeneity of family firms and their legal and institutional contexts shape their debt maturity. We analyze a dataset of 121,238 listed and private firms worldwide (105 countries) and find significant differences in the determinants of family firms’ debt maturity according to whether they are listed or private SMEs. Our findings show that listed family firms have shorter debt maturities when they have a family CEO, have more concentrated ownership, and are in weak contexts, while these same features facilitate private family SMEs’ access to long-term debt. Generational transition favors longer-term debt in both listed and private family firms.
ISSN:1042-4431
1873-0612
DOI:10.1016/j.intfin.2022.101681