Corporate Dividend Policy: The Views of British Financial Managers

Abstract

Abstract: Using a survey approach, this paper examines the importance and relevance of the various theories of dividend policy for UK companies. Further, it evaluates the extent to which corporate characteristics such as size and industry influence managerial responses to the survey. In general, the results support dividend hypotheses relating to signalling and ownership structure, in preference to those about capital structure and investment decisions and agency issues. At a more detailed level, the cross sectional analysis reveals important differences between managers’ responses, based on company size, industry sector, growth opportunities, ownership structure and information asymmetry.