Purpose: The aim of this study is, first
to describe and explore equity agency costs; second, to explore the impact of
capital structure on equity agency costs; and finally, to examine the impact of
agency costs on the performance of listed companies.
Methodology: Panel data regression has
been used for research data analysis.
Results: The results of the work show
that equity to capital and long-term debt to capital variables have a positive
and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in the Republic
of Croatia. The study indicates that long-term debt to capital variable has a
negative and significant impact on the agency costs of listed companies in
Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, we find evidence to suggest that
changes in agency costs have little or no effect on the performance of listed
companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The findings suggest that
the capital structure decisions affect the agency costs of listed companies and
the agency costs may affect corporate performance.
Conclusion: This study makes a number of
contributions to the agency costs literature. It presents the first study of
agency costs of listed companies in Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic
that uses panel data, a technique that enables us to isolate both cross section
and time series effects. The present paper can help managers to better
understand equity agency costs and their effects on corporate performance.
Empirical Research on the Correlation between Capital Structure and Corporate Performance about Coal Listed Companies
