The Influence of Age and Size on Family-Owned Firms’ Financing Decisions: Empirical Evidence Using Panel Data

摘要

Based on four samples of Portuguese family-owned firmsdi) 185 young, low-sized family-owned firms; ii) 167 young, high-sized familyownedfirms; iii) 301 old, low-sized family-owned firms; and iv) 353 old, high-sized family-owned firms d we show that age and size arefundamental characteristics in family-owned firms’ financing decisions. The multiple empirical evidence obtained allows us to concludethat the financing decisions of young, low-sized family-owned firms are quite close to the assumptions of Pecking Order Theory, whereasthose of old, high-sized family-owned firms are quite close to what is forecast by Trade-Off Theory. The lesser information asymmetryassociated with greater age, the lesser likelihood of bankruptcy associated with greater size, as well as the lesser concentration ofownership and management consequence of greater age and size, may be especially important in the financing decisions of family-ownedfirms. In addition, we find that GDP, interest rate and periods of crisis have a greater effect on the debt of young, low-sized family-ownedfirms than on that of family-owned firms of the remainder research samples.