Abstract
Though capital structure studies have become increasingly important in the field of finance, very few studies have been carried out in developing countries. Research has shown that capital structure determinants can be industry specific. The main purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of capital structure for listed retailing firms on the JSE, a securities exchange market in South Africa. Building on previous capital structure studies, the main research question was formulated as: What are the factors that influence the capital structure of listed retailing firms on the JSE? A panel regression analysis was used with growth opportunities, tangibility, liquidity, firm size, firm age and profitability as independent variables, and capital structure as the dependent variable. Quantitative data was collected across 17 retailing firms listed on the JSE from 2009 to 2018. Results indicate firm size, firm age, profitability, growth opportunities and tangibility as the significant determinants of capital structure for listed retailing firms. Support is shown for both the trade-off theory and pecking order theory. Liquidity was found to be insignificant.
M.Com. (Finance)