A influência da governança corporativa na determinação do pagamento de proventos pelas empresas listadas na BM&FBOVESPA

Abstract

Under an Agency Theory framework, using empirical evidence, this research seeks to understand the influence of corporate governance in determining the dividend policy of companies listed on the BM&FBovespa. The influence is investigated in connection with companies’ will to pay dividends at levels above the minimum level of payment required by Brazilian corporate law. In order to achieve this goal, a panel data regression analysis with a random effects estimation model was fitted on a sample of 759 data points from years 2010 to 2013. Our findings suggest that: i) the governance segment in which companies are listed does not affect the decision to pay dividends above the minimum level; ii) companies with Preferred Shares tend to pay a lower amount of dividends; iii) the Board of Directors’ degree of independence does not influence the payment of dividends above the mandatory minimum; iv) the fact that the CEO is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company has no influence on the decision to pay above the mandatory minimum ; v) companies with more investment opportunities tend to pay less dividends; and (vi) companies tend to adopt a constant dividend payout ratio. This research contributes to the payout policy literature as it provides evidence of the role of specific corporate governance mechanisms in the dividend payout policy of companies. Further research is recommended regarding additional corporate governance mechanisms that could influence the decision to pay dividends.