Financing intangible capital

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Sun, Qi; Xiaolan, Mindy Z.
• 署名单位: Shanghai University of Finance & Economics; Shanghai Institute of International Finance & Economics; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-405X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.04.003
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 564-588
• 关键词: Intangible investment; limited commitment; Employee financing; DEBT CAPACITY

摘要

Firms finance intangible investment through employee compensation contracts. In a dynamic model in which intangible capital is embodied in a firm's employees, we analyze the firm's optimal decisions on intangible capital investment, employee compensation contracts, and financial leverage. Employee financing is achieved by delaying wage payments in the form of future claims. We show that intangible capital investment is highly correlated with employee financing but not with debt issuance or regular equity refinancing. In our quantitative analysis, we show that this new channel of employee financing explains the cross-industry differences in leverage and financing patterns. Published by Elsevier B.V.