العوامل المحددة للهيكل المالي في شركات الأعمال حالة تطبيقية في الشركات المساهمة العامة الأردنية المدرجة في سوق عمان المالي للفترة (1997-2001)‎

Abstract EN

This paper aimed at identifying the most important determinants of the financial structure of listed industrial companies in Jordan for the period 1997-2001, in addition to identifying these companies debt capacity and their ability to borrow from financing companies.

The study summarized the relation between the accountancy indicators and financial structure of the industrial companies in Jordan by using multiregression analysis.

The study targeted the following four independent variables : leverage ratio for the last year, profitability ratio, growth ratio, and liquidity ratio.

On the other hand, the leverage ratio represented the variable related to the company’s financial structure.

The study concluded that the leverage ratio in the Jordanian industrial companies is of 36 %, a proportion that is low compared to peer companies in countries such as USA ,Germany, East Asia Countries ,where the percentage is 80 %.

in addition, it turned out that there is a statistically significant positive relation between the financial structure and the leverage ratio for the last year at 1 % significance level ; and that there is a significant negative relation between the financial structure and profitability ratio, growth ratio, liquidity ratio at 1 % significance level.

The study recommended that the company which has a high profitability and the chance to hold gains and profits should rely less on debt and more on retained earnings, due to the high risk of debt and in line with the present unstable circumstances in Jordan, so that the companies might be encouraged under such circumstances, whereby the financial structure might be improved and the reliance on debt might be reduced.

the study highlighted also that there needs to be further in depth studies regarding the factors determining the financial structure to include other financial sectors such as the Banks, which started post 1998 to achieve distinctive successful position in Amman Stock Exchange Market, as well as the insurance and service companies, to identify the variation between the factors that determine the financial structure in these sectors.