Viet Tran

This paper examines how climate policy uncertainty (CPU) relates to firms’ debt maturity choices. Using 6,665 U.S. firms from 1990 to 2017, we find that higher CPU is associated with a lower proportion of short-term debt, indicating that firms extend debt maturity in response to climate-related uncertainty. This evidence supports a commitment-based mechanism in which firms lock in long-term financing to mitigate future refinancing risk under persistent regulatory uncertainty Cross-sectional analyses show that the maturity-lengthening effect is weaker among firms with limited innovation capacity and tighter financial constraints, but stronger among rated firms, firms experiencing credit rating downgrades, and firms led by high-ability managers. Overall, the findings highlight that climate policy uncertainty has distinct and economically meaningful implications for corporate financing decisions.

We study how corporate debt maturity relates to firms’ strategic alliance decisions. Using a sample of 15,679 U.S. public firms and 13,248 alliance announcements from 1990 to 2023, we document that firms with more short-term debt are more likely to form alliances. This association is stronger among financially constrained firms, consistent with refinancing pressure increasing the attractiveness of alliances when financing flexibility is limited. Conversely, the association is weaker among firms with higher audit fees and stronger corporate cultures, suggesting that short-term debt plays a smaller role in alliance decisions when alternative governance mechanisms are stronger. We also find that alliances formed by firms relying more heavily on short-term debt generate higher announcement returns. Overall, our findings suggest that debt maturity shapes firms’ external growth strategies by encouraging the use of strategic alliances under constrained financing flexibility while providing governance benefits that enhance alliance value.

We study how the maturity structure of corporate debt shapes firms’ decisions to form strategic alliances. Using a panel of 15,679 U.S. public firms and 13,248 alliance announcements from 1990 to 2023, we find that firms with a higher proportion of short-term debt are more likely to undertake alliances. The results are robust to alternative alliance and debt maturity measurements, additional controls for internal and external governance, and various endogeneity identification strategies. Cross-sectional tests reveal that the positive effect of short-maturity debt on alliance formation is attenuated for firms with more intensive external auditing and stronger internal cultures, consistent with these governance mechanisms substituting for the monitoring role of short-term debt. To assess the quality of alliance decisions, we examine market reactions and document higher cumulative abnormal returns for alliances announced by firms with greater short-term debt. Overall, our evidence indicates that shorter debt maturities redirect firms toward more flexible growth strategies like strategic alliances, that the enhanced monitoring associated with short-term debt disciplines managers to select value-enhancing alliances, and that this disciplining effect is strongest when alternative governance mechanisms are weaker.