Tuan Le

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 investigate how organizational capital, a key source of competitive advantage, affects financial reporting quality through earnings management. The analysis reveals that high levels of organizational capital are linked to increased use of abnormal discretionary accruals. This relationship remains robust across different organizational capital measures, the use of instrumental variables, various internal and external governance factors, and alternative sample matching techniques. Additionally, we explore the mechanisms by which organizational capital affects earnings management and discover that the positive relationship is more pronounced in firms facing significant financial constraints, increased information asymmetry, and high organizational complexity. These findings suggest that while organizational capital enhances competitive positioning, it is also associated with diminished reporting quality.