Testing the Relevance of Alternative Capital Structure Theories in Serbian Economy

Decisions on capital structure and leverage can significantly determine the capabilities of the company to survive, grow and develop. However, there is as yet no unified theoretical viewpoint on the capital structure that maximizes company value. The objective of this study is to investigate the relevance of alternative capital structure theories in Serbian economy by analyzing the influence of company’s financial performances on the leverage. The research was conducted from 2008 to 2012 on a sample of 300 largest non-financial companies from Serbia ranked by revenue in 2012. We find that financial performances influence differently the capital structure of production and service companies. The results of our study are not in accordance with any capital structure theory taken into consideration. The relations between financial performances and capital structure observed in the study are typical of companies in developing economies.