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This chapter introduces dividend policy as both financial and business decisions. First, it presents the history of dividend payment, definition of dividend, and typical types of dividend. Dividends originate from liquidating payments of sailing vessels in the early 16th century and become popular with the development of corporations. In this book, a dividend is defined as a cash payment to shareholders. By payment time, there are three typical types of dividend including final dividend, interim dividend, and special dividend. Second, it presents definition, important dates, measures, and patterns of dividend policy. Dividend policy includes two decisions: the first is to pay or not to pay dividends, and the second is the dividend magnitude. Investors have to follow important dates of dividend payments in order to make their investment decisions. Important dates include declaration date, record date, ex-dividend date, and payment date. Dividend payout ratio and dividend yield are two common measures of dividend policy. Common patterns of dividend policy are no dividend policy, residual dividend policy, stable dividend policy, and irregular dividend policy. Finally, dividend policy is both financial and business-related decisions. Therefore, dividend decisions are affected by various levels of business environment such as internal, micro (industry), and macro-environment. Dividend theories are the behind mechanisms to explain the effect of each factor in the business environment on corporate dividend policy. Dividend policy, in turn, determines shareholders' wealth through its impact on stock price.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of chief financial officers (CFOs) of Iranian firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange about the factors influencing dividend policy in 2006. The paper aims to update and extend previous research on dividend policy to capture the determinants of the dividend policy of Iranian firms.

Survey instruments were used to identify the factors that CFOs consider in formulating dividend policy, based on both theoretical and empirical works on dividends, to identify the factors that are most important in dividend policy of firms.

The findings show that the most important determinants of a firm's dividend policies are the stability of cash flow, the availability of profitable investment opportunities, and stability of profitability. Also, industry type appeared to influence the importance that respondents placed on one determinant of dividend policy.

It is likely that the firms that did not respond on time may show a non‐response bias. Despite lacking normal precautionary steps to increase the response rate, non‐response bias may affect the findings. Another limitation of the survey methodology was that it measures beliefs and not necessarily actions. Therefore, caution should be taken in generalizing the findings.

The findings have implications for CFOs in formulating dividend policy.

The paper updates and extends previous research on dividend policy to capture the determinants of the dividend policy of Iranian firms.

This chapter analyzes how the industry environment determines corporate dividend decisions. First, common participants in the product market are competitors, suppliers, and customers. These micro-stakeholders create competitive pressures on firms and thus affect their current and future performance. Competitors influence dividend decisions through three mechanisms, namely predation threat, corporate governance, and imitation. Predation threat reduces firms' incentives to pay dividends when facing high rivalry. Competition helps firms improve corporate governance. However, strong corporate governance may increase or decrease dividend payments since dividend policy may be the outcome of strong corporate governance or the substitute for weak corporate governance, respectively. Besides, firms tend to imitate their industry peers in dividend policy. Second, as a financial policy, dividend policy is also affected by participants in the financial market like investors, creditors, and auditors. These financial stakeholders' behaviors are important to stock prices. Due to the agency problem, creditors have high incentives to restrict firm's dividend payments in order to protect their benefits. On the other hand, creditors are effective external monitors who help firms improve their corporate governance. Outside investors affect corporate dividend policy through their valuation. Firms pay more dividends if investors prefer dividends to capital gains. Auditors play the role of a third-party monitor, and thus, they help firms reduce managers' expropriation of shareholders and improve the quality of accounting information. Furthermore, we also investigate dividend policy of regulated industries in both financial sector (banking, insurance, and real estate) and utilities sector (energy, telecommunications, and transportation).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between dividend policy and share price changes in the UK stock market.

Multiple regression analyses are used to explore the association between share price changes and both dividend yield and dividend payout ratio.

A positive relation is found between dividend yield and stock price changes, and a negative relation between dividend payout ratio and stock price changes. In addition, it is shown that a firm's growth rate, debt level, size and earnings explain stock price changes.

The paper supports the fact that dividend policy is relevant in determining share price changes for a sample of firms listed in the London Stock Exchange.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to show that corporate dividend policy is a key driver of stock price changes in the UK.

The determinants of dividend policy are a continuing puzzle, as noted by Black (1976). In this paper we review the major issues in dividend policy and relate them to some of the themes explored in companion papers in this volume. The paper is divided into five sections. Section 2 surveys the literature on the information signalling properties of dividends. Section 3 discusses some tax issues related to dividend policy and section 4 draws on some agency costs explanations for dividend payments. The conclusion draws together the arguments and highlights some of the unresolved issues.

The purpose of this paper is to assess how investment, financing and dividend policies may affect firm value.

The paper develops a system dynamics‐based model by using “financial management approach,” “capital structure approach,” “resource‐based approach,” and “sustainable growth approach” to identify investment, financing and dividend policies that may help maximize the firm value.

Adequate investment in productive assets is the first step to achieve value maximization objective. Low debt capital structure plays a dominant role to maximize the firm value, contrary to the suggestions generally found in corporate finance literature. Rather insignificant role of firm's short‐term financing policy is observed. A consistently stable dividend policy is also a prerequisite of firm value maximization.

The limitations of this study include: the competitors' actions are not modeled; human resources and other intangible resources are not modeled; instead of market debt, debt is assumed to be bank debt. Future studies may bring in the competitors' actions, intangible assets including human resources, and may also consider to model debt as market debt.

The firms operating in favorable product market conditions should keep their operating and financial risks low which will also maximize their firm value. On the other hand, the firms facing unfavorable product market conditions have to make a trade‐off to minimize operating risk vs financial risk.

Usually the studies test one policy in isolation. However, this may probably be the first study that simultaneously tests various combinations of investment, financing and dividend policies that may help maximize the firm value.

“The effect of a firm's dividend policy on the current price of its shares is a matter of considerable importance, not only to the corporate officials who must set the policy, but to investors planning portfolios and to economists seeking to understand and appraise the functioning of capital markets. Do companies with generous distribution policies consistently sell at a premium over those with small payments ? Is the reverse ever true ? If so, under what conditions? Is there an optimum payment ratio or range of ratios that maximises the current worth of the shares?”.Although these questions of fact have been the subject of many empirical studies in recent years, no concensus has yet been achieved. Not only does the empirical evidence seem to conflict, but the underlying theory of share price determination cannot be agreed upon. This chapter surveys current theories concerning dividend policy, and seeks to reconcile them under a common set of assumptions. Then the relevant empirical evidence is presented and criticised, and finally a piece of research carried out by the author is discussed.

Introduction: Why companies pay dividends and the determinants of dividend policy are considered an unresolved dividend puzzle. To reach a consensus over the puzzle, researchers must investigate the factors affecting dividend policy by incorporating all the determinants into a single research effort.

Purpose: We examine the dividend policy determinants of Sri Lankan firms, explicitly focusing on the banking, finance, and insurance (BFI) sectors.

Methodology: This study uses the quantitative approach applying the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) system to examine the dividend policy determinants by obtaining secondary data from 51 listed BFI organisations in Sri Lanka.

Findings: The analysis disclosed that the variables of changes in revenues, firm size, liquidity, corporate tax, business risk, and profitability have a positive relationship with dividend yield, whereas investment opportunities, leverage, change in revenues, corporate tax, and firm size impact positively on the propensity to pay dividends in BFI organisations in Sri Lanka. Our findings opine that managers in the BFI industries should prioritise changing their dividend policies by paying close attention to factors, such as dividend yield, changes in revenue, firm size, liquidity, corporate tax ratio, business risk, and profitability because the dividend policy is critical to retaining current investors and luring new ones.

This chapter provides an overview of the explanations and factors affecting dividend policy. This study employs a systematic literature review approach to review a large sample of studies related to the dividend puzzle. Although the analysis reveals mixed evidence involving the theories and determinants of dividend policy, some determinants appear in numerous studies. However, no consensus exists on an optimal dividend to resolve the dividend puzzle, and the authors propose a model to deal with the same. When examining dividend policy, researchers should consider the firm, market, behavior, and other determinants. When making significant dividend or stock decisions, managers and shareholders should also contemplate the factors, interactions, inadequacies, and consequences. Future researchers should strive to take a more comprehensive view when resolving the dividend puzzle. This study provides a current and complete picture of dividend policy's available theories and empirical determinants. Its significant contribution is identifying some of the more consistently essential determinants of dividend policy while proposing a holistic model to address the prevailing dividend dilemma.

“The effect of a firm's dividend policy on the current price of its shares is a matter of considerable importance, not only to the corporate officials who must set the policy, but to investors planning portfolios and to economists seeking to understand and appraise the functioning of capital markets. Do companies with generous distribution policies consistently sell at a premium over those with small payments ? Is the reverse ever true ? If so, under what conditions ? Is there an optimum payment ratio or range of ratios that maximises the current worth of the shares ?”. Although these questions of fact have been the subject of many empirical studies in recent years, no concensus has yet been achieved. Not only does the empirical evidence seem to conflict, but the underlying theory of share price determination cannot be agreed upon. This chapter surveys current theories concerning dividend policy, and seeks to reconcile them under a common set of assumptions. Then the relevant empirical evidence is presented and criticised, and finally a piece of research carried out by the author is discussed.