Assignment On Academic Honesty

Academic Year: 2017-2018

Contents

Academic Honesty 3

Safe Assign 4

Introduction 5

Aim and Objectives 6

Methodology 6

Data Sources and Sample Size 7

Research Design 7

SWOT Analysis 7

Proposed Study Timeline 8

Conclusion and Leaning Objectives 11

References 12

Academic Honesty

ACADEMIC HONESTY DECLARATION: This assignment is entirely my own work except where I have duly acknowledged other sources in the text and listed those sources at the end of the assignment. I have not previously submitted this work to the HCT. I understand that I may be orally examined on my submission.

I understand that I must not attempt to gain marks dishonestly during an assessed task as this is considered cheating.

The main change faced by researchers is the relatively few studies conducted on capital structure determinants in the GCC. Another is that countries in the GCC operate in a tax free environment. This eliminates the tax free advantage in determining capital structure as pointed out in the trade off theory (Hait, 2012). Apart from the tax free environment, firms operate in an environment that makes them unique from other emerging markets. For example, capital markets are less developed than other emerging markets (Bley and Chen, 2006). As a result, bankruptcy costs are lower because of the tendency of companies to prefer private equity financing (Fernandez, Kumar and Mansour, 2013). Furthermore, the economies in the GCC are more dependent than most economies on the price of oil, the price of the US dollar and the global economic conditions (Fasano and Iqbal, 2003).

Aim and Objectives

The overall aim of this study is to identify the determinants of capital structure in the GCC. Secondary aims of this study include:

• Identifying the most statistically significant firm specific and market determinants of capital structure identified from literature

• Determining the strength, magnitude and direction of the relationship between the most statistically determinants and capital structure

• Using results of the study to guide financial mangers as to how best determine the optimal structure

Strengths

A main strength of the research is that the results have direct application in the corporate world by finance managers. Results can help financial manages better decode on the optimal capital structure of a firm to increase shareholder value. In addition, the research has the potential to highlight key determinants of capital structure unique to the GCC. This will add to the financial literature regarding to the research area.

Weaknesses

There are several potential weaknesses of the proposed research. One is the relative inexperience of the researcher in using statistical tools such as hypothesis testing. This could lead to inaccurate results and conclusions

Opportunities

However, there are opportunities available to the researcher to aid in the process. One is that there is abundant literature on capital structure determinants conducted in emerging markets. Furthermore, databases exist where the research can collect the require information for the study.