A study on dividend policy and value of the firm: managerial perspectives in Malaysia / Oswald Timothy Edward , Chu Hong Heng , Lau Gee Choon

This study investigates the views of corporate managers about the relationship between
dividend policy and value; explanations of dividend relevance including the bird-in-thehand,
signaling, tax-preference, and agency explanations; and how firms determine the
amount of dividends to pay. We obtain data from 2004 mail survey sent to 207 chief
financial officers/financial controller/corporate managers of firms listed on the Bursa
Malaysia. Based on 64 usable responses, the empirical result show that most survey
respondents believe that dividend policy affects firm value. Of the four explanations for
dividend relevance, the respondents generally express the highest level of agreement with
statements about signaling. The results also show that managers are concerned about the
continuity of dividends when setting dividend payments