Conditions of Specificity of Assets of Brazilian Major Companies from the Perspective of the Economic Theory of Transaction Costs

Abstract

The study aimed to determine if there is a relationship between the specificity of assets, capital structure, profitability and stock valuation of public traded companies that are in the ranking of the largest companies in Brazil in 2008. It is a formal, causal and ex post facto study, developed with the analaysis of descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The results indicated that the capital structure and profitability of the companies surveyed are set conditions of their asset specificity, suggesting that the financing structure of the largest companies in the country, associated with its adjusted profitability influence the specific nature of the assets of such organizations. In addition, it is noteworthy that no statistical evidence was found that the market value, adjusted income and wealth created by the companies influence the specific assets. It should be noted that the measures used to evaluate the specificity of assets, capital structure, profitability and value of the company consist of operational definitions that can be viewed as limitations of the study. To the future research agenda, it is suggested the incorporation of external factors to the company as an alternative to a broader study adding new elements to the debate on asset specificity.