9308443 Mizruchi This project will develop and test a model of corporate financing drawn from organizational theory and institutional economics, which focuses on four factors: the availability of capital, the cost of capital, the strategic orientation of the firm, and the embeddedness of the firm's decision making apparatus. To test the model, a longitudinal data set will be collected, using as a baseline the 200 largest U.S. manufacturing corporations in 1955 and following these firms through 1992. The study will seek to predict several variables, including a firm's total use of external financing, total debt and equity financing, and specific types of debt, including short-term, long-term private, and long-term public. The independent variables will include a firm's available capital (retained earnings), its board composition, the background of its CEO, alternative forms of financing, participation in acquisitions, and market context variables such as interest rates, phase of the business cycle, and the aggregate demand for capital in the economy. The research will also examine the determinants of strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and long-term investments such as research and development and new plant and equipment expenditures. The study will provide an empirical evaluation of the institutional and network embeddedness of organizational behavior. %%% This project in economic sociology will contribute sociological insights to a scientific understanding of corporate financing and of the various strategies that corporations adopt. The results may identify inefficiencies and sources of poor decision making, thus increasing the knowledge base that can strengthen American competitiveness and promote economic growth. ***
