In recent years the U.S. experienced an increase in the share of default events that are resolved out-of-court, as well as a reduction in bankruptcy-related costs. This trend raises the question as to what drives the frequency with which defaults turn into bankruptcies. We propose a theory based...

We propose a model that jointly determines the capital structure and investment decisions taking business cycle and debt maturity into account. Namely, the firm can switch the diffusion regime of asset value, which involves switching costs, and the state of the economy that generates cyclical...

This paper proposes that besides volatility, R&D can increase firms' distress risk through another channel. Unlike capital investment, R&D is more inflexible and subject to high adjustment costs. Moreover, R&D intensive firms face severe financial constraints and are more likely to...

We develop a credit-risk model to study the informational role of investment in bankruptcy. Firms' investment decisions carry information about their asset quality, thereby mitigating informational frictions when firms enter bankruptcy. An increase in aggregate investment can reduce the...

This study examines whether IT resources and capabilities affect the risk of bankruptcy of SMEs. Drawing on previous literature on bankruptcy and the resource-based view of the firm (RBV), we offer conclusive evidence of the influence of IT resources on financial health, as measured by the odds...

The combination of risky cash flows, leverage and absolute priority rules in bankruptcy create a well known agency problem; shareholders face incentives to take risky, as opposed to value maximizing, investment projects. Recently, it has been argued that deviation from absolute priority rules in...

Stronger creditor rights reduce credit costs and thus may allow firms to increase leverage and investments, but also increase distress costs and thus may prompt firms to lower leverage and undertake risk-reducing but unprofitable investments. Using a German bankruptcy law reform, on average, we...