Survey Research in Corporate Finance ─ Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice

Corporate finance is a multifaceted discipline in which everything works in theory but not necessarily in practice. To bridge this gap, intelligently designed and executed surveys are essential in empirically validating conceptual hypotheses and the relative usefulness of various theories.

Survey Research in Corporate Finance is a unique summary of state-of-the-art survey research in finance. Baker, Singleton, and Veit catalog and discuss the most important contributions to the field and provide a longitudinal perspective unavailable anywhere else. They offer an objective look at the role survey research in finance should play and illustrate the general and particular aspects of the form this research should take, how it is typically carried out, and how it should ideally be carried out, taking into account considerations developed throughout the book.

The book provides financial researchers with a useful overview of survey methodology, blends the major streams or clusters of survey research in corporate finance, and offers a valuable resource and guide for those interested in conducting and reading survey research in finance. Because a variety of views exist on the role of survey research in corporate finance, the authors present key findings from the varying perspectives of finance academics, finance journal editors, and finance practitioners.

Synthesizing survey results on major issues in finance and offering knowledge from years of communication between academics and practitioners, Survey Research in Corporate Finance enables students and scholars of finance, as well as decision makers in many different kinds of firms, to actually determine how the theories on which their work is based play out in practice. This book is an essential, one-of-a-kind reference for any practitioner or academic interested in survey research in corporate finance.

H. Kent Baker is University Professor of Finance and Kogod Research Professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University. He has been conducting survey research for almost 40 years and is well known for his prolific work using survey methodology in finance. He writes regularly on dividend policy, corporate governance, exchange listing, investor behavior, and credit rating agencies.
J. Clay Singleton is George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Professor of Finance at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He has served as a vice president of Ibbotson Associates, Senior Vice President for Curriculum and Examinations at the CFA Institute, and Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of North Texas
E. Theodore Veit is Professor of Finance at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. He has served on the faculties of West Virginia University and the University of Central Florida, and has held visiting positions at the University of Porto, Portugal, and the Czechoslovak Management Center.