This study compares firms’ dividend policy antecedents in four countries. The author surveys managers of 230 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange that paid dividends over the 2001-12 period and compares the findings to survey reports from the USA, Canada, and Norway. The main antecedents of dividend policy in these countries are the level of current earnings, their stability over time, the level of expected earnings and the pattern of past dividends. The last factor is of little importance for Polish managers, as the history of dividend payouts in Polish-listed companies is brief. The establishment of factors that shape the dividend policy in public companies has crucial importance in global financial markets. Investors make cash transfers to markets that ensure a high return on invested capital. Orders from foreign investors generate almost 50% of the turnover on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Therefore, in their decisions on the division of earnings, Polish companies should be guided by similar considerations as those displayed by companies in developed economies that seek to attract foreign investors. The study expands on the existing survey research on dividends and provides new evidence from managers of companies in Poland.

中文翻译：

---

比较波兰、加拿大、挪威和美国高管的股息难题解决方案

本研究比较了四个国家公司的股息政策前因。作者调查了在华沙证券交易所上市的 230 家公司的经理，这些公司在 2001-12 年期间支付了股息，并将调查结果与美国、加拿大和挪威的调查报告进行了比较。这些国家股利政策的主要前提是当前收益水平、它们随时间推移的稳定性、预期收益水平和过去的股利模式。最后一个因素对波兰经理来说并不重要，因为波兰上市公司派息的历史很短。确定影响上市公司股息政策的因素在全球金融市场中至关重要。投资者将现金转移到确保高投资资本回报的市场。来自外国投资者的订单几乎占华沙证券交易所营业额的 50%。因此，在决定收益分配时，波兰公司应以寻求吸引外国投资者的发达经济体公司所展示的类似考虑为指导。该研究扩展了现有的股息调查研究，并提供了来自波兰公司经理的新证据。