RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE, DIVIDEND POLICY, DEBT AND VALUE OF BRAZILIAN COMPANIES

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between governance levels and the dividend policy, debt levels and market value of a sample of 39 companies participating in the levels 1, 2 and Novo Mercado. The study descriptive, documentary and quantitative approach analyzed quarterly data from the period 2008-2013 and were collected at the site of BM&FBOVESPA. The results showed a statistically significant difference between groups in the comparisons between them for Debt Level, Tobin's Q and index Payout consistently with current theories (Agency Dividend Policy and Capital Structure). The study contributes presenting evidence that factors other than corporate governance structure affect more significantly the results. Therefore, it was observed that the Level 2 of Governance (this intermediate level of corporate governance), showed better results than the Novo Mercado which differs from results of some previous studies, but stresses the importance of specific features of the company in determining the performance.