Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of dividend policy in an emerging and developing market. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a quantitative approach using 191 Sri Lankan firms and 1,337 firm-year observations as the sample. The authors apply a Binary Logistic Regression model to uncover the determinants of the propensity to pay dividends, and a Fixed Effect Panel Regression to investigate the determinants of dividend payout. Findings The authors identify past dividend decision, earnings, investment opportunities, profitability, free cash flow (FCF), corporate governance, state ownership, firm size and industry influence as the key determinants of propensity to pay dividends. In addition past dividends, investment opportunities, profitability and dividend premium are identified as the determinants of dividend payout. Moreover, there is a feedback between dividend yield and profitability in one lag and between dividend yield and dividend premium in two lags, as short-term relationships. Hence, past dividend decision or payout, profitability and investment opportunities are a common set of determinants with implications for both propensity to pay dividends and its payout. The findings support theories of dividends such as signaling, outcome, catering, life cycle, FCF and pecking order. Practical implications The findings are important for investors, managers and future research. Investors should focus on the determinants identified by our study when making investment decisions whereas managers should practice the same when formulating appropriate dividend policies for their firms. Future research should rely on propensity to pay dividends and its payout simultaneously to promote a theoretical consensus on the dividend determinant puzzle. Originality/value This is the first study that investigates determinants of propensity to pay dividends and dividend payout along with short-term relationships in a single study.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the dividend policy determinants of Sri Lankan firms and why they pay dividends. Design/methodology/approach The study uses several quantitative approaches to investigate dividend determinants using market (secondary) data of 190 Sri Lankan firms and 1,330 firm-year observations. Dividend determinants are also identified using survey (primary) data from 141 of the 190 firms. Triangulation is then used to facilitate validation of the data through cross-verification from two data sources. Findings Analysis of the market data reveals that firm size, industry impact, corporate governance, free cash flow, earnings, past dividends, profitability, investment opportunities, net working capital, concentrated ownership structure and investor preference represent the most important dividend determinants. Survey data confirm these findings. The evidence supports the pecking order, signaling, free cash flow, catering and outcome theories using both secondary and primary data and the bird-in-the-hand theory using survey data. Research limitations/implications The findings are useful not only for corporate decision makers in establishing an appropriate dividend policy but also for shareholders in making investment decisions. Because the current study is limited to Sri Lanka, future researchers should study the same phenomenon in other countries using the triangulation approach. Originality/value This study provides a hybrid approach to dividend policy research by using both primary and secondary data in a single study. It is the first dividend study in Sri Lanka to use a triangulation approach.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relation between corporate governance and dividend policy in Sri Lankan firms. Design/methodology/approach The data set consists of market data using 1,608 firm-year observations from 201 firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and survey-based data from 151 respondents from the same 201 firms. The authors use data triangulation to examine the two approaches. Findings The analysis of the market data reveals that a significantly positive relation between corporate governance on both the propensity to pay dividends and dividend payout. Survey analysis confirms these findings. Triangulated evidence supports the outcome model of dividends, free cash flow and agency cost theories. Practical implications The findings are useful not only for management in developing suitable corporate governance practices and dividend policies for their firms but also for shareholders in evaluating both existing and new investments. Future researchers should investigate the same phenomenon in other contexts using triangulation approaches to confirm their findings. Originality/value This study is the first to use governance indices both in terms of survey and market-based data to examine the relation between corporate governance and dividend policy.

The purpose of this study is to uncover the rationale (why) and the types of designs (what) for application of mixed method approaches in finance research using a systematic literature review approach. The findings revealed that there are four main research gaps in mixed method applications in finance: (a) poorly or nonformulated research questions, (b) lack of identification of the rationale for mixed methods, (c) poor identification of mixed methods and design, and (d) the manuscript reviewing gap. Finance studies based on quantitative methods and proxy variables can be further validated through mixed method approaches, thereby increasing the validity, completeness, and confirmation of findings, and minimizing the inherent weaknesses of monomethod approaches. We suggest that researchers in the finance discipline should justify their research methodology in order to eliminate the biases that arise through the selection of convenient methodologies. Thus, future studies should incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects when formulating mixed method research questions, emphasize the rationale, and choose appropriate mixed method designs to achieve a high level of scientific rigor in mixed methods research. Also, editors of nonmixed method journals need to have reviewing support from mixed method experts or adhere to the guidelines proposed by Onwuegbuzie and Poth when evaluating mixed method manuscripts to achieve a high level of quality and accuracy in their mixed methods research publications in finance.

This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and dividend policy (DP) using a data triangulation approach in the Sri Lankan context. The findings of the secondary data approach suggest that there is a positive impact from environmental and social CSR on both the likelihood to pay dividends and its payout. Findings of the primary data approach propose that ethical and philanthropic CSR dimensions show a positive impact on both likelihood to pay dividends and its payout. The findings of the triangulation approach revealed that CSR and DP tend to rise together. Hence, we argue that the generosity of the management paves the way towards shareholders' prosperity. This is the first study to investigate the CSR‐DP puzzle using a data triangulation approach. Future researchers could use this study as a guideline, if they intend to conduct a research study through data triangulation approaches especially in dividend policy and also in finance discipline.