On an ongoing corporate dividend dialogue : do external influences also matter in dividend decision?

Dividend policy is among the most debated topics in corporate Finance. Determinants of corporate dividend, most commonly firm specific determinants, have attracted much attention of the researchers. This paper mainly investigates the external determinants of dividend policy in Tanzania. The study also checks the influence of firm-specific factors that determine dividend decision of non-financial firms listed in Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange using a panel data analysis for a period 2008-2017. The paper reports that gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation have both statistically negative signifant relationship with the firm payout ratio. This implies that in a country where GDP is high, firms are less likely to consider paying dividends. During high GDP levels, the economic environment is potentially conducive for potential investment, and therefore re-investing the corporate profit is relatively a wise decision than distributing it back to owners as dividend. Also in an inflationary environment, funds generated are often are not sufficient to replace a firm's assets as they become obsolete. Under these circumstances, a firm may be forced to retain a higher percentage of earnings to maintain the earning power of its asset base that is why during this time less dividend is expected by shareholders. Furthermore, the paper reports that firm-specific factors such as profitability, liquidity, firm size, leverage and firm growth are also influencial in determining corporate dividend policy. More specifically, large-sized firms, highly profitable firms are more likely to consider paying dividend. However, payment of dividend will all depend on whether the firm is liquid enough to afford that. On the other hand, high-growth and leveraged firms would not probably consider paying dividend, and will therefore, save money to finance their expansion and honor their debt obligations.