一套能使企業成長與股東期望之間達到最適當均衡的股利政策對企業內、外部而言均是攸關且重要的資訊。決策者必須全面考量企業特性、經營環境之變化及股東的期盼，以規劃其股利政策；所以了解企業所處之成長階段及經營環境，對制定適當且均衡的股利政策是相當重要的。

本研究以民國七十九年至民國八十八年間，我國化工業、紡織業及電子業之上市公司為研究對象，首先劃分企業生命週期，並將股利政策定義為股利發放水準、股利發放形式及股利發放水準平穩程度等三個構面。本研究透過文獻探討，了解企業在各個生命週期階段所顯現的不同特性對股利政策的可能影響，再針對我國企業的股利發放實務作一了解，以分析其差異。

研究結果顯示，在股利發放水準方面，除了化工業之外，紡織業與電子業上市公司考量所處之生命週期階段，進而規劃適當股利政策的情形並不普遍。就股利發放形式而言，由實證結果可知，無論身處成長期或成熟期，化工業、紡織業以及電子業上市公司均偏好發放股票股利。至於股利發放水準平穩程度，紡織業以及電子業上市公司於成熟期時，總股利發放水準較處於成長期時穩定。

本研究之實證結果，隱喻企業管理當局可能並不瞭解其本身所處生命週期階段及相關經營背景；也可能是因為管理當局尚未能理解企業生命週期與股利政策間之關聯性及重要性，或者可能是管理當局必須遷就投資人之所好。由研究結果亦可得知，股利政策似與產業所面對的經營環境及營運架構有所關聯，企業之股利政策會因產業的不同而有所差異。

A dividend policy that balanced the needs for firm growth and stockholders conveys important information for both managements and investors. Characteristics and operating environment of an organization and expectations of its shareholders are critical determinants for developing such dividend policies. The knowledge about the life-cycle stage a firm is currently at and its dividend policy planned accordingly is therefore essential for financial decisions and future growth of a firm.

Focused on companies listed in Taiwan Stock Exchange in chemical, textile and electronics industries over the period of 1990 to 1999, this thesis empirically tests the association between the business life-cycle stages of the sample firms and their dividend policies. Specifically, this study examines the dividend policy in terms of level, form and stability of dividend payout levels.

With respect to the level of dividend payout, the empirical evidence shows that the strong association between the life-cycle stage and dividend policy is evident in chemical industry. As to the form of dividend payout, the results indicate that across all stages of business life cycle and all three industries, firms are found to have a preference for distributing stock dividends rather than cash dividends. Moreover, the empirical findings suggest that as compared to mature stages, firms in textile and electronics industries are found to be associated with greater variance in total level of dividend payout at their growth stages. However, there is no significant cross-stage difference in variance of dividend payout level found for firms in chemical industry.

The overall empirical evidence implies that firms studied in this thesis may concern a stable dividend payout policy is more important for an on-going operation. Exertion in making clear distinction about their business life-cycle stages is less essential. It is possible that management doesn’t realize a necessary linkage between business life-cycle stage and dividend policy. It is also likely that firms are simply satisfying the shareholders’preference for stock dividends distribution. In addition, the cross-industry differences in dividend policy practices found may result from the differences in characteristics and operating environment confronted by organizations.

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