Corporate Culture and Trust in Finance

This thesis explores how corporate culture and trust impact financial decisions in corporate finance. It consists of three studies: Study 1 examines how the individualistic culture of executives affects bond issuance costs, finding that a stronger corporate individualism culture leads to higher costs, particularly in financially distressed firms. Study 2 investigates how executives' long-term orientation influences firm investments, showing that long-term oriented leaders allocate more resources to capital expenditures and R&D, especially in financially strong firms. Study 3 highlights the role of trust in improving bond rating accuracy, suggesting that trust between credit analysts and CEOs enhances rating quality.