IV. RESULTS
Hypotheses Tests
Our primary dependent variable measures which of the two firms (the benchmark or lessee
firm) participants are willing to lend to in our three treatment conditions. Figure 1 and Table 2
contain participants’ lending decisions across the three treatment conditions. As illustrated in Figure
1, the number of participants willing to lend to the lessee firm is 77 percent when lease renewal
options are not capitalized, 47 percent when lease renewal options are capitalized and aggregated
with other lease liabilities, and 79 percent when lease renewal options are capitalized and
disaggregated from other lease liabilities, consistent with our predictions, as discussed next.
H1 predicts that, ceteris paribus, participants (in their role as lenders) are less willing to lend to
a firm that capitalizes renewal periods in a lease compared to a firm that does not. On average, 77
percent of participants are willing to lend to the lessee firm when renewal periods in a lease are not
capitalized and aggregated. However, only 47 percent of participants are willing to lend to the
lessee firm when renewal periods in a lease are capitalized and aggregated. As shown in Table 3, a