摘要：The present paper aims to examine the evolution of debates on capital structure and firm performance in order to assess the direction and intensity of research in the field. For these purposes, we employed a three-pronged approach: conceptual, theoretical and empirical. Pointing out the conceptual aspects was seen as necessary step, given that both financial structure and performance present multi-dimensional meanings, which have triggered controversial debates in the sphere of finance. The theoretical approach enabled us to review the key theories proposed with respect to capital structure and firm performance, as such an approach constitutes the foundation of empirical debates. As a natural consequence, we considered that our study would have been sterile without a presentation of the results of empirical research. Disjunctions at the level of empirical research posed a challenge causing debates to take on new dimensions. In accepting the assertion that there is no universal theory of capital structure and no reason to expect the emergence of any such theory, we emphasise that a consensus of empirical findings cannot even be alleged to exist. The final conclusion drawn is that specialist literature has been enriched with wide-ranging theoretical and empirical debates that led to the development of analytical diagrams serving as references, essential for assessing the relation between capital structure and firm performance
