Strategic deviation and debt maturity structure.

• We examine the relationship between strategic deviation and debt maturity structure. • Strategic deviation is positively associated with short-term debt. • This relationship is driven by both information asymmetry and corporate governance. • Strategic deviation has important implications for corporate financing decisions. We examine the relationship between strategic deviation and debt maturity structure. Using a large sample of US publicly listed firms from 1981 to 2020, we find that strategic deviation is positively associated with short-term debt. We also find that this relationship is driven by both direct and indirect channels (information asymmetry and corporate governance channels). Our finding remains robust to a series of sensitivity analyses and endogeneity tests. Taken together, we show that strategic deviation has crucial effects on corporate financing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]