Managerial Optimism Level, Board of Directors Efficiency and Debt Decision in Tunisian Companies

This article deals with the relationship existing between the emotional aspect and decisionmaking processes. More specifically, it examines the links between managerial optimism level, debt decision and board of director’s efficiency. This Stream of research argues that the CEO optimism level is affected by the Board of Directors efficiency. In this regard, an empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire as a data collection method adapted to a sample of 75 Tunisian firms. Regarding, The optimism level they have been measured by means of a questionnaire comprising several items. Our analyzes revealed the importance of CEO optimism in the debt decision. It has been found that an optimistic leader prefers more debt even in companies ruled by independent boards. On the other hand, the results’ analyzing the hypotheses 2 and 3 regarding the size of the board and the combination of CEO and Board Chair does not confirm our theoretical analysis.