<![CDATA[This study resolves this long-standing puzzle by identifying firm size as a critical boundary condition for dividend signaling effectiveness. Analyzing Indonesian manufacturing companies during 2019-2023 using Moderated Regression Analysis, we uncover three key findings. First, dividend policy powerfully enhances firm value, confirming that dividends serve as credible signals of managerial confidence in emerging markets. Second, profitability remains a universal value driver regardless of firm characteristics. Third, and most critically, firm size substantially amplifies the dividend-value relationship: large firms' dividend announcements generate significantly stronger market responses than identical signals from smaller counterparts. The underlying mechanism is visibility larger firms command greater analyst coverage, institutional investor attention, and media scrutiny, enabling their signals to reach broader, more sophisticated audiences capable of accurately decoding dividend implications. Conversely, smaller firms' signals may go unnoticed or be discounted due to limited information dissemination channels. Debt policy shows no systematic value impact, challenging trade-off theory's universal applicability in emerging market contexts. These findings extend signaling theory by establishing firm size as a boundary condition and offer immediate practical implications: corporate managers must calibrate dividend policies according to firm visibility, while investors should incorporate firm size when interpreting dividend announcements]]>
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