Working capital financing, firm performance and financial constraints

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nufazil Altaf ◽  
Farooq Ahmad

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital financing and firm performance for a sample of 437 non-financial Indian companies. In addition, this study examines the impact of financial constraints on working capital financing–performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on secondary financial data of 437 non-financial Indian companies obtained from Capitaline database, pertaining to a period of 10 years (2007–2016). This study employs two-step generalized method of moments techniques to arrive at results. Findings Results of the study confirm the inverted U-shape relationship between working capital financing and firm performance. In addition, the authors also found that the firms that are likely to be less financially constrained can finance greater proportion of working capital using short-term debt. Originality/value This study contributes to the scant existing literature by testing the impact of financial constraints on the relationship between working capital financing and firm performance, representing a typical emerging market in India.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nufazil Altaf ◽  
Farooq Shah

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management and firm performance for a sample of 437 non-financial Indian companies. In addition, this paper examines the impact of financial constraints on working capital management-performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on secondary financial data of 437 non-financial Indian companies obtained from CAPITALINE database, pertaining to a period of ten years. This study employs the two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to arrive at results. Findings Results of the study confirm the inverted U-shape relationship between working capital management and firm performance. In addition, the authors also found that the firms that are likely to be more financially constrained have lower optimal working levels. Originality/value Unlike prior studies, which found a linear relationship between working capital management and firm performance, this study provides newer evidence for an inverted U-shaped relation between investment in working capital and firm performance in India. In addition, this study also tests the impact of financial constraints on this relationship. In contrast to the prior studies, this study uses GMM to control the potential problems of endogeneity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Manogna R.L. ◽  
Aswini Kumar Mishra

Purpose The study aims to analyze the impact of Research & Development (R&D) intensity on the firm’s performance, measured by growth of sales in the emerging market like India. Innovation strategy and its outcomes for firms may be different in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Thus, a study that focuses on the emerging economy like India, with a majority of the population dependent on agriculture, is of prime importance to the firm performance in the food and agricultural manufacturing industry. For this study, the broader focus will be on one widely recognised factor which may influence the growth rate of firms, i.e. investment in innovations which is in terms of R&D expenditure. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates the relationship between the R&D efforts and growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry during 2001–2019. To empirically test the relationship between firm’s growth (FG) and R&D investments, system generalised method of moments technique has been used, hence enabling to avoid problems related to endogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings reveal that investments in innovations have a positive effect on the growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry. Investment in R&D also enables the firms to reap benefits from externalities present in the industry. Further analysis reveals that younger firms grow faster when they invest in R&D. More specifically, this paper finds evidence in the case of the food and agricultural industry that import of raw materials negatively affects the FG and export intensity positively affects the growth in the case of R&D firms. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that the government should encourage the industries to invest optimally in R&D projects by providing favourable fiscal treatments and R&D subsidies which are observed to have positive effects in various developed countries. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the current paper is the first to analyse the impact of innovation in food and agricultural industry on firm’s performance in an emerging economy context with the latest data. This paper agrees that a government initiative to increase private R&D expenditure would have favourable effects on FG as growing investments in R&D lead to further growth of the firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tu DQ Le ◽  
Son H. Tran ◽  
Liem T. Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of multimarket contacts on bank stability in the Vietnamese banking system between 2006 and 2015. Design/methodology/approach The system generalized method of moments proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) is used to examine the relationship between multimarket contacts and bank stability. Findings The findings show that multimarket contacts among Vietnamese commercial banks improve bank stability. In addition, more x-efficient banks appear to be more stable. The same is true for banks with less holding liquid assets, for those with less excessive lending, for smaller banks, for those with the greater level of intermediation and for those with a higher level of foreign ownership. Listed banks are found to be less-risk taking than unlisted banks. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to examine the relationship between multimarket contacts and bank stability in an emerging market in the Asia-Pacific region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amr Ahmed Moussa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze and identify key factors affecting working capital behavior of companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach Working capital requirement and cash conversion cycle were used to proxy working capital behavior. The study explored nine main factors widely discussed in previous research to explain working capital behavior: operating cash flow, growth opportunities, performance, firm value, age, size, leverage, economic conditions and industry type. The study employed a panel data analysis for 68 listed Egyptian industrial firms for the period 2000–2010. Different techniques of the generalized method of moments were used to test the validity of the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that working capital behavior is affected by various factors related to firm characteristics, economic conditions and industry type. Originality/value This study provides financial managers with a better understanding of the impact of different internal and macroeconomic factors on working capital behavior in an emerging market, such as Egypt’s.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 184-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Safdar Sial ◽  
Zheng Chunmei ◽  
Tehmina Khan ◽  
Vinh Khuong Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance and the moderating role of earnings management on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study used the updated data set (3,481 unbalanced observations for period 2009–2015) from Chinese listed companies on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. The generalized method of moments (GMM) statistical approach has been used for the analysis. The authors utilized STATA to test GMM on a sample of Chinese listed firms data over the period 2009–2015. The unbalanced sample obtained 3,481 observations from China stock market and accounting research database and CSR ratings provided by Rankins (RKS). Findings The results demonstrated that CSR has a positive and significant relationship with firm’s performance; also, earnings management has a negatively moderate relationship between CSR and firm performance. These results imply that a high value of earnings management, which results in high level of symbolic CSR, converts to low firm performance of the Chinese firms. CSR actions (only as symbolic measures) promoted by managers as a means to cover their profit management incite an adverse effect on the company’s performance. This study has highlighted the impact of two different corporate social responsibilities: substantive and symbolic (genuine CSR vs greenwashing) on firm performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this investigation will be of distinct interest to company owners who wish to ascertain the effectiveness of the sustainability decisions of directors and managers, and also to investors and public authorities to estimate the positive relationship between CSR and company’s reputation and image, and thus, the positive influence on firm performance. Originality/value Previous studies have generally focused on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. This study provides the impact of earnings management (measurement of both aspects of accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management) on this relationship. Furthermore, this study examines the state of CSR in the Chinese market and provides empirical evidence of this relationship in emerging markets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Le

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of working capital management on firm valuation, profitability and risk.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a panel data set of 497 firms covering the period 2007 to 2016. The authors test the effects of working capital management on firm valuation, profitability and risk using the panel data methodology that includes firm and year fixed effects regressions.FindingsThe authors find a significantly negative relationship between net working capital (NWC) and firm valuation, profitability and risk. The results suggest that, in managing working capital, firm managers must make a trade-off between their objectives for profitability and risk control. Working-capital management is of particular importance in firms with less access to capital; it is also important when firms are expanding their investments during periods of economic recovery.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, to my knowledge, it provides the most comprehensive investigation, to date, on the relationship between working capital management and firm valuation, profitability and risk in an emerging market. Second, this study documents the existence of an optimal level of NWC in an emerging market. Third, firm performance, as measured in both market and accounting value, can be improved with efficient working capital management. Finally, the study includes the impact of the business cycle in an analysis of the effects of working capital management on firm performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Shao

Purpose The paper aims to provide a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between corporate governance (CG) structure and firm performance in Chinese listed firms from 2001 to 2015. The authors’ motivation derives from the fact that the CG system in China is different from those in the US, the UK, Germany, Japan and other countries. Design/methodology/approach A large unbalanced sample, covering more than 22,700 observations in Chinese listed firms, was used to explore, by means of a system-generalized method-of-moments (GMM) estimator, the relationship between CG structure and firm performance to remove potential sources of endogeneity. Findings Results show that Chinese CG structure is endogenously determined by the CG mechanisms investigated: there is no relationship between board size (including independent directors) and firm performance; CEO duality has a significantly negative effect on firm performance; concentration of ownership has a significantly positive influence on firm performance; managerial ownership is negatively correlated with firm performance; state ownership has a significantly positive effect on firm performance; and a supervisory board is positively correlated with firm performance. Practical implications The findings provide policymakers and firm managers with useful empirical guidance concerning CG in China. Originality/value Few integrative studies have examined the impact of CG structure on firm performance in China. This study adds new empirical evidence that the relation between CG structure and performance in China is endogenous and dynamic when controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity, and dynamic endogeneity.


Author(s):  
Kumar Sanjay Sawarni ◽  
Sivasankaran Narayanasamy ◽  
Kanagaraj Ayyalusamy

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of the efficiency of working capital management (WCM) on the performance of a sample of Indian companies and explore how the nature of the firm's business influences the significance and direction of this impact.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected for the period of 2012–2018 for 414 non-financial firms listed on the Bombay Stock exchange. Fixed-effect regression models were run by taking Tobin's Q and return on equity (ROE) as dependent variables, and net trade cycle (NTC) and its components as explanatory variables in the presence of liquidity, leverage, size, age and growth as control variables. Sample firms were segregated into manufacturing, trading and service groups, and regression models were used for all the groups to understand the effect of the nature of a firm's business.FindingsWCM efficiency has a significant impact on the performance of the sample firms. Non-financial Indian firms deliver better financial performance by maintaining lower NTC. Like NTC, its components also impact firm value and profitability. The results report that the significance of the relationship varies depending upon the nature of the firm's business.Originality/valueThe previous research studies had not used a sample of large number of Indian firms. Unlike previous studies, this study reports the influence of the nature of business on the relationship between WCM and firm performance. Further, this paper also examines how the individual components of working capital influence the performance of Indian firms.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayenda Khresna Brahmana ◽  
Hui-Wei You ◽  
Xhin-Rong Yong

Purpose This study aims to examine the moderating role of chief executive officer (CEO) power on the relationship between divestiture strategy and firm performance by framing the relationship under the agency and power circulation theories. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on a sample of 319 non-financial public-listed companies in Malaysia from the year 2012–2016 and estimates the model under two-step generalized method of moments panel regression to eliminate the endogeneity issue. Findings The results show that divestiture strategy decreased the firm performance. Meanwhile, greater CEO power changed that divestiture effect but still failed to increase the performance. This study also indicates the CEO power strengthens the relationship between firm performance and divestiture. Research limitations/implications The overall findings show that the positive moderating role of CEO power on the relationship between divestiture and performance. This research confirmed the agency and power circulation theories by showing that CEO power can make divestiture strategy works. However, the moderating plot tells different. CEO power may strengthen the relationship between divestiture and performance; it fails to boost up the performance in overall. Therefore, this study is about CEO power on the strategic decision and gives a good implication for corporate governance concerning the impact of CEO power on the organization’s alignment process. Originality/value This study examines the effect of CEO power on the performance of divestiture strategy implementation by contesting the agency and power circulation theories within an emerging country context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahmida Laghari ◽  
Ye Chengang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between working capital management and corporate performance with financial constraints. Design/methodology/approach This study uses large panel sample of Chinese listed firms over the period 2005–2015 using system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator that controls unobserved heterogeneity of individual firms well and GMM methodology is robust to address endogeneity issues. Findings Empirical evidence finds inverted U-shaped relationship between working capital and corporate performance and exhibits similar evidence for financially constrained firms. Evidence shows impact of high sales and discounts on early payments at low level of working capital and dominance of opportunity cost and cost of external finance at high level of working capital. The findings of the results show that optimal working capital level of financially constrained firms is relatively lower due to high cost of external capital and debt rationing. The results also indicate that on average NET is significantly lower for firms with Tobin’s Q>1 than firms with Tobin’s Q=1, and suggest that aggressive working capital management is significantly and positively associated with higher corporate values. Originality/value This paper is among few that complement the existing literature by providing evidence that inverted U-shaped relationship between working capital management and corporate performance also exists in the context of Chinese listed non-financial firms. Exclusively, the relationship of working capital and corporate performance with linkage of financial constraints is scant in the context of Chinese listed non-financial firms.


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