scholarly journals The Interplay between Working Capital Management and a Firm’s Financial Performance across the Corporate Life Cycle

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zanxin Wang ◽  
Minhas Akbar ◽  
Ahsan Akbar

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of working capital management (WCM) and working capital strategy (WCS) on firm’s financial performance across different stages of the corporate life cycle (CLC). We use Pakistani non-financial listed firms nested in 12 diverse industries over a period of 2005–2014 as the research sample and employ the hierarchical linear mixed (HLM) estimator, which can process multilevel data where observations are not completely independent. The empirical findings reveal that, overall, WCM is negatively associated with firm performance. However, this association is not static across different stages of a firm’s life cycle. For example, a negative association is more pronounced at the introduction stage followed by growth and decline stages, whereas WCM does not significantly impact the performance of mature firms. Likewise, WCS also causes varying effects on the financial performance across the CLC. A conservative strategy at the introduction, growth, and decline stages negatively affects firm performance, suggesting that these firms should adopt an aggressive strategy. Nevertheless, management of sample firms did not account for the respective life cycle stage while formulating a WCM strategy, which can seriously compromise their financial sustainability. These findings suggest that firms require customized WCM policies and WCS to attain sustainable financial performance at each stage of firm life cycle. Thus, managers should not overlook the significant role of CLC stages in their financial planning to ensure the sustainable functioning of the enterprise.

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.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mbawuni ◽  
Mercy Hawa Mbawuni ◽  
Simon Gyasi Nimako

<p>The study examined the impact of working capital management (WCM) on the profitability of petroleum retail firms (PRFs) in Ghana over a six year period (2008-2013). Audited annual reports from a sample of five selected petroleum retail firms in Ghana are employed in the study. Using, descriptive analysis, correlation and regression analysis, the results indicate that, in the PRFs in Ghana, there is favourable net working capital for the firms and a favourable networking capital to total assets ratio. The most important WCM component that drives the firm’s profitability, measured in return on assets (ROA), is average days payable (ADP). The rest of WCM components, cash conversion cycle (CCC), average days inventory (ADI) and average days receivables (ADR) did not have significant relationship with profitability. The study further found that WCM practices among the five selected PRFs support the conservative strategy of WCM, rather than an aggressive WCM strategy. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.<br /><br /></p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Agha Ammad Nabi

This study is based on the impact of working capital management on financial performance of the firm. For pursuing the research data has been collected through the financial statements of lucky cement and attock cement. In this study one hypothesis has established. .the outcomes demonstrates working capital had huge effect on company's money related execution ye, it’s  fluctuate from association to association comparably, in this examination we contrast fortunate concrete and attock bond and each different as the outcomes indicates fortunate bond is more stable and manage association than the attock concrete. An effective working capital administration, positioning and controlling of present resources and existing debts in a way that executes the danger of letdown to meet due here and now assurances from one perspective and keep away from over the top interest in these benefits then again. Many overviews have confirmed that chiefs spend remarkable time on everyday matters that include working capital selections. . Liquidity for the firm of going isn't dependent on the liquidation estimation of its advantages, but instead on the worming money streams created by those advantages.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110157
Author(s):  
Minhas Akbar ◽  
Ahsan Akbar ◽  
Muhammad Umar Draz

This research investigates the impact of working capital management (WCM) on the profitability and market performance of firms that constitute an Islamic market index (Karachi Meezan Index [KMI-30]) in Pakistan during 2002–2013. The data have been divided into three parts, that is, preglobal (2002–2007), during (2007–2008), and postglobal financial crisis period (2008–2013), to examine the proposed relationship in different macroeconomic settings. Net trade cycle (NTC) and its components are used to measure the WCM efficiency, while NTC square is used to proxy the impact of excessive holdings of working capital on corporate performance. The econometric models are calculated in a generalized method of moments (GMMs)-based regression environment to ensure the robustness of empirical outcome. The results reveal that, as opposed to conventional businesses, KMI-30 firms are more ethical in their short-term financial management. Besides, such firms adopted a conservative WCM policy during the global financial crisis of 2007–2008. Furthermore, we confirm the presence of a concave relationship between working capital levels and firm performance as NTC is positively, whereas NTC square is negatively, related to firm performance. This article makes a significant contribution to the extant literature as it evaluates the impact of WCM on the profitability and market performance of Islamic market indexed firms under varying macroeconomic conditions.


2022 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-239
Author(s):  
Abdulnafea AL-Zararee ◽  
Nashat Ali Almasria ◽  
Qasim Ahmad Alawaqleh

This study investigated the impact of Working Capital Management (WCM) and Credit Management Policy (CMP) on the Financial Performance (FP) of Jordanian banks (JB). The study data were obtained from 16 Jordanian banks listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) between 2017 and 2020. The study used panel data to investigate the relationship between the two independent variables, WCM and CMP, and the dependent variable FP; 64 financial reports to Jordanian banks were analyzed to measure this relationship. To test hypotheses, multiple regression was used. The study found a statistically significant relationship between WCM and FP, and the independent variable was able to explain 34.1% of the changes that occur in the dependent variable. In addition, the outcome approved that there is a statistically significant relationship between CMP and FP. Furthermore, CMP explained about 41.8% of changes in the dependent variable. The findings of this study indicate support for the banks’ performance; a bank may need to lengthen client credit terms, prolong the cash transfer cycle, and require a more extended payment period when judging on WCM. Acknowledgment The publication of this research has been supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies at Philadelphia University – Jordan.


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