The impact of corporate environmental responsibility on corporate cash holdings: evidence from the most polluting listed companies in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) on corporate cash holdings. This paper also investigates the moderating effects of ownership type and institutional environment between CER and corporate cash holdings.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the data of the most polluting listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange markets over the period 2010–2019. CER data from Hexun.com (a professional CSR evaluation system) are used to measure CER performance. Two proxies are used to measure the level of cash holdings simultaneously, where CASH1 is calculated as the ratio of cash and cash equivalents to total assets, and CASH2 is calculated as the ratio of cash and cash equivalents to net assets (total assets minus cash and cash equivalents). Finally, multiple regression analysis is applied to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that environmentally responsible companies hold substantially less cash, and the result is statistically significant and robust even after using firm fixed effects and applying alternative measures of cash holdings or alleviating potential endogeneity. In addition, the results of cross-sectional tests show that the negative relation between CER and corporate cash holdings is concentrated among non-state-owned enterprises, and firms in provinces with more developed institutions. Furthermore, the result of the analysis of the economic consequence shows CER significantly increases the value of cash holdings.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on China's institutional context, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other countries. However, the objective of this research can be studied in other institutional settings, so the above limitations provide a springboard for further research. Furthermore, the environmental protection investment, green technology innovation, and even pollutant discharge of companies can also be important indicators to measure the performance of firms in fulfilling their environmental responsibilities, which can be considered in future research.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study may help company management in China to establish a correct view of environmental responsibility to achieve corporate value creation and corporate sustainability. And our research can also provide the policy reference value for the Chinese government to further improve environmental protection policies and systems, guide enterprises to conduct green production to realize the country's vision of an environmentally friendly society.Originality/valueBased on the current background that countries in the world advocate the development of a green economy, this is the first study to examine the impacts of the environmental responsibility of the most polluting companies on corporate cash holdings and the value of cash holdings in the context of China, an emerging market.

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING THE DISCOUNT RATE IN INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

Статья посвящена вопросам выбора ставки дисконта для приведения будущей стоимости денежных потоков к настоящей стоимости с помощью коэффициента дисконтирования. Целью исследования является анализ и обоснование выбора численного значения ставки дисконта в зависимости от источников финансирования инвестиционного проекта. Авторами приведены практические рекомендации по выбору метода оценки экономической эффективности привлечения инвестиций как для экономически обособленного инвестиционного проекта, так и для инвестиционного проекта, интегрированного в действующее предприятие. Научная новизна полученных результатов заключается в разработке методического подхода к выбору численного значения ставки дисконта для приведения будущей стоимости денежных потоков к настоящей стоимости с помощью коэффициента дисконтирования и к выбору приоритетного метода оценки экономической эффективности для экономически обособленных и интегрированных в действующее предприятие инвестиционных проектов. The article is devoted to the issues of choosing the discount rate for bringing the future value of cash flows to the present value using the discount coefficient. The purpose of the study is to analyze and justify the choice of the numerical value of the discount rate depending on the sources of financing of the investment project. The authors provide practical recommendations on the choice of a method for assessing the economic efficiency of attracting investment both for an economically isolated investment project and for an investment project integrated into an operating enterprise. The scientific novelty of the obtained results consists in the development of a methodological approach to the choice of the numerical value of the discount rate for bringing the future value of cash flows to the present value using the discount coefficient and the choice of a priority method for assessing economic efficiency for both economically isolated and integrated investment projects in an operating enterprise.

Economic policy uncertainty, value of cash and financial crisis

PurposeThis paper investigates the effect of economic policy uncertainty on value of cash before and after the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachWe investigate the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and value of excess cash based on the valuation model of Fama and French (1998). Baker et al. (2016) news-based index (BBD index) is employed to calculate measures of economic policy uncertainty. Our research sample includes 103,474 observations from 11,000 firms across 19 countries over the period 2004–2016.FindingsWe find that economic policy uncertainty is negatively “positively” related to value of cash in the pre-crisis “post-crisis” period. Moreover, we also document that the positive effect of economic policy uncertainty in the post-crisis period is stronger in financially constrained firms.Originality/valueWhile prior studies find a relationship between economic policy uncertainty and cash levels or the effect of firm-level uncertainty on value of cash, this paper shows how economic policy uncertainty as an institutional environment factor affects value of cash. Moreover, it documents that economic policy uncertainty has opposite effects on value of cash before and after the global financial crisis.

State ownership and value of cash: new evidence from an emerging market

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how state ownership influences value of cash in an institutional environment supporting soft-budget constraint.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs an interaction between state ownership and excess cash to examine how state ownership affects value of cash holdings based on Fama and French’s (1998) valuation model.FindingsWith a research data of 3,294 observations from 548 firms over the period 2009–2016, the authors find that state ownership is positively related to market value of cash. Moreover, this relationship is weaker in financially constrained firms.Originality/valueAlthough prior studies document a consistently negative effect of state ownership on market value of cash holdings, the authors argue that this effect may still be opposite. When managers of high state ownership firms rely on soft-budget constraint and save less cash, outside investors with this information disadvantage may focus more on precautionary motive and transaction motive than agency costs of cash holdings. As a result, value of cash holdings in high state ownership firms is higher. This paper contributes to the literature on corporate liquidity policy in emerging markets with new evidence on the role of state ownership in market value of cash holdings.

Corporate Governance and Cash Holding: New Insights from Concentrated and Competitive Industries

The present study empirically investigates the effect of corporate governance on the value of cash holding, usage of excess cash, and firm performance in concentrated and competitive industries in the context of less developed countries. The empirical analysis was conducted in the panel data setting using Pakistan as a case study. Our findings suggest a strong relationship between the value of cash holding and corporate governance, and the complementary effect of product market competition for corporate governance. This suggests that the external market discipline is also needed, in addition to good governance, to resolve agency problems in less developed countries. This is because less developed countries are usually characterized by lower competition, poor mechanisms for shareholder protection, and weak legal systems. Consequently, agency problems are greater in less developed countries compared to developed countries. Our findings also indicate that firms with good governance dissipate less excess cash on internal investment, dividends and diversification in competitive industries. Moreover, the significant positive relationship between the lagged excess cash and corporate governance dummy interaction with the dividend supports the dividend outcome model, particularly in the concentrated industries. Finally, our results suggest that the efficient utilization of excess cash, induced by good governance, leads to better corporate performance in less developed countries.