Search

This study examines whether debt financing affects firm labor employment. Using Chinese listed companies between 2007 and 2021, we identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between debt financing and labor employment. Increased debt financing tends to boost labor employment. However, this positive influence gradually diminishes until a critical point is reached and the relationship turns negative thereafter, suggesting that there is a best balance between debt financing and labor employment. This inverted U-shaped association is also influenced by firm profitability and financial risk, with the former steepening the relationship and the latter making it smoother. Moreover, the impact of debt financing on labor employment is more pronounced in large firms, non-state-owned enterprises, labor-intensive companies, and firms with high solvency. Our findings imply that companies can effectively harness the positive effects of debt financing on labor employment by strategically adjusting their capital and labor resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the influence of foreign institutional investment on the risk-return profile of firms. Corporate risk is analyzed as business risk and financial risk in this study. The impact of foreign institutional investor's (FII) holding on business and financial risk taking behavior is studied on 174 listed non-financial firms in India using panel quantile regression methodology for a span of 20 years which include the pre and post 2008 financial crisis periods as well. Panel fixed effect model was found to be appropriate in this study The impact of FII holding is also studied through the distribution of the risk through panel quantile regression. The impact of FII holding on risk taking behaviour of the firms is studied primarily across high, average and low proportion of corporate risk. Overall FII holding has an inverse relationship with corporate risk taking behavior of firms. The positive impact of FII holding across all types of firms in terms of the risk-return profile indicates that their presence is long term and reduces risk taking behaviour of the corresponding firm. The implications of this study will be significant in regulating FII inflows and outflows to ensure discipline on the part of firm management in improving its risk-return profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large enterprises have been at the forefront of environmental management with active participation in industrywide programs and adoption of a 'beyond compliance' approach. The present study revisits the premise of environmental–financial linkage in an Indian context with a focus on large listed enterprises. We develop a comprehensive dataset of 459 large listed Indian companies covering major manufacturing and service sectors of the economy over an eleven-year period from 2008–09 to 2018–19. Static and dynamic regression models are used to gauge the impact of environmental management practices on firm profitability (Return on Assets and Return on Equity) and market valuation (Tobin Q, Market to Book Value Ratio and Excess Valuation to sales ratio). Empirical results suggest a positive impact of environmental management on firm profitability and market valuation. These results are of interest to corporate and policy makers for recognizing the financial implications of corporate environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does firm lobbying in the EU increase firm profitability? While there is a well-established literature on this issue in the US context, existing EU studies have overlooked this question. Ours is the first study to examine links between firm lobbying and firm profitability. To this end, we tailor theoretical insights from the US context to the EU. While money plays a fundamentally different role in EU lobbying compared to the US, the lobbying context and legislative processes of the EU are conducive to firm lobbying efforts translating into firm profits. Our two-stage OLS regression results, using a novel dataset for 728 firms over a four-year period, support this argument. Specifically, we find that the more money firms channel into their lobbying activities, the more tangible returns on this investment they can expect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the non-linear relationship between a firm's inventory and sales performance. Specifically, whether there exists an optimal level of inventory that maximizes sales performance is investigated. In order to better understand the effect of supply chain inventories on firm performance, three types of inventories: raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods are separately considered. Analyzing the panel data set of 272 Korean manufacturing firms for the period 1996 to 2012, the following conclusions based on regression methodology has been drawn. After controlling for previous inventory, we find there exists an optimal level of current inventory that maximizes current firm profitability. Furthermore, it is examined whether the external competition level is high using clustering analysis. We find that the effects of supply chain inventories on performance are influenced by the competitive intensity of an industry. The results suggest that while all types of inventories show the non-linear effects on firm performance in the highly competitive market, only finished goods inventory shows significant effects on firm performance in the low competitive market. Our study provides empirical supports for how each type of inventories should be managed and contributes to the extant literature by suggesting managerial implications from a supply-chain perspective perspective for practical engineers and technical professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management (WCM) and firm profitability for a sample of 2122 Indian SMEs. The study is based on secondary financial data obtained from electronic database PROWESS of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), pertaining to a period of 12 years. The study employs two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation to arrive at the results. The estimates of two-step GMM confirm an inverted U-shape relationship between WCM and firm profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working capital management (WCM) is one of the most important decisions for all firms. The main components of WCM are days sales outstanding (DSO), days inventory outstanding (DIO), days payable outstanding (DPO), and cash conversion cycle (CCC). Using a sample of 332 Czech firms, including 20 certified firms from the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Model, the current study explored the effects of the main components of WCM on firms' profitability. We used two different regression models to test the hypothesis, i.e. pooled regression and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). The findings of the research revealed all the components of WCM have a negative impact on firm profitability. On the other hand, the interaction terms of the EFQM certified firms with the components of WCM showed a positive impact on firms' profitability which means that there is a positive relationship between the components of WCM of the certified firms and profitability. However, it is examined that the quality certificate/award from EFQM Excellence Model decreases the firm's profitability. The outcomes of the current research will be beneficial to academics, managers, leaders, and directors of the firms to improve their firm's profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first to study the lasting effects of innovation on firm profitability in Vietnam. Using a unique panel dataset for the period 2005–2015, our results show that innovators achieve higher profit in comparison with non-innovating firms. The positive effects of innovation on firm profitability are observed not only in the short term but also in the longer term. The benefits of innovation for firm profitability can be seen in higher export probability, better productivity, better access to formal credit, and the ability to secure government support, but only after innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that the goal of this study was to examine the influence of different factors on a firm's profitability, we designed a model with three categories of profitability determinants: firm-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic. The analysis was performed on 9359 firms operating in the Croatian manufacturing industry during the 2006–2015 period. Since the designed model was formulated in a way that encompasses the dynamic aspect of profitability, the General Method of Moments (G.M.M.) dynamic panel estimator was applied. Formulation of such a model adds to the existing literature if one takes into account that a dynamic analysis of the drivers of profitability has not been done using data from the Croatian manufacturing sector. The results of the conducted analysis revealed that a firm's age, labour cost and industry concentration, as well as G.D.P. growth and inflation, have significant influence on a firm's profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique dataset on board directors from 2008 to 2016, we document a positive relationship between board business connections and firm profitability for listed firms in China. The positive relationship is robust to various estimation methods and is stronger when the connections are possessed by independent directors or extended to listed firms. Finally, well-connected firms are more likely to have access to external financing and to obtain favorable audit opinions. Overall, our findings signify the importance of connections (guanxi) in business activities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most marketing practitioners and scholars agree that marketing assets such as brand equity significantly contribute to a firm's financial performance. In this paper, we model brand equity as an unobservable stock that results from up to 30 years of past brand-related investment flows. Using firm-specific trademarks as investment proxies, our results show a significant long-run impact on financial performance. The dynamic profile of brand-related investments has an inverted-U shape that reaches its peak after 11 years. On average, it takes four years before brand-related investments show a positive return, and investments older than 19 years show no significant impact. For the median trademarking firm, brand equity contributes €265,000 to annual profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last two decades have seen a sharp increase in shadow banking activities in both advanced and emerging economies. Shadow banks have therefore become an important part of financial markets due to their credit creation and capital allocation roles. This study investigates the impact of shadow banking on firm profitability in South Africa and evaluates the linkages between shadow banking and real economic activity. We employ single-equation cointegration methods and three measures of firm profitability in our analyses, and several macroeconomic and bank-specific variables are used as control variables. Our results are mixed showing that shadow banking has a negative impact on traditional banks' profitability whilst on the other hand it positively impacts non-financial firms and the overall measures of firm profitability. Our results indicate that both non-financial firms and non-bank financial institutions could be benefiting from the expansion in shadow banking activities. Targeted, functional regulation is suggested in order to promote economic activities in the shadow banking sector whilst at the same time limiting possible risks that may arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade credit is one of the most flexible short-term funding sources for companies and covers a significant part of the financial resources used by firms. Trade credit received makes available financial resources to achieve other economic objectives of the company. The managerial decision to increase or reduce trade credit offered and received or the collection and credit period is influenced by the company's financial performance. The aim of this paper is to analyse the correlation between trade credit receivable/payable and collection/credit period and six measures of financial performance and find if these variables have any impact on the decision to use trade credit. To achieve this aim, we used a sample of 958 European firms from the construction sector which were analysed using correlation and OLS regression, separately on developed and emerging countries. The main results found are: trade credit offered/received is directly correlated with return on equity and firm size, and inversely correlated with return on assets; trade credit offered is directly correlated with current liquidity and long-term banking loans; trade credit received is directly correlated with liquidity ratio and inversely correlated with current liquidity and long-term banking loans; and trade credit offered is inversely correlated with liquidity ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, scholars and policy-makers have been interested in how fiscal policy influences entrepreneurship. Until now, research has focused on fiscal policy at the federal or regional level and used macro-economic outcome measures. Considerably less attention was given to how municipal governments can influence economic outcomes at the micro level. The present study examines the effect of municipal taxes, spending and tax compliance costs on firm profitability within the Flemish hospitality industry. This is an interesting research setting, since Flemish municipalities have far-ranging fiscal autonomy which has resulted in a proliferation of local taxes, many of which are specific to the hospitality industry. The findings reveal that local taxes have a negative impact on firm profitability, while aggregate public spending has a positive influence. The tax effect is economically relevant and exceeds the public spending impact. Finally, we find no impact of compliance costs from local taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior research has documented that IT investment increases market returns. Economic theories predict such returns to be recognized in accounting profitability; this relationship remains ambiguous in prior literature. We reexamine the relationship between IT investment and firm profitability. Our approach is unique in that we examine complementarities between distinct IT components. We document that a firm’s investments in IT components exhibit different impacts on its profitability conditional on the level of investments in complementary components. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the financial consequences that inventory leanness has on firm performance. We conduct an econometric analysis using 4324 publicly traded US manufacturing companies for the period 1980–2008. Using an instrumental variable fixed effects estimator we find a nonlinear relationship between inventory leanness and financial performance. However, we note that the maximum point of this inverted U-shaped relationship often lies at the extreme end of the investigated sample – suggesting a decreasing return from leanness rather than an optimal level. We show that the strength of this relationship is highly dependent on both the industry and inventory component (raw materials, work in process and finished goods) studied. The main novelty and direct implication of our findings is that most firms still have much potential to increase profitability by becoming leaner and they are unlikely to cross a threshold where profitability decreases with increased leanness. We display how much the average firm could gain by becoming leaner and show how this sensitivity changes by inventory component and industry. Finally, we highlight several new econometric aspects that we believe must be addressed when empirically investigating the inventory-performance link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the profitability of German car manufacturing firms is related to different indicators for the knowledge incorporated in the firms since the birth of the industry in 1886. The analysis is performed with an ordered probit model, where information about the mode of exit of the firms is exploited to construct a latent variable for profitability. Knowledge is represented by the number of patents, learning-by-doing and entrepreneurial experience before entry. The results show that knowledge is significantly positively related to firm profitability and that each of the three knowledge forms exerts an independent effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary purpose of customer-centric marketing is to collect, compile and make the best use of customer information to better manage customer value and firm profitability. This paper reviews the central objectives of customer centric approaches such as CRM. Beginning with an effective customer segmentation scheme, each of the main goals of CRM are discussed in turn including increasing customer retention, acquisition, satisfaction and loyalty, differentiating customer value, developing customers via up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, and finally decreasing costs associated with low response rates. Implications for predictive modeling and company resource allocation decisions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]