IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/acctfi/v63y2023i4p3999-4035.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Business strategy, cash holdings, and dividend payouts

Author

Listed:
  • Muhammad Nurul Houqe
  • Reza M. Monem
  • Tony van Zijl

Abstract

Business strategy's impact on firm cash holdings and dividend payouts has largely remained unexplored. We identify a fundamental and direct link between a firm's business strategy and its cash holdings and dividend payouts. Analysing two large samples of data on US firms over the period 1992–2017, we find strong evidence that prospectors (defenders) are likely to hold more (less) cash and pay less (more) dividends than other firms. Further analysis suggests that prospectors pay dividends less frequently than do defenders. The results are robust to a battery of robustness checks and additional analysis. Overall, the results suggest that identifying a firm's business strategy significantly helps to understand a firm's cash holdings and dividend payout decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Reza M. Monem & Tony van Zijl, 2023. "Business strategy, cash holdings, and dividend payouts," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 3999-4035, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:63:y:2023:i:4:p:3999-4035
    DOI: 10.1111/acfi.13082
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.13082
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/acfi.13082?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sharma, Vineeta, 2011. "Independent directors and the propensity to pay dividends," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1001-1015, September.
    2. Denis, David J. & Osobov, Igor, 2008. "Why do firms pay dividends? International evidence on the determinants of dividend policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 62-82, July.
    3. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & Mishra, Dev R., 2011. "Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 2388-2406, September.
    4. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2001. "Disappearing Dividends: Changing Firm Characteristics Or Lower Propensity To Pay?," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 14(1), pages 67-79, March.
    5. Gao, Huasheng & Harford, Jarrad & Li, Kai, 2013. "Determinants of corporate cash policy: Insights from private firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 623-639.
    6. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    7. Lee Pinkowitz & René Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2006. "Does the Contribution of Corporate Cash Holdings and Dividends to Firm Value Depend on Governance? A Cross‐country Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2725-2751, December.
    8. Danny Miller & Peter H. Friesen, 1978. "Archetypes of Strategy Formulation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(9), pages 921-933, May.
    9. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan & Servaes, Henri, 2003. "International Corporate Governance and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 111-133, March.
    10. Cao, Zhangfan & Chen, Steven Xianglong & Harakeh, Mostafa & Lee, Edward, 2022. "Do non-financial factors influence corporate dividend policies? Evidence from business strategy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Baker, Malcolm & Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2004. "Appearing and disappearing dividends: The link to catering incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 271-288, August.
    12. Skinner, Douglas J., 2008. "The evolving relation between earnings, dividends, and stock repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 582-609, March.
    13. Thomas W. Bates & Kathleen M. Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2009. "Why Do U.S. Firms Hold So Much More Cash than They Used To?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 1985-2021, October.
    14. Milton Harris & Artur Raviv, 2017. "Why Do Firms Sit on Cash? An Asymmetric Information Approach," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(2), pages 141-173.
    15. Samy Ben Naceur & Mohamed Goaied & Amel Belanes, 2006. "On the Determinants and Dynamics of Dividend Policy," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 6(1‐2), pages 1-23, March.
    16. Fatemi, Ali & Bildik, Recep, 2012. "Yes, dividends are disappearing: Worldwide evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 662-677.
    17. Danny Miller & Peter H. Friesen, 1982. "Innovation in conservative and entrepreneurial firms: Two models of strategic momentum," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 1-25, January.
    18. Binh Bui & Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Mahbub Zaman, 2021. "Climate change mitigation: Carbon assurance and reporting integrity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3839-3853, December.
    19. Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2004. "Corporate cash holdings: An empirical investigation of UK companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2103-2134, September.
    20. Michael S. Rozeff, 1982. "Growth, Beta And Agency Costs As Determinants Of Dividend Payout Ratios," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 5(3), pages 249-259, September.
    21. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely, 2002. "Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1649-1684, August.
    22. repec:eme:jaar00:jaar-05-2019-0077 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    24. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Stulz, Rene M., 2006. "Dividend policy and the earned/contributed capital mix: a test of the life-cycle theory," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 227-254, August.
    25. Kathleen A. Bentley & Thomas C. Omer & Nathan Y. Sharp, 2013. "Business Strategy, Financial Reporting Irregularities, and Audit Effort," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 780-817, June.
    26. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    27. Han, Seungjin & Qiu, Jiaping, 2007. "Corporate precautionary cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 43-57, March.
    28. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐de‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2000. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 1-33, February.
    29. Brawn, Derek A. & Šević, Aleksandar, 2018. "“Firm size matters: Industry sector, firm age and volatility do too in determining which publicly-listed US firms pay a dividend”," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 132-152.
    30. Benavides, Julian & Berggrun, Luis & Perafan, Hector, 2016. "Dividend payout policies: Evidence from Latin America," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 197-210.
    31. Danielle Higgins & Thomas C. Omer & John D. Phillips, 2015. "The Influence of a Firm's Business Strategy on its Tax Aggressiveness," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(2), pages 674-702, June.
    32. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    33. Lee Pinkowitz & Rene M. Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2003. "Do Firms in Countries with Poor Protection of Investor Rights Hold More Cash?," NBER Working Papers 10188, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Laurent Fresard, 2010. "Financial Strength and Product Market Behavior: The Real Effects of Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1097-1122, June.
    35. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    36. Igor Cunha & Joshua Pollet & David Denis, 2020. "Why Do Firms Hold Cash? Evidence from Demographic Demand Shifts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(9), pages 4102-4138.
    37. Ham, Charles G. & Kaplan, Zachary R. & Leary, Mark T., 2020. "Do dividends convey information about future earnings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 547-570.
    38. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips & Nagpurnanand Prabhala, 2014. "Product Market Threats, Payouts, and Financial Flexibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 293-324, February.
    39. Franklin Allen & Antonio E. Bernardo & Ivo Welch, 2000. "A Theory of Dividends Based on Tax Clienteles," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2499-2536, December.
    40. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:3:p:1125-1165 is not listed on IDEAS
    41. Denis, David J., 2011. "Financial flexibility and corporate liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 667-674, June.
    42. Efstathios Magerakis & Dimitris Tzelepis, 2020. "The impact of business strategy on corporate cash policy," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 677-699, June.
    43. Brounen, Dirk & de Jong, Abe & Koedijk, Kees, 2006. "Capital structure policies in Europe: Survey evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1409-1442, May.
    44. Simons, Robert, 1987. "Accounting control systems and business strategy: An empirical analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 357-374, June.
    45. Miguel A. Ferreira & Antonio S. Vilela, 2004. "Why Do Firms Hold Cash? Evidence from EMU Countries," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 10(2), pages 295-319, June.
    46. Daniel F. Jennings & Samuel L. Seaman, 1994. "High and low levels of organizational adaptation: An empirical analysis of strategy, structure, and performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(6), pages 459-475, July.
    47. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan, 2007. "Corporate governance and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 599-634, March.
    48. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    49. Basil Al‐Najjar & Yacine Belghitar, 2011. "Corporate cash holdings and dividend payments: evidence from simultaneous analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 231-241, June.
    50. Wen He, 2012. "Agency problems, product market competition and dividend policies in Japan," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52(3), pages 873-901, September.
    51. Palazzo, Berardino, 2012. "Cash holdings, risk, and expected returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 162-185.
    52. Goyal, Abhinav & Jategaonkar, Shrikant P. & Muckley, Cal B., 2020. "Why do privatized firms pay higher dividends?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    53. Chen, Yangyang & Dou, Paul Y. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Truong, Cameron & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2015. "National culture and corporate cash holdings around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-18.
    54. Eli Segev, 1989. "A systematic comparative analysis and synthesis of two business‐level strategic typologies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(5), pages 487-505, September.
    55. David S. Koo & Santhosh Ramalingegowda & Yong Yu, 2017. "The effect of financial reporting quality on corporate dividend policy," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 753-790, June.
    56. Roni Michaely & Michael R. Roberts, 2012. "Corporate Dividend Policies: Lessons from Private Firms," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(3), pages 711-746.
    57. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    58. Subramaniam, Venkat & Tang, Tony T. & Yue, Heng & Zhou, Xin, 2011. "Firm structure and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 759-773, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xueyan Dong & Kam C. Chan & Yujia Cui & Jenny Xinjiao Guan, 2021. "Strategic deviance and cash holdings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3-4), pages 742-782, March.
    2. Maurizio Rocca & Raffaele Staglianò & Tiziana Rocca & Alfio Cariola & Ekaterina Skatova, 2019. "Cash holdings and SME performance in Europe: the role of firm-specific and macroeconomic moderators," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1051-1078, December.
    3. Amess, Kevin & Banerji, Sanjay & Lampousis, Athanasios, 2015. "Corporate cash holdings: Causes and consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-433.
    4. Jan Felix Weidemann, 2018. "A state-of-the-art review of corporate cash holding research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(6), pages 765-797, August.
    5. Yang, Bao & Chou, Hsin-I. & Zhao, Jing, 2020. "Innovation or dividend payout: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 180-203.
    6. Hsuan-Chu Lin & She-Chih Chiu, 2017. "Tradeoff on corporate cash holdings: a theoretical and empirical analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 727-763, October.
    7. Tran, Quoc Trung, 2020. "Financial crisis, shareholder protection and cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    8. Abdul Rashid & Maryam Ashfaq, 2017. "Financial Constraints And Corporate Cash Holdings: An Empirical Analysis Using Firm Level Data," Annals of Financial Economics (AFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 1-26, June.
    9. He, Wen & Ng, Lilian & Zaiats, Nataliya & Zhang, Bohui, 2017. "Dividend policy and earnings management across countries," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 267-286.
    10. Denis, David J., 2011. "Financial flexibility and corporate liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 667-674, June.
    11. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    12. So, Jacky Yuk-chow & Zhang, John Fan, 2022. "The effect of cultural heterogeneity on cash holdings of multinational businesses," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    13. Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Eulaiwi, Baban & Al-Yahyaee, Khamis Hamed & Duong, Lien & Taylor, Grantley, 2020. "Investment committees and corporate cash holdings," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    14. Efstathios Magerakis & Ahsan Habib, 2022. "Environmental uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: The moderating role of CEO ability," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 402-432, September.
    15. Alves, Paulo, 2018. "Cash holdings around the world: Financial crisis, culture and shareholder rights," MPRA Paper 89861, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    16. Ummar Aftab & Attiya Yasmin Javid & Waseem Akhter, 2018. "The Determinants of Cash Holdings around Different Regions of the World," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(2), pages 151-182, June.
    17. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Athanasios Tsagkanos & Costas Siriopoulos, 2020. "Firm Size Does Matter: New Evidence on the Determinants of Cash Holdings," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-35, July.
    18. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Christos Floros & George Peppas, 2022. "Corporate R&D intensity and high cash holdings: post-crisis analysis," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 3767-3808, September.
    19. Alves, Duarte & Alves, Paulo & Carvalho, Luis & Pais, Claudio, 2022. "Cash holdings: International evidence," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    20. Bigelli, Marco & Sánchez-Vidal, Javier, 2012. "Cash holdings in private firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 26-35.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:63:y:2023:i:4:p:3999-4035. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaanzea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.