IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v39y2016icp139-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multinationals and cash holdings

Author

Listed:
  • Fernandes, Nuno
  • Gonenc, Halit

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between cash holdings and the level of multinationality for a large international sample of firms from 40 countries. We consider two dimensions of diversification, geographical and industrial, and find a direct negative relation between both geographic and industrial diversification and cash holdings. This finding is consistent with the diversification argument that multinationals' headquarters plan their investment and cash needs in an efficient way across geographically diversified operations. We further examine whether there is a trade-off between two diversification strategies. The evidence shows that the effect of industrial diversification is negligible once firms are geographically diversified. By performing country-level tests, we also document some new evidence of international differences for the impacts of tax systems, investor protection, political stability, stock market development, economic size and growth, and national culture on the separate and joint effects of geographic and industrial diversifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernandes, Nuno & Gonenc, Halit, 2016. "Multinationals and cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 139-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:39:y:2016:i:c:p:139-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.06.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119916300694
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2016.06.003?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huang, Ying & Elkinawy, Susan & Jain, Pankaj K., 2013. "Investor protection and cash holdings: Evidence from US cross-listing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 937-951.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Kusnadi, Yuanto & Wei, K.C. John, 2011. "The determinants of corporate cash management policies: Evidence from around the world," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 725-740, June.
    5. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello, 2007. "Financial Constraints, Asset Tangibility, and Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(5), pages 1429-1460, 2007 12.
    6. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas & Newey, Whitney & Rosen, Harvey S, 1988. "Estimating Vector Autoregressions with Panel Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(6), pages 1371-1395, November.
    7. Khurana, Inder K. & Martin, Xiumin & Pereira, Raynolde, 2006. "Financial Development and the Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(4), pages 787-808, December.
    8. David J. Denis & Valeriy Sibilkov, 2010. "Financial Constraints, Investment, and the Value of Cash Holdings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 247-269, January.
    9. 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.
    10. Jarrad Harford & Sandy Klasa & William F. Maxwell, 2014. "Refinancing Risk and Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 975-1012, June.
    11. Ivalina Kalcheva & Karl V. Lins, 2007. "International Evidence on Cash Holdings and Expected Managerial Agency Problems," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(4), pages 1087-1112.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. Acharya, Viral V. & Almeida, Heitor & Campello, Murillo, 2007. "Is cash negative debt? A hedging perspective on corporate financial policies," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 515-554, October.
    15. Djankov, Simeon & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2008. "The law and economics of self-dealing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 430-465, June.
    16. Morck, Randall & Yeung, Bernard, 1991. "Why Investors Value Multinationality," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(2), pages 165-187, April.
    17. Raghuram Rajan & Henri Servaes & Luigi Zingales, 2000. "The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 35-80, February.
    18. Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chen, I-Ju, 2012. "Corporate governance and capital allocations of diversified firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 395-409.
    19. Antonio Falato & Dalida Kadyrzhanova & Jae W. Sim, 2013. "Rising intangible capital, shrinking debt capacity, and the US corporate savings glut," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2013-67, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    20. Park, Soon Hong & Suh, Jungwon & Yeung, Bernard, 2013. "Do multinational and domestic corporations differ in their leverage policies?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 115-139.
    21. Laurence Booth & Varouj Aivazian & Asli Demirguc‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2001. "Capital Structures in Developing Countries," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 87-130, February.
    22. David S. Scharfstein & Jeremy C. Stein, 2000. "The Dark Side of Internal Capital Markets: Divisional Rent‐Seeking and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2537-2564, December.
    23. Lee Pinkowitz & René M. Stulz & Rohan Williamson, 2016. "Do U.S. Firms Hold More Cash than Foreign Firms Do?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 309-348.
    24. Fauver, Larry & Houston, Joel F. & Naranjo, Andy, 2004. "Cross-country evidence on the value of corporate industrial and international diversification," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 729-752, November.
    25. Ran Duchin, 2010. "Cash Holdings and Corporate Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 955-992, June.
    26. George Allayannis & Gregory W. Brown & Leora F. Klapper, 2003. "Capital Structure and Financial Risk: Evidence from Foreign Debt Use in East Asia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2667-2710, December.
    27. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. repec:fth:michin:282 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. 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.
    30. Duchin, Ran & Ozbas, Oguzhan & Sensoy, Berk A., 2010. "Costly external finance, corporate investment, and the subprime mortgage credit crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 418-435, September.
    31. Tong, Zhenxu, 2011. "Firm diversification and the value of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 741-758, June.
    32. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:1:p:1-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Fritz Foley, C. & Hartzell, Jay C. & Titman, Sheridan & Twite, Garry, 2007. "Why do firms hold so much cash? A tax-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 579-607, December.
    34. Nuno Fernandes, 2011. "Global convergence of financing policies: Evidence for emerging-market firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(8), pages 1043-1059, October.
    35. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Manoel, Aviner Augusto Silva & Moraes, Marcelo Botelho da Costa, 2022. "The impact of internationalization degree on cash levels: Evidence from Latin America," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3).
    2. Tan, Jianhua & Wang, Xiongyuan & Chan, Kam C., 2020. "Does a national reform of a logistics system matter in corporate cash management? Evidence from logistics service standardization in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    3. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    4. Zuzana Janková & Petr Dostál, 2019. "Utilization of Artificial Intelligence for Sensitivity Analysis in the Stock Market," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(5), pages 1269-1283.
    5. Berent Tomasz & Śniechowski Maciej, 2023. "Corporate sector cash holding – optimal levels, macro context, or external shocks?," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 59(4), pages 297-314, December.
    6. Asif Saeed & Qasim Zureigat, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Trade Credit and Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Tongurai, Jittima & Vithessonthi, Chaiporn, 2022. "Learning, foreign operations and operating performance," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    8. Friberg, Richard & Seiler, Thomas, 2017. "Risk and ambiguity in 10-Ks: An examination of cash holding and derivatives use," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 608-631.
    9. Beraza Garmendia, Ana & San José Ruiz de Aguirre, Leire & Retolaza Ávalos, José Luis, 2017. "Lankidetza ekonomia diruzaintza kudeaketan aplikatzea posible al da?," Revista de Dirección y Administración de Empresas, Universidad del País Vasco - Escuela Universitaria de Estudios Empresariales de San Sebastián.
    10. Jianqiao Huang & Yunsen Chen & Xin Dai & Xiaoran Ni, 2022. "Stock market liberalisation and corporate cash holdings: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1925-1955, April.
    11. Ben Said Hatem, 2017. "A Study of a Causality Relationship between Firm Investment and Cash Holdings: An Empirical Validation from French, Germany and Italy," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 7(1), pages 308-322, June.
    12. Xu, Xiaodong & Mu, Yayu & Wang, Juan, 2023. "Corporate risk and financial asset holdings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Duong, Huu Nhan & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, My & Rhee, S. Ghon, 2020. "Navigating through economic policy uncertainty: The role of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Hong, Liu & Liu, Shiang, 2023. "Geographic diversification and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 381-409.
    15. Tahir Akhtar & Mohammad Ali Tareq & Kashif Rashid, 2023. "The role of shareholders and creditors' rights in affecting cash holdings and firm value: A recent evidence from ASEAN," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 929-961, January.
    16. Chen, Naiwei & Yu, Min-Teh, 2021. "National Governance and Corporate Liquidity in Organization of Islamic Cooperation Countries: Evidence based on a Sharia-compliant Liquidity Measure," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    17. Gonenc, Halit & Polten, Marc-Oliver & Westerman, Wim, 2022. "U.S., Anglo-Saxon European, and non-Anglo-Saxon European cash holdings around the financial crisis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Alomran, Abdulaziz Ahmed & Alsubaiei, Bader Jawid, 2022. "Oil price uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: Global evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. 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).
    21. Kang, Youngho & Kim, Ryoonhee, 2024. "Home country uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from multinational subsidiaries in South Korea," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    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. 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.
    2. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    3. 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.
    4. Denis, David J., 2011. "Financial flexibility and corporate liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 667-674, June.
    5. Mortal, Sandra & Nanda, Vikram & Reisel, Natalia, 2020. "Why do private firms hold less cash than public firms? International evidence on cash holdings and borrowing costs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    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. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Wang, Di & Guo, Liangju & Xing, Saipeng, 2024. "Compulsory liability insurance and excess cash holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Chang, Chong-Chuo & Yang, Han, 2022. "The role of cash holdings during financial crises," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Chang, Chong-Chuo & Tang, Hui-Wen, 2021. "Corporate cash holdings and total factor productivity – A global analysis," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    12. Zhang, Xiang & Zhang, Zongyi & Zhou, Han, 2020. "Oil price uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. 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).
    14. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello & Igor Cunha & Michael S. Weisbach, 2014. "Corporate Liquidity Management: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 135-162, December.
    15. Hou, Canran & Liu, Huan, 2020. "Foreign residency rights and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Chen, Hsuan-Chi & Chou, Robin K. & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2018. "Saving for a rainy day: Evidence from the 2000 dot-com crash and the 2008 credit crisis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 680-699.
    17. Xiang Zhang & Zongyi Zhang & Han Zhou, 2023. "Grabbing hand or financial constraint mitigation effect? A reexamination of the relationship between institutional development and cash holdings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 631-655, March.
    18. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Nomikos, Nikos K., 2018. "Corporate cash holdings in the shipping industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 107-124.
    19. Li, Xiafei & Luo, Di, 2020. "Increase in cash holdings of U.S. firms: The role of healthcare and technology industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 286-298.
    20. Sun, Wenyi & Yin, Chao & Zeng, Yeqin, 2023. "Precautionary motive or private benefit motive for holding cash: Evidence from CEO ownership," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    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:eee:corfin:v:39:y:2016:i:c:p:139-154. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    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.