IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v47y2022ipbs1544612321005924.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of COVID-19 exposure on working capital management: The moderating effect of investment opportunities and government incentives

Author

Listed:
  • Tarkom, Augustine

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firms’ working capital management (WCM) covering 2,542 US-publicly traded firms for the period 2019Q1–2021Q2. Proxying WCM as cash conversion cycle (CCC), I find that COVID-19-exposed firms operate with higher levels of CCC. I show that firms with more investment opportunities and firms that receive government incentives (deferred taxes and investment tax credit (DT_ITC)) operate with lower levels of CCC. Overall, I provide evidence of the significant adverse impact of COVID-19 on WCM and show that the effect could be mitigated with an increase in investment opportunities and government incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Tarkom, Augustine, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 exposure on working capital management: The moderating effect of investment opportunities and government incentives," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pb:s1544612321005924
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2021.102666
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612321005924
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2021.102666?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. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    2. Boisjoly, Russell P. & Conine, Thomas E. & McDonald, Michael B., 2020. "Working capital management: Financial and valuation impacts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Burney, Robert B. & James, Hui Liang & Wang, Hongxia, 2021. "Working capital management and CEO age," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    4. Sen, Partha & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 1990. "Investment tax credit in an open economy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 277-299, August.
    5. Stulz, ReneM., 1990. "Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 3-27, July.
    6. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    7. 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.
    8. Kee H. Chung & Stephen W. Pruitt, 1994. "A Simple Approximation of Tobin's q," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    9. Marc Deloof, 2003. "Does Working Capital Management Affect Profitability of Belgian Firms?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3‐4), pages 573-588, April.
    10. Marc Deloof, 2003. "Does Working Capital Management Affect Profitability of Belgian Firms?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3-4), pages 573-588.
    11. Hassan, Tarek & Hollander, Stephan & van Lent, Laurence & Schwedeler, Markus & Tahoun, Ahmed, 2020. "Firm-Level Exposure to Epidemic Diseases: Covid-19, SARS, and H1N1," CEPR Discussion Papers 14573, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Ukaegbu, Ben, 2014. "The significance of working capital management in determining firm profitability: Evidence from developing economies in Africa," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-16.
    13. Harsh Pratap Singh & Satish Kumar & Sisira Colombage, 2017. "Working capital management and firm profitability: a meta-analysis," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(1), pages 34-47, February.
    14. Wang, Yung-Jang, 2002. "Liquidity management, operating performance, and corporate value: evidence from Japan and Taiwan," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 159-169, April.
    15. Laurence H. Meyer & Joel L. Prakken & Chris P. Varvares, 1993. "Policy Watch: Designing an Effective Investment Tax Credit," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 189-196, Spring.
    16. Nufazil Altaf & Farooq Ahmad, 2019. "Working capital financing, firm performance and financial constraints," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 464-477, March.
    17. Matthew T. Billett, 2003. "Cross-Subsidies, External Financing Constraints, and the Contribution of the Internal Capital Market to Firm Value," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1167-1201.
    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. Sawarni, Kumar Sanjay & Narayanasamy, Sivasankaran & Padhan, Purna Chandra, 2023. "Impact of earnings management on working capital management efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Shrikant Krupasindhu Panigrahi & Maryam Juma Al Farsi & Sumathi Kumaraswamy & Muhammad Waris Ali Khan & Faisal Rana, 2022. "Working Capital Management and Shareholder’s Wealth Creation: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies Listed in Oman," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Enwereji Prince Chukwuneme, 2022. "Impact of Covid-19 on SMMEs and the future sustainability measures: a systematic review," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 13(2), pages 111-131, December.
    4. Tarkom, Augustine & Ujah, Nacasius U., 2023. "Global policy uncertainty and working capital management: Does national culture matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Erik Hofmann & Juuso Töyli & Tomi Solakivi, 2022. "Working Capital Behavior of Firms during an Economic Downturn: An Analysis of the Financial Crisis Era," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Hassan, M. Kabir & Aysan, Ahmet Faruk & Kayani, Umar Nawaz & Choudhury, Tonmoy, 2023. "Working capital as a firm performance savior? Evidence from Scandinavian countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Hong, Seock-Jin & Farris, Martin Theodore & Pohlen, Terrance L. & Idug, Yavuz, 2023. "Exploring the impact of working capital in the U.S. aviation industry for profitability and shareholder value," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 90-101.

    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. Barros, Victor & Falcão, Pedro Fontes & Sarmento, Joaquim Miranda, 2022. "Are more sustainable firms able to operate with lower working capital requirements?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    2. Hari P. Adhikari & Marcin W. Krolikowski & James Malm & Nilesh B. Sah, 2021. "Working capital (mis)management – impact of executive age," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 727-761, March.
    3. Nasser A. Alsulayhim, 2019. "The Relationship between Working Capital Management and Profitability," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(8), pages 142-152, August.
    4. Sanjeev Kumar & K. S. Ranjani, 2018. "Dividend Behaviour of Indian-listed Manufacturing and Service Sector Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(1), pages 179-193, February.
    5. Nilesh B. Sah & Anandi Banerjee & James Malm & Anisur Rahman, 2021. "A Good Name Is Better Than Riches: Family Firms and Working Capital Management," Discussion Paper Series 2021-02, McColl School of Business, Queens University of Charlotte.
    6. Grzegorz Zimon & Dominik Zimon, 2020. "Quality Management Systems and Working Capital SMEs in GPO—A Case of Poland," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, October.
    7. Luca Sensini & Maria Vazquez, 2023. "Effects of Working Capital Management on SME Profitability: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(4), pages 1-85, February.
    8. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Fang Hu & Jenny Stewart, 2022. "Can CEO equity‐based compensation limit investment‐related agency problems?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2579-2614, June.
    9. Henrik Cronqvist & Fredrik Heyman & Mattias Nilsson & Helena Svaleryd & Jonas Vlachos, 2009. "Do Entrenched Managers Pay Their Workers More?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 309-339, February.
    10. Nida Shah, 2016. "The Impact of Working Capital Management on Firms Profitability in Different Business Cycles: Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Finance and Economics Research, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 1(1), pages 58-70, March.
    11. Zheng, Xiaotian & Zhou, Youcheng & Iqbal, Sajid, 2022. "Working capital management of SMEs in COVID-19: role of managerial personality traits and overconfidence behavior," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 439-451.
    12. 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.
    13. Ahmed Mohamed Habib & Nahia Mourad, 2022. "Analyzing the Efficiency of Working Capital Management: a New Approach Based on DEA-Malmquist Technology," SN Operations Research Forum, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Afrifa, Godfred Adjapong & Tingbani, Ishmael & Adesina, Oluseyi Oluseun, 2022. "Stochastic frontier modelling of working capital efficiency across Europe," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    15. Pablo de Andrés-Alonso & Valentín Azofra-Palenzuela & Juan A. Rodríguez-Sanz, 2000. "Endeudamiento, oportunidades de crecimiento y estructura contractual: un contraste empírico para el caso español," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 24(3), pages 641-679, September.
    16. César Camisón & José Antonio Clemente & Sergio Camisón-Haba, 2022. "Asset tangibility, information asymmetries and intangibles as determinants of family firms leverage," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(7), pages 2047-2082, October.
    17. Drobetz, Wolfgang & von Meyerinck, Felix & Oesch, David & Schmid, Markus, 2014. "Board Industry Experience, Firm Value, and Investment Behavior," Working Papers on Finance 1401, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance, revised Dec 2015.
    18. Tai‐Hsi Wu & Mei‐Chen Lin & Pei‐Ju Lucy Ting & Jyun Yan Huang, 2024. "Do academic directors matter? Evidence from Taiwan equity market," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 4-29, March.
    19. Huang, Kershen & Shang, Chenguang, 2019. "Leverage, debt maturity, and social capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 26-46.
    20. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.

    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:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pb:s1544612321005924. 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/frl .

    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.