Cash flow volatility and labor investment efficiency in TSE

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in accounting, Imam Khomeini International University

2 Associate Professor of Accounting, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin

3 MA in Accounting, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin

Abstract

The importance of labor as a vital factor of production in the profit function of a company is undeniable. From an economic point of view, investing in labor force is significant for advanced companies that often have high human capital. Because, they believe that optimal and efficient investment in the labor force can reduce the risks caused by uncertainty and volatility as much as possible. Therefore, the current research examines the effect of the cash flow volatility on labor investment efficiency. To achieve the purpose of the research, the financial information of 161 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange in the period from the beginning of 2011 to the beginning of 2022, and to test the hypothesis of the research, the multivariable regression method and combined data were used. The findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between the fluctuation of cash flows and the efficiency of labor investment. Also, the findings in the robustness section of the results showed that this relationship is different in companies with lower financial constraints compared to companies with higher financial constraints. Therefore, it can be said that the existence of fluctuations in cash flows leads to an increase in the efficiency of labor investment.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Smiley face

 

Almeida, H., & Campello, M. (2007). Financial constraints, asset tangibility, and corporate investment. The Review of Financial Studies20(5), 1429-1460.
Atanassov, J., & Kim, E. H. (2009). Labor and corporate governance: International evidence from restructuring decisions. The Journal of Finance64(1), 341-374.
Bai, M., Fu, Y., & Sun, M. (2023). Corporate diversification and labor investment efficiency: Evidence from China. Economic Modelling127, 106482.
Becker, G. S. (1962). Investment in human capital: A theoretical analysis. Journal of political economy70(5, Part 2), 9-49.
Beladi, H., Deng, J., & Hu, M. (2021). Cash flow uncertainty, financial constraints and R&D investment. International Review of Financial Analysis76, 101785.
Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2003). Enjoying the quiet life? Corporate governance and managerial preferences. Journal of political Economy111(5), 1043-1075.
Booth, L., & Cleary, S. (2006, January). Cash flow volatility, financial slack, and investment decisions. In EFMA 2006 Madrid Meetings Paper.
Boyle, G. W., & Guthrie, G. A. (2003). Investment, uncertainty, and liquidity. The Journal of finance58(5), 2143-2166.
Bradley, M., Capozza, D. R., & Seguin, P. J. (1998). Dividend policy and cash‐flow uncertainty. Real Estate Economics26(4), 555-580.
Brown, J. R., Fazzari, S. M., & Petersen, B. C. (2009). Financing innovation and growth: Cash flow, external equity, and the 1990s R&D boom. The Journal of Finance64(1), 151-185.
Cameron, K. S., Freeman, S. J., & Mishra, A. K. (1991). Best practices in white-collar downsizing: Managing contradictions. Academy of management perspectives5(3), 57-73.
Cao, Z., & Rees, W. (2020). Do employee-friendly firms invest more efficiently? Evidence from labor investment efficiency. Journal of Corporate Finance65, 101744.
Cleary, S. (2006). International corporate investment and the relationships between financial constraint measures. Journal of banking & finance30(5), 1559-1580.
Cleary, S. (2006). International corporate investment and the relationships between financial constraint measures. Journal of banking & finance30(5), 1559-1580.
Donangelo, A. (2014). Labor mobility: Implications for asset pricing. The Journal of Finance69(3), 1321-1346.
Froot, K. A., Perold, A., & Stein, J. C. (1991). Shareholder trading practices and corporate investment horizons.
Ghaly, M., Dang, V. A., & Stathopoulos, K. (2020). Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions. Journal of Corporate Finance64, 101634.
Graham, J. R., Harvey, C. R., & Rajgopal, S. (2005). The economic implications of corporate financial reporting. Journal of accounting and economics40(1-3), 3-73.
Habib, A., & Hasan, M. M. (2021). Business strategy and labor investment efficiency. International Review of Finance21(1), 58-96.
Habib, A., & Ranasinghe, D. (2022). Labor investment efficiency and credit ratings. Finance Research Letters48, 102924.
Hadlock, C. J., & Pierce, J. R. (2010). New evidence on measuring financial constraints: Moving beyond the KZ index. The review of financial studies23(5), 1909-1940.
Hadlock, C. J., & Pierce, J. R. (2010). New evidence on measuring financial constraints: Moving beyond the KZ index. The Review of Financial Studies23(5), 1909-1940.
Hamermesh, D. S. (1995). Labour demand and the source of adjustment costs. The Economic Journal105(430), 620-634.
Hansson, B., Johanson, U., & Leitner, K. H. (2004). The impact of human capital and human capital investments on firm performance: evidence from the literature and European survey results. CEDEFOP Third Report on Vocational Training Reserch in Europe, Background Report, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities3, 260-319.
Hejazi, R., Kalhornia, H., Dadashi, I., & Firooznia, A. (2018). Investigating the effect of stock price informativeness on labor investment efficiency, Journal  of Value and Behavioral Accounting, 3(5), 209-232. [In Pearsian].
Huang, X., & Tarkom, A. (2022). Labor investment efficiency and cash flow volatility. Finance Research Letters50, 103227.
Jung, B., Lee, W. J., & Weber, D. P. (2014). Financial reporting quality and labor investment efficiency. Contemporary Accounting Research31(4), 1047-1076.
Keefe, M. O. C., & Yaghoubi, M. (2016). The influence of cash flow volatility on capital structure and the use of debt of different maturities. Journal of Corporate Finance38, 18-36.
Khedmati, M., Sualihu, M. A., & Yawson, A. (2020). CEO-director ties and labor investment efficiency. Journal of Corporate Finance65, 101492.
Lai, S., Li, X., & Chan, K. C. (2021). CEO overconfidence and labor investment efficiency. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance55, 101319.
Li, F. (2011). Earnings quality based on corporate investment decisions. Journal of Accounting Research49(3), 721-752.
Merz, M., & Yashiv, E. (2007). Labor and the Market Value of the Firm. American Economic Review97(4), 1419-1431.
Minton, B. A., & Schrand, C. (1999). The impact of cash flow volatility on discretionary investment and the costs of debt and equity financing. Journal of financial economics54(3), 423-460.
Pinnuck, M., & Lillis, A. M. (2007). Profits versus losses: Does reporting an accounting loss act as a heuristic trigger to exercise the abandonment option and divest employees?. The Accounting Review82(4), 1031-1053.
Quah, H., Haman, J., & Naidu, D. (2021). The effect of stock liquidity on investment efficiency under financing constraints and asymmetric information: Evidence from the United States. Accounting & Finance61, 2109-2150.
Rauh, J. D. (2006). Investment and financing constraints: Evidence from the funding of corporate pension plans. The Journal of Finance61(1), 33-71.
Richardson, S. (2006). Over-investment of free cash flow. Review of accounting studies11, 159-189.
Scordis, N. A., Barrese, J., & Wang, P. (2008). The impact of cash flow volatility on systematic risk. Journal of insurance issues, 43-71.
Taylor, G., Al-Hadi, A., Richardson, G., Alfarhan, U., & Al-Yahyaee, K. (2019). Is there a relation between labor investment inefficiency and corporate tax avoidance?. Economic Modelling82, 185-201.
Von Thadden, E. L. (1995). Long-term contracts, short-term investment and monitoring. The Review of Economic Studies62(4), 557-575.
Williamson, O. E. (1963). Managerial discretion and business behavior. The American Economic Review53(5), 1032-1057.
Zingales, L. (2000). In search of new foundations. The journal of Finance55(4), 1623-1653.