Preview

Finance: Theory and Practice

Advanced search

Impact of Working Capital on Corporate Performance: Evidence from India

https://doi.org/10.26794/2587-5671-2025-29-2-71-82

Abstract

The subject of this study is to empirically investigate the relationship between working capital and firm performance in India. The purpose of the study is to test the impact of optimal working capital on a firm’s market value and profitability. Methodology: The Generalised Method of Movement is employed to study the impact of working capital on a firm’s performance, measured as Return on Capital Employed and Enterprise Value to Sales. The results indicate a U-shape relationship between RoCE and the working capital component. On the contrary, the inventory turnover ratio has an inverted U-shape relationship with the market value of the firm. This study concludes that tight inventory management adds value at the initial stage, but strict inventory control erodes market value. The findings of the study support the optimum level of inventories to increase the firm’s performance, both in accounting terms and market value.

About the Authors

S. Muruganandan
Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University
India

Sivanmalaiappan Muruganandan — PhD, Assist. Prof., School of Business

Pune, Maharashtra


Competing Interests:

Пуна, Махараштра



T. S. Rakesh
GSSS SSFG College
India

Thirumakoodlu Srikantamurthy Rakesh — PhD, M. Com., Principal

Mysore, Karnataka

 



M. Dharani
Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli
India

Munusamy Dharani — M. Com., PhD, Assist. Prof.

Tamil Nadu

 



References

1. Altaf N., Shah F. A. How does working capital management affect the profitability of Indian companies? Journal of Advances in Management Research. 2018;15(3):347-366. DOI: 10.1108/JAMR-06-2017-0076

2. Deloof M. Does working capital management affect profitability of Belgian firms? Journal of Business Finance & Accounting. 2003;30(3-4):573-588. DOI: 10.1111/1468-5957.00008

3. Juan Garcia-Teruel P., Martfnez-Solano P. Effects of working capital management on SME profitability. International Journal of Managerial Finance. 2007;3(2):164-177. DOI: 10.1108/17439130710738718

4. Kieschnick R., Laplante M., Moussawi R. Working capital management and shareholders’ wealth. Review of Finance. 2013;17(5):1827-1852. DOI: 10.1093/rof/rfs043

5. Raheman A., Nasr M. Working capital management and profitability — case of Pakistani firms. International Review of Business Research Papers. 2007;3(1):279-300. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228727444

6. Bhattacharya H. Theories of trade credit: Limitations and applications. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2008. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.1286443

7. Sharma A. K., Kumar S. Effect of working capital management on firm profitability: Empirical evidence from India. Global Business Review. 2011;12(1):159-173. DOI: 10.1177/097215091001200110

8. Ukaegbu B. The significance of working capital management in determining firm profitability: Evidence from developing economies in Africa. Research in International Business and Finance. 2014;31:1-16. DOI: 10.1016/J.RIBAF.2013.11.005

9. Banos-Caballero S., Garcia-Teruel P.J., Martinez-Solano P. How does working capital management affect the profitability of Spanish SMEs? Small Business Economics. 2012;39(2):517-529. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-011-9317-8

10. Bastos R., Pindado J. An agency model to explain trade credit policy and empirical evidence. Applied Economics. 2007;39(20):2631-2642. DOI: 10.1080/00036840600722232

11. Akinlo O. O. Effect of working capital on profitability of selected quoted firms in Nigeria. Global Business Review. 2012;13(3):367-381. DOI: 10.1177/097215091201300301

12. Bhatia S., Srivastava A. Working capital management and firm performance in emerging economies: Evidence from India. Management and Labour Studies. 2016;41(2):71-87. DOI: 10.1177/0258042X16658733

13. Boisjoly R. P., Conine T. E., McDonald M. B. Working capital management: Financial and valuation impacts. Journal of Business Research. 2020;108:1-8. DOI: 10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2019.09.025

14. Lee C.-Y. The effects of firm specific factors and macroeconomics on profitability of property-liability insurance industry in Taiwan. Journal of Business & Management. 2014;2(1):221-227.

15. Mathuva D. M. The influence of working capital management components on corporate profitability: A survey on Kenyan listed firms. Research Journal of Business Management. 2010;4(1):1-11. DOI: 10.3923/RJBM.2010.1.11

16. Singhania M., Mehta P. Working capital management and firms’ profitability: Evidence from emerging Asian countries. South Asian Journal of Business Studies. 2017;6(1):80-97. DOI: 10.1108/SAJBS-09-2015-0060

17. Mahmood F., Han D., Ali N., Mubeen R., Shahzad U. Moderating effects of firm size and leverage on the working capital finance-profitability relationship: Evidence from China. Sustainability. 2019;11(7):2029. DOI: 10.3390/SU11072029

18. Binti Mohamad N. E.A., Mohd Saad N. B. Working capital management: The effect of market valuation and profitability in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management. 2010;5(11):140-147. DOI: 10.5539/ijbm.v5n11p140

19. Moussa A. A. The impact of working capital management on firms’ performance and value: Evidence from Egypt. Journal of Asset Management. 2018;19(4):259-273. DOI: 10.1057/S41260-018-0081-z

20. Enqvist J., Graham M., Nikkinen J. The impact of working capital management on firm profitability in different business cycles: Evidence from Finland. Research in International Business and Finance. 2014;32:36- 49. DOI: 10.1016/J.RIBAF.2014.03.005

21. Korajczyk R. A., Levy A. Capital structure choice: Macroeconomic conditions and financial constraints. Journal of Financial Economics. 2003;68(1):75-109. DOI: 10.1016/S0304-405X(02)00249-0

22. Tsuruta D. Working capital management during the global financial crisis: Evidence from Japan. Japan and the World Economy. 2019;49:206-219. DOI: 10.1016/J.JAPWOR.2019.01.002

23. Pratap Singh H., Kumar S. Working capital management: A literature review and research agenda. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets. 2014;6(2):173-197. DOI: 10.1108/QRFM-04-2013-0010

24. Kasozi J. The effect of working capital management on profitability: A case of listed manufacturing firms in South Africa. Investment Management and Financial Innovations. 2017;14(2-2):336-346. DOI: 10.21511/IMFI.14(2-2).2017.05

25. Eljelly A. M.A. Liquidity-profitability tradeoff: An empirical investigation in an emerging market. International Journal of Commerce and Management. 2004;14(2):48-61. DOI: 10.1108/10569210480000179

26. Lazaridis I., Tryfonidis D. The relationship between working capital management and profitability of listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange. Journal of Financial Management and Analysis. 2006;19(l):26-38.

27. Ren T., Liu N., Yang H., Xiao Y., Hu Y. Working capital management and firm performance in China. Asian Review of Accounting. 2019;27(4):546-562. DOI: 10.1108/ARA-04-2018-0099

28. Chang C.-C. Cash conversion cycle and corporate performance: Global evidence. International Review of Economics & Finance. 2018;56:568-581. DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2017.12.014

29. Mun S. G., Jang S. C.S. Working capital, cash holding, and profitability of restaurant firms. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2015;48:1-11. DOI: 10.1016/J.IJHM.2015.04.003

30. Soukhakian I., Khodakarami M., Ntim C. G. Working capital management, firm performance and macroeconomic factors: Evidence from Iran. Cogent Business & Management. 2019;6(1):1684227. DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2019.1684227

31. Akoto K., Awunyo-Vitor D., Angmor P. L. Working capital management and profitability: Evidence from Ghanaian listed manufacturing firms. Journal of Economics and International Finance. 2013;5(9):373-379. DOI: 10.5897/JEIF2013.0539

32. Panda A. K., Nanda S. Working capital financing and corporate profitability of Indian manufacturing firms. Management Decision. 2018;56(2):441-457. DOI: 10.1108/MD-07-2017-0698

33. Rey-Ares L., Fernandez-Lopez S., Rodeiro-Pazos D. Impact of working capital management on profitability for Spanish fish canning companies. Marine Policy. 2021;130:104583. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104583

34. Tauringana V., Adjapong Afrifa G. The relative importance of working capital management and its components to SMEs’ profitability. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2013;20(3):453-469. DOI: 10.1108/JSBED-12-2011-0029

35. Braimah A., Mu Y., Quaye I., Ibrahim A. A. Working capital management and SMEs profitability in emerging economies: The Ghanaian case. SAGE Open. 2021;11(1). DOI: 10.1177/2158244021989317

36. Aktas N., Croci E., Petmezas D. Is working capital management value-enhancing? Evidence from firm performance and investments. Journal of Corporate Finance. 2015;30:98-113. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.12.008

37. Pirttila M., Virolainen V. M., Lind L., Karri T. Working capital management in the Russian automotive industry supply chain. International Journal of Production Economics. 2020;221:107474. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.08.009

38. Gujarati D. N. Basic econometrics. 4th ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill; 2004. 1027 p.

39. Singhania M., Sharma N., Yagnesh Rohit J. Working capital management and profitability: Evidence from Indian manufacturing companies. Decision. 2014;41(3):313-326. DOI: 10.1007/s40622-014-0043-3

40. Zariyawati M., Annuar M., Taufiq H., Rahim A. Working capital management and corporate performance: Case of Malaysia. Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing. 2009;5(11):47-54. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259704839_Working_Capital_Management_and_Corporate_Performance_Case_of_Malaysia

41. Bhunia A., Das A. Underlying relationship between working capital management and profitability of pharmaceutical companies in India. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business. 2015;1(1):27-36. DOI: 10.11648/J.AJTAB.20150101.15

42. Chaklader B. Relationship of working capital management with firm’s profitability during the period of global slowdown: An empirical study of manufacturing firms in India. Research Journal of Economics and Business Studies. 2013;2(3):41-50.

43. Yunos R. M., Nazaruddin N., Ghapar F. A., Ahmad S. A., Zakaria N. B. Working capital management in Malaysian government-linked companies. Procedia Economics and Finance. 2015;31:573-580. DOI: 10.1016/S 2212-5671(15)01203-4

44. Lee J. Does size matter in firm performance? Evidence from US public firms. International Journal of the Economics of Business. 2009;16(2):189-203. DOI: 10.1080/13571510902917400

45. Laghari F., Chengang Y. Investment in working capital and financial constraints: Empirical evidence on corporate performance. International Journal of Managerial Finance. 2019;15(2):164-190. DOI: 10.1108/IJMF-10-2017-0236

46. Fleming G., Heaney R., McCosker R. Agency costs and ownership structure in Australia. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal. 2005;13(1):29-52. DOI: 10.1016/J.PACFIN.2004.04.001


Review

For citations:


Muruganandan S., Rakesh T.S., Dharani M. Impact of Working Capital on Corporate Performance: Evidence from India. Finance: Theory and Practice. 2025;29(2):71-82. https://doi.org/10.26794/2587-5671-2025-29-2-71-82

Views: 266


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2587-5671 (Print)
ISSN 2587-7089 (Online)