Advances and Applications in Statistics

The Advances and Applications in Statistics is an internationally recognized journal indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). It provides a platform for original research papers and survey articles in all areas of statistics, both computational and experimental in nature.

Submit Article

THE IMPACT OF AGENCY COSTS ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM REAL ESTATE COMPANIES LISTED ON VIETNAM STOCK EXCHANGE

Authors

  • Bui Thi Ha Linh
  • Dam Thanh Tu

Keywords:

agency theory, agency costs, firm performance, real estate, Vietnam Stock Exchange

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17654/0972361724079

Abstract

Agency costs are a crucial aspect of corporate governance, with various perspectives and existing measurement methods. Many empirical studies have highlighted that asset turnover and the ratios of general, administrative, and sales expenses to total revenue are commonly used metrics to evaluate agency costs within firms. To quantify the impact of agency costs on the firm performance of listed real estate companies in Vietnam, this study uses panel data regression to determine the impact of agency costs on the firm performance of real estate companies listed on the Vietnam Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2022, encompassing 590 observations. We use panel data regression with fixed effects model (FEM) or random effects model (REM), depending on the relevance of the models. We also exploit feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) to address issues of heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation in the error terms of the model. The results indicate the presence of agency costs in these firms. Specifically, the ratio of general and administrative expenses to total revenue positively affects firm performance, while asset turnover and debt ratio negatively impact it. Firm size positively impacts ROE but negatively affects ROA.

Received: June 21, 2024
Revised: August 12, 2024
Accepted: September 10, 2024

References

A. Alchian and H. Demsetz, Production, information, costs and economic organization, American Economic Review 62(5) (1972), 777-795.

M. C. Anderson, R. D. Banker and S. N. Janakiraman, Are selling, general, and administrative costs “Sticky”? Journal of Accounting Research 41(1) (2003), 47-63. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.00095.

J. S. Ang, R. A. Cole and J. W. Lin, Agency cost and ownership structure, Journal of Finance 55(1) (2000), 81-86. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-1082.00201.

A. Arora and C. Sharma, Corporate governance and firm performance in developing countries: Evidence from India, Corporate Governance 16(2) (2016), 420-436. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-01-2016-0018.

J. Bendickson, J. Muldoon, E. W. Liguori and P. E. Davis, Agency theory: background and epistemology, Journal of Management History 22(4) (2016), 437-449. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-06-2016-0028.

Y. Belghitar and E. Clark, Managerial risk incentives and investment-related agency costs, International Review of Financial Analysis 38 (2015), 191-197. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2014.11.012.

T. H. Brush, P. Bromiley and M. Hendrickx, The free cash flow hypothesis for sales growth and firm performance, Strategic Management Journal 21(4) (2000), 455-472. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200004)21:4<455::AID-SMJ83>3.0.CO;2-P.

A. D. Chandler, Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1990.

M. Harris and A. Raviv, The theory of capital structure, Journal of Finance 46(1) (1991), 297-355. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1991.tb03753.x.

W. Q. Chen and S. H. Jia, Equity incentive, agency cost and enterprise performance – an analysis framework based on double principal-agent problem, Contemporary Economic Science 3 (2015), 106-128.

D. J. Denis and A. K. Timothy, Managerial discipline and corporate restructuring following performance declines, Journal of Financial Economics 55(3) (2000), 391-424. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-405X(99)00055-0.

K. Eisenhardt, Control: organizational and economic approaches, Journal of Management Science 31 (1985), 134-149.

E. F. Fama and M. C. Jensen, Separation of ownership and control, Journal of Law and Economics 26 (1983), 301-325.

S. Ghosh and E. Revilla, The impact of total asset turnover on firm performance, Journal of Business and Finance 23(4) (2007), 455-472.

M. Hall and L. Weiss, Firm size and profitability, Review of Economics and Statistics 49(3) (1967), 319-331. Doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/1926642.

HanoiTimes, Real estate accounts for 7.6% of Vietnam economy, 2021. Source: https://hanoitimes.vn/real-estate-accounts-for-76-of-vietnam-economy-315846. html.

L. D. Hoang, T. M. Tuan, P. V. T. Nha, T. P. Long and T. T. Phuong, Impact of agency costs on firm performance: evidence from Vietnam, Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies 10(2) (2019), 294-309.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.15388/omee.2019.10.15.

H. Jabbary, Z. Hajiha and R. Labeshka, Investigation of the effect of agency costs on firm performance of listed firms in Tehran Stock Exchange, European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences 2(3(s)) (2013), 771-776.

M. Jensen and W. Meckling, Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure, Journal of Financial Economics 3(4) (1976), 305-360. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405x(76)90026-x.

M. C. Jensen, Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers, The American Economic Review 76(2) (1986), 323-329.

W. B. Khidmat and M. U. Rehman, The impact of free cash flows and agency costs on firm performance - an empirical analysis of KSE listed companies of Pakistan, Journal of Financial Engineering 1(3) (2014), 14-27.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345768614500275.

N. T. V. Khuyen, Impact of agency costs on business performance of Vietnam listed food and beverage companies, Proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Challenges: Business Transformation and Circular Economy, 2021, pp. 89-94.

L. Lang and R. M. Stulz, Tobin’s q, corporate diversification, and firm performance, Journal of Political Economy 102(6) (1994), 1248-1280.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/261970.

L. Lang, A. Poulsen and R. M. Stulz, Asset sales, firm performance, and the agency costs of managerial discretion, Journal of Financial Economics 37(1) (1995), 3-37.

L. Lang, E. Ofek and R. M. Stulz, Leverage, investment, and firm growth, Journal of Financial Economics 40(1) (1996), 3-29.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(95)00842-3.

H. S. Lee, Conditional conservatism, agency costs, and the contractual features of debt, Doctoral dissertation, The University of Arizona, 2010. Source: https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/193780.

Y. Liu, M. K. Miletkov, Z. Wei and T. Yang, Board independence and firm performance in China, Journal of Corporate Finance 30 (2015), 223-244.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.12.004.

P. Lowe and T. Rohling, Agency costs, balance sheets and the business cycle, Economic Research Department, Reserve Bank of Australia, 1993. Source: https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/1993/pdf/rdp9311.pdf.

A. R. Mazlan, A. Tapa, N. M. Yusoff and A. B. Mokhtar, The relationship between agency cost and corporate performance among manufacturing companies in Malaysia, Indian-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Finance 3(3) (2019), 38-50. Doi: https://doi.org/10.52962/ipjaf.2019.3.3.81.

P. J. McKnight and C. Weir, Agency costs, corporate governance mechanisms and owner ship structure in large UK publicly quoted companies: a panel data analysis, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 49(2) (2009), 139-158. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2007.09.008.

OECD, Bao cao Kinh te cua OECD: Viet Nam 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2023. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1787/7f5fe56b-vi.

S. H. Penman, Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, New York, 2010.

F. Rossi, J. R. Barth and R. J. Cebula, Do shareholder coalitions affect agency costs? Evidence from Italian-listed companies, Research in International Business and Finance 46 (2018), 181-200. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2018.02.002.

Savills, Savills Q1/2024 market report, 2024.

Source: https://www.savills.com/research_articles/255800/215717-1.

M. Singh and W. N. Davidson, Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance mechanisms, Journal of Banking and Finance 27 (2004), 793-816.

K. A. Smith, J. Chen and R. Anderson, The impact of total asset turnover on firm performance, Journal of Financial Management 12(4) (2003), 455-472.

VietnamCredit, Overview of Vietnam’s real estate industry 2022, 2023. Source: https://vietnamcredit.com.vn/news/overview-of-vietnams-real-estate-industry-2022_14847.

VietnamNews, Real estate market has positive performances in Q1, 2024. Source: https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1654024/real-estate-market-has-positive-performances-in-q1-vars.html.

G. Yao and Q. Wu, Research on the relationship between agency cost and corporate performance, Statistics and Decision-Making 24 (2014), 174-176.

Published

19-10-2024

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

THE IMPACT OF AGENCY COSTS ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM REAL ESTATE COMPANIES LISTED ON VIETNAM STOCK EXCHANGE. (2024). Advances and Applications in Statistics , 91(12), 1555-1578. https://doi.org/10.17654/0972361724079

Similar Articles

1-10 of 148

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.