scholarly journals How Audit Quality Affects the Firm Performance with the Moderating Role of the Product Market Competition: Empirical Evidence from Pakistani Manufacturing Firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Sattar ◽  
Sohail Ahmad Javeed ◽  
Rashid Latief

Audit quality (AQ) is a crucial instrument for ensuring transparency and accountability in both the public and private sectors. If the AQ is responsible for the maximization or minimization of profit, then what are the circumstances that make these possible? In this study, we examined the role of the product market competition (PMC) in the relation between the AQ and firm performance (FP). The PMC on the manufacturing firms of Pakistan was divided into two categories—low product market competition (LPMC) and high product market competition (HPMC). This division was calculated using the Herfindahl–Hirschman index (HHI). Then, we used ordinary least squares (OLS), the fixed-effect model, and the generalized method of moment (GMM) to examine the role of PMC on the association between the AQ and FP. The results of the study revealed that the financial performance of firms was enhanced with the quality of the audit. Highly competitive firms demonstrated higher chances to capture the maximum profit and have a positive relationship with FP, while less competitive firms were negatively associated with FP. Furthermore, the HPMC played a vital role in boosting the profit of the firms. On one hand, the connection between the AQ and FP was positively affected by the HPMC. On the other hand, the connection between the AQ and FP was negatively affected by the LPMC. Thus, the findings of this investigation have various implications for owners, investors, shareholders, and governments. This study can help the governments of developing economies to enhance economic conditions by focusing on the industrial sector. This study also contributes to the literature by supporting the agency theory that PMC can mitigate the agency issue between owners and agents.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 796-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveed Ahmed ◽  
Talat Afza

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of competitive intensity between the existing relationship of capital structure and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Using the balanced panel data of listed non-financial firms of Pakistan, the present study adopts both the panel and OLS estimation techniques to draw the inferences. Findings The results exhibit that high debt ratio is harmful for the accounting performance of the selected sample firms of Pakistan. In addition, product market competition negatively moderates the relationship between capital structure and firm performance which suggests that high product market competition can be used as a substitute of debt financing to align the interests of a firm’s managers and shareholders. Practical implications The findings of the research provide evidence for the policy makers/regulators that the sample firms should discourage the high debt financing in the presence of competitive intensity in the product marketplace. Originality/value The core contribution of the current research is to examine the moderating role of product market competition on the leverage–performance relationship because, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no single study has previously explored this relationship in the context of Pakistan.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 1123-1143
Author(s):  
Omar Farooq ◽  
Zakir Pashayev

PurposeThis paper documents the impact of product market competition on the value of advertising expenditures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the data for non-financial firms from India and the pooled regression procedure to test their arguments during the period between 2009 and 2018.FindingsThe results show that advertising expenditures of firms operating in sectors with relatively high competition are more valuable than advertising expenditures of firms operating in sectors with relatively low competition. The results of the study are robust across various proxies of advertising expenditures and firm performance. Furthermore, the results also show that the positive impact of product market competition on the value of advertising expenditures is confined only to firms that already have lower agency problems.Originality/valueThe results of the study highlight the importance of product market competition on the value of advertising expenditure in the emerging market setting, where agency problems are supposed to be high.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussein Ali Ahmad Abdoh ◽  
Oscar Varela

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of product market competition on capital spending (investments) financed by cash flow (CF), and the role of financial constraints (FC) on these effects. Design/methodology/approach The Herfindahl-Hirschman index of concentration measures competition. Earnings retention, working capital, the Kaplan and Zingales (1997) index and CF shortfalls measure FC. Regressions relating capital spending to competition are performed for the full sample, as well as financially constrained and unconstrained, and growth and value firms’ sub-samples. For robustness, large reductions in import tariffs are examined to exogenously measure competition, with the impact of these on capital spending tested via the difference-in-difference method. Findings The results show that competition fosters valuable investments when firms are financially unconstrained, especially for growth firms, and reduces these investments when they are financially constrained, especially for value firms. Practical implications The role of policy makers in alleviating FC should be focused toward growth firms that operate in competitive industries. As well, increasing financial pressure on value firms in competitive industries can have desirable effects, as it forces these firms to reduce investment inefficiency. Originality/value Many firm-specific and environmental factors drive the relation between competition and investment. Khanna and Tice (2000) find profitable firms increasing and highly levered firms decreasing investments in response to Wal-Mart’s entry into their markets. Jiang et al. (2015) suggest that environments with predictable growth drive a positive relation between competition and investments. This study claims that another factor that affects this relation is the firm’s level of FC.


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