School of Economics and Management, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 3;19(4):e0300217. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300217. eCollection 2024.
The objective of this study is to explore the impact of working capital management on firms' financial performance in China's agri-food sector from 2006 to 2021. In addition, we analyze whether this impact is the same during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Working capital management is measured by working capital investment policy (measured by current assets to total assets ratio), working capital financing policy (measured by current liabilities to total assets ratio), cash conversion cycle, and net working capital ratio. The results reveal that current assets to total assets ratio and net working capital ratio positively influence financial performance measured through return on assets (ROA), while current liabilities to total assets ratio and cash conversion cycle negatively influence ROA. We also find that the relationship between working capital management and financial performance is more affected during COVID-19 than in the 2008 financial crisis. The findings might provide important implications for company managers to make optimal working capital management practices, depending on the economic environment.
本研究旨在探讨 2006 年至 2021 年期间营运资金管理对中国农业食品部门企业财务绩效的影响。此外，我们还分析了在 2008 年金融危机和 2020 年 COVID-19 危机期间，这种影响是否相同。营运资金管理通过营运资金投资政策（用流动资产与总资产的比率衡量）、营运资金融资政策（用流动负债与总资产的比率衡量）、现金转换周期和净营运资金比率来衡量。结果表明，流动资产与总资产的比率和净营运资金比率对资产回报率（ROA）所衡量的财务绩效呈正相关，而流动负债与总资产的比率和现金转换周期对 ROA 呈负相关。我们还发现，营运资金管理与财务绩效之间的关系在 COVID-19 期间比在 2008 年金融危机期间受影响更大。研究结果可能为公司经理在制定最佳营运资金管理实践方面提供重要启示，具体取决于经济环境。
