IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolet/v247y2025ics0165176524005846.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From chain to capital: Supply chain risks and working capital management

Author

Listed:
  • Huynh, Nhan
  • Le, Quynh Nga

Abstract

This study empirically examines the influence of supply chain risks on working capital management. By employing a text-based measure of firm-specific supply chain risks and a large sample of US listed firms, this study uncovers a strong positive correlation between supply chain risk exposure and net working capital, with an increase of approximately 6 % annually. Firms strategically adjust by increasing inventory and accounts receivable while reducing accounts payable to buffer against disruptions. This adaptive response is particularly evident in firms facing financial constraints, higher international exposure, and those in high-risk sectors, offering critical insights into enhancing resilience and operational efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Huynh, Nhan & Le, Quynh Nga, 2025. "From chain to capital: Supply chain risks and working capital management," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0165176524005846
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112100
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176524005846
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112100?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jose Maria Da Rocha & Diego Restuccia, 2006. "The Role of Agriculture in Aggregate Business Cycles," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 9(3), pages 455-482, July.
    2. Steven M. Fazzari & Bruce C. Petersen, 1993. "Working Capital and Fixed Investment: New Evidence on Financing Constraints," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(3), pages 328-342, Autumn.
    3. Seongtae Kim & Stephan M. Wagner & Claudia Colicchia, 2019. "The Impact of Supplier Sustainability Risk on Shareholder Value," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 55(1), pages 71-87, January.
    4. Gonçalves, Adalto Barbaceia & Schiozer, Rafael F. & Sheng, Hsia Hua, 2018. "Trade credit and product market power during a financial crisis," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 308-323.
    5. Aktas, Nihat & Croci, Ettore & Petmezas, Dimitris, 2015. "Is working capital management value-enhancing? Evidence from firm performance and investments," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 98-113.
    6. Robert Kieschnick & Mark Laplante & Rabih Moussawi, 2013. "Working Capital Management and Shareholders' Wealth," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(5), pages 1827-1852.
    7. William Ho & Tian Zheng & Hakan Yildiz & Srinivas Talluri, 2015. "Supply chain risk management: a literature review," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(16), pages 5031-5069, August.
    8. Matthew D. Hill & G. Wayne Kelly & Michael J. Highfield, 2010. "Net Operating Working Capital Behavior: A First Look," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(2), pages 783-805, June.
    9. Wang, Baolian, 2019. "The cash conversion cycle spread," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 472-497.
    10. Vu, Phuong Thi Thu & Huynh, Nhan & Phan, Hoa & Hoang, Hanh, 2023. "Financial earthquakes and aftershocks: From Brexit to Russia-Ukraine conflict and the stability of European banks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Punam Prasad & Sivasankaran Narayanasamy & Samit Paul & Subir Chattopadhyay & Palanisamy Saravanan, 2019. "Review Of Literature On Working Capital Management And Future Research Agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 827-861, July.
    12. Jing-Sheng Song & Paul H. Zipkin, 1996. "Managing Inventory with the Prospect of Obsolescence," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 44(1), pages 215-222, February.
    13. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    14. Tabash, Mosab I. & Farooq, Umar & Ashfaq, Khurram & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and financing structure: A new panel data evidence from selected Asian economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. Blome, Constantin & Schoenherr, Tobias, 2011. "Supply chain risk management in financial crises--A multiple case-study approach," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 43-57, November.
    16. Ziliang Deng & Ruey-Jer “Bryan” Jean & Rudolf R Sinkovics, 2018. "Rapid expansion of international new ventures across institutional distance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 1010-1032, October.
    17. Marcelo Olivares & Gérard P. Cachon, 2009. "Competing Retailers and Inventory: An Empirical Investigation of General Motors' Dealerships in Isolated U.S. Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(9), pages 1586-1604, September.
    18. Roberts, Michael R. & Whited, Toni M., 2013. "Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance1," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 493-572, Elsevier.
    19. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Aktas, Nihat & Croci, Ettore, 2023. "Climate risk and deployment of corporate resources to working capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    20. Panos Markou & Daniel Corsten, 2021. "Financial and Operational Risk Management: Inventory Effects in the Gold Mining Industry," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(12), pages 4635-4655, December.
    21. Huynh, Nhan & Le, Quynh Nga & Tran, Quang Thien, 2024. "Firm-level political risk and intellectual capital investment: Does managerial ability matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    22. Ali İhsan Akgün & Ayyüce Memiş Karataş, 2020. "Investigating the relationship between working capital management and business performance: evidence from the 2008 financial crisis of EU-28," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(4), pages 545-567, September.
    23. Chun-Hung Chiu & Tsan-Ming Choi, 2016. "Supply chain risk analysis with mean-variance models: a technical review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 240(2), pages 489-507, May.
    24. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    25. ManMohan S. Sodhi & Christopher S. Tang, 2012. "Researchers’ Perspectives on Supply-Chain Risk Research," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: Managing Supply Chain Risk, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 281-301, Springer.
    26. Chang, Chong-Chuo & Chen, Hsien-Yi & Mon, Khin Thiri, 2024. "Impact of economic policy uncertainty on the firm's working capital requirements," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    27. Zeidan, Rodrigo & Shapir, Offer Moshe, 2017. "Cash conversion cycle and value-enhancing operations: Theory and evidence for a free lunch," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 203-219.
    28. Banerjee, Pradip & Dutta, Shantanu, 2022. "The effect of political risk on investment decisions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    29. Huynh, Nhan, 2024. "Non-native players in the domestic league: Foreign penetration and domestic banking sector in an emerging market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    30. Di (Andrew) Wu, 2024. "Text-Based Measure of Supply Chain Risk Exposure," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(7), pages 4781-4801, July.
    31. Chen, Sheng-Syan & Wang, Yanzhi, 2012. "Financial constraints and share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 311-331.
    32. Sawarni, Kumar Sanjay & Narayanasamy, Sivasankaran & Padhan, Purna Chandra, 2023. "Impact of earnings management on working capital management efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    33. Ali İhsan Akgün & Ayyüce Memiş Karataş, 2020. "Investigating the relationship between working capital management and business performance: evidence from the 2008 financial crisis of EU-28," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(4), pages 545-567, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Afrifa, Godfred Adjapong & Tingbani, Ishmael & Adesina, Oluseyi Oluseun, 2022. "Stochastic frontier modelling of working capital efficiency across Europe," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    2. Hossein Tarighi & Grzegorz Zimon & Mohammad Javad Sheikh & Mohammad Sayrani, 2024. "The Impact of Firm Risk and the COVID-19 Crisis on Working Capital Management Strategies: Evidence from a Market Affected by Economic Uncertainty," Risks, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-33, April.
    3. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Aktas, Nihat & Croci, Ettore, 2023. "Climate risk and deployment of corporate resources to working capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    4. Chang, Chong-Chuo & Chen, Hsien-Yi & Mon, Khin Thiri, 2024. "Impact of economic policy uncertainty on the firm's working capital requirements," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    5. Banerjee, Pradip & Dutta, Shantanu & Zhu, Pengcheng, 2021. "Multidimensionality of text based financial constraints and working capital management," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Tarek Ibrahim Eldomiaty & Mohamed Hashem Rashwan & Mohamed Bahaa El Din & Waleed Tayel, 2016. "Firm, industry and economic determinants of working capital at risk," International Journal of Financial Engineering (IJFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(04), pages 1-29, December.
    7. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi, 2016. "State and foreign ownership and the value of working capital management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 217-240.
    8. Hong, Liu & Jain, Bharat A. & Shao, Yingying, 2024. "Family firm governance and working capital management policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    9. Dbouk, Wassim & Moussawi-Haidar, Lama & Jaber, Mohamad Y., 2020. "The effect of economic uncertainty on inventory and working capital for manufacturing firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    10. Chen, Catherine Huirong & Choy, Siu Kai & Tan, Yongxian, 2022. "The cash conversion cycle spread: International evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    11. Afrifa, Godfred & Tingbani, Ishmael, 2017. "Working Capital Management, Cash Flow and SMEs’ Performance," MPRA Paper 82894, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2017.
    12. Chauhan, Gaurav Singh, 2019. "Are working capital decisions truly short-term in nature?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 238-253.
    13. Hari P. Adhikari & Marcin W. Krolikowski & James Malm & Nilesh B. Sah, 2021. "Working capital (mis)management – impact of executive age," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 727-761, March.
    14. Hakim Lyngstadaas, 2020. "Packages or systems? Working capital management and financial performance among listed U.S. manufacturing firms," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 403-450, December.
    15. Dhole, Sandip & Mishra, Sagarika & Pal, Ananda Mohan, 2019. "Efficient working capital management, financial constraints and firm value: A text-based analysis," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    16. Abdul-Rahman Khokhar, 2019. "Working Capital Investment: A Comparative Study - Canada Versus the United States," Multinational Finance Journal, Multinational Finance Journal, vol. 23(1-2), pages 65-102, March - J.
    17. Wei Yu & Jianjun Jia & Ying Zheng, 2023. "Political uncertainty and corporate working capital in China," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 927-966, October.
    18. Zeidan, Rodrigo & Shapir, Offer Moshe, 2017. "Cash conversion cycle and value-enhancing operations: Theory and evidence for a free lunch," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 203-219.
    19. Luca Sensini & Maria Vazquez, 2023. "Effects of Working Capital Management on SME Profitability: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(4), pages 1-85, February.
    20. Vivien Lefebvre, 2020. "Performance, working capital management, and the liability of smallness: A question of opportunity costs?," Post-Print hal-02968569, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Supply chain risk; Supply chain disruptions; Working capital management; Financial flexibility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:247:y:2025:i:c:s0165176524005846. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolet .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.