IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/revfin/v33y2017icp29-40.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Taming polysemous signals: The role of marketing intensity on the relationship between financial leverage and firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • Bae, John
  • Kim, Sang-Joon
  • Oh, Hannah

Abstract

This study attempts to reconcile the two strands of research on the impacts of financial leverage on firm valuation. The prior literature has shown that financial leverage has a polysemous effect. In other words, it provides two opposing signals of firm performance (i.e., financial distress vs. a driver of positive change in a firm's prospects). Given that the effects of financial leverage are contradictory, we specify how these divergent signals appear and propose that there is a non-monotonic effect of financial leverage on firm valuation. The study also shows that marketing activities can be strategically implemented to tame these polysemous signals. Marketing activities are costly actions for a firm, especially one in an adverse environment with high leverage, and are rewarded in terms of firm valuation. Therefore, marketing activities can help reinforce the driver signal and alleviate the distress signal of financial leverage, thus increasing firm valuation. This study finds a U-shaped relationship between financial leverage and Tobin's q and a positive moderating effect of marketing intensity on the curvilinear relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Bae, John & Kim, Sang-Joon & Oh, Hannah, 2017. "Taming polysemous signals: The role of marketing intensity on the relationship between financial leverage and firm performance," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 29-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:revfin:v:33:y:2017:i:c:p:29-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rfe.2016.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1058330016300192
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rfe.2016.12.002?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. Ian Domowitz & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1986. "Business Cycles and the Relationship Between Concentration and Price-Cost Margins," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, Spring.
    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. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    5. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Watts, Ross L., 1992. "The investment opportunity set and corporate financing, dividend, and compensation policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 263-292, December.
    6. Claire Eckstein, 2004. "The measurement and recognition of intangible assets: then and now," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 139-158, June.
    7. James Robins & Margarethe F. Wiersema, 1995. "A resource‐based approach to the multibusiness firm: Empirical analysis of portfolio interrelationships and corporate financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 277-299.
    8. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    9. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    10. Stulz, ReneM., 1990. "Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 3-27, July.
    11. John Goddard & Manouche Tavakoli & John Wilson, 2005. "Determinants of profitability in European manufacturing and services: evidence from a dynamic panel model," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(18), pages 1269-1282.
    12. Ari Hyytinen & Mika Pajarinen, 2005. "External Finance, Firm Growth and the Benefits of Information Disclosure: Evidence from Finland," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 69-93, January.
    13. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    14. Stephen A. Ross, 1977. "The Determination of Financial Structure: The Incentive-Signalling Approach," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(1), pages 23-40, Spring.
    15. Frank, Murray Z. & Goyal, Vidhan K., 2003. "Testing the pecking order theory of capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 217-248, February.
    16. Leland, Hayne E & Pyle, David H, 1977. "Informational Asymmetries, Financial Structure, and Financial Intermediation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 371-387, May.
    17. McConnell, John J. & Servaes, Henri, 1990. "Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 595-612, October.
    18. Brown, Lawrence D. & Caylor, Marcus L., 2006. "Corporate governance and firm valuation," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 409-434.
    19. Darush Yazdanfar & Peter Öhman, 2015. "Debt financing and firm performance: an empirical study based on Swedish data," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 16(1), pages 102-118, January.
    20. Titman, Sheridan & Trueman, Brett, 1986. "Information quality and the valuation of new issues," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 159-172, June.
    21. Natalie Mizik & Robert Jacobson, 2007. "Myopic Marketing Management: Evidence of the Phenomenon and Its Long-Term Performance Consequences in the SEO Context," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 361-379, 05-06.
    22. Kevin Lane Keller & Donald R. Lehmann, 2006. "Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(6), pages 740-759, 11-12.
    23. Campello, Murillo, 2006. "Debt financing: Does it boost or hurt firm performance in product markets?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 135-172, October.
    24. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    25. Titman, Sheridan & Wessels, Roberto, 1988. " The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 1-19, March.
    26. Whited, Toni M, 1992. "Debt, Liquidity Constraints, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1425-1460, September.
    27. J. Michael Geringer & Paul W. Beamish & Richard C. Dacosta, 1989. "Diversification strategy and internationalization: Implications for mne performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 109-119, March.
    28. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    29. Haugen, Robert A & Senbet, Lemma W, 1978. "The Insignificance of Bankruptcy Costs to the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 33(2), pages 383-393, May.
    30. Barber, Brad M. & Lyon, John D., 1997. "Detecting long-run abnormal stock returns: The empirical power and specification of test statistics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 341-372, March.
    31. Laurent Weill, 2008. "Leverage and Corporate Performance: Does Institutional Environment Matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 251-265, March.
    32. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    33. Kraus, Alan & Litzenberger, Robert H, 1973. "A State-Preference Model of Optimal Financial Leverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 28(4), pages 911-922, September.
    34. Stewart C. Myers, 2001. "Capital Structure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 81-102, Spring.
    35. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    36. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    37. Gary Erickson & Robert Jacobson, 1992. "Gaining Comparative Advantage Through Discretionary Expenditures: The Returns to R&D and Advertising," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(9), pages 1264-1279, September.
    38. Opler, Tim C & Titman, Sheridan, 1994. "Financial Distress and Corporate Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(3), pages 1015-1040, July.
    39. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    40. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    41. Margaritis, Dimitris & Psillaki, Maria, 2010. "Capital structure, equity ownership and firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 621-632, March.
    42. Guney, Yilmaz & Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2007. "International evidence on the non-linear impact of leverage on corporate cash holdings," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 45-60, February.
    43. John R. Graham, 2003. "Taxes and Corporate Finance: A Review," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1075-1129.
    44. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    45. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jing Cao & Jie Mao, 2022. "Firm performance and economic development: Evidence from a unique dataset of China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 447-464, July.
    2. Saurabh Ambulkar & S. Arunachalam & Raghu Bommaraju & Sridhar Ramaswami, 2023. "Should a firm bring a supplier into the boardroom?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(1), pages 28-44, January.
    3. Lv, Xin & Liu, Tianyu & Dong, Weijia & Su, Wenjun, 2023. "The market value of green innovation: A comparative analysis of global renewable energy firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Eman Fathi Attia & Hamsa hany Ezz Eldeen & Sameh said Daher, 2023. "Size-Threshold Effect in the Capital Structure–Firm Performance Nexus in the MENA Region: A Dynamic Panel Threshold Regression Model," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-13, January.
    5. Víctor Gómez-Valenzuela, 2022. "Intellectual capital factors at work in Dominican firms: understanding their influence," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Evelini Lauri Morri Garcia & Valter Afonso Vieira & Caroline Pereira Borges, 2022. "Marketing Investment Information: Differentiation Resource or Secret?," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 26(2), pages 200386-2003.
    7. Amanj Mohamed Ahmed & Deni Pandu Nugraha & István Hágen, 2023. "The Relationship between Capital Structure and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of Agency Cost," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, June.
    8. Rafael Barreiros Porto & Gordon Robert Foxall, 2022. "The marketing‐finance interface and national well‐being: An operant behavioral economics analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 2941-2954, October.
    9. Muhammad Akhtar & Kong Yusheng & Muhammad Haris & Qurat Ul Ain & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid, 2022. "Impact of financial leverage on sustainable growth, market performance, and profitability," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 737-774, May.
    10. Jong-Wan Bae & Sang-Joon Kim, 2022. "How Do Active Firms Implementing Corporate Environmental Responsibility Take Technological Approaches to Environmental Issues? A Resource-Allocation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-13, July.
    11. Ben-Jebara, Marouen & Mishra, Saurabh & Modi, Sachin B. & Mahar, Stephen, 2023. "Product personalization focus in the pharmaceutical industry and shareholder wealth: The roles of marketing capability and financial leverage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    12. L. M. Daphne Yiu & Hugo K. S. Lam & Andy C. L. Yeung & T. C. E. Cheng, 2020. "Enhancing the Financial Returns of R&D Investments through Operations Management," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(7), pages 1658-1678, July.

    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. John Bae & Sang‐Joon Kim & Hannah Oh, 2017. "Taming polysemous signals: The role of marketing intensity on the relationship between financial leverage and firm performance," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 29-40, April.
    2. Kim, Sang-Joon & Bae, John & Oh, Hannah, 2019. "Financing strategically: The moderation effect of marketing activities on the bifurcated relationship between debt level and firm valuation of small and medium enterprises," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 663-681.
    3. Antonczyk, Ron Christian & Salzmann, Astrid Juliane, 2014. "Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 132-151.
    4. Zhang, Dongyang & Liu, Deqiang, 2017. "Determinants of the capital structure of Chinese non-listed enterprises: Is TFP efficient?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 179-202.
    5. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    6. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    7. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    8. Bayan M Arqawi & William J Bertin & Laurie Prather, 2014. "The impact of product warranties on the capital structure of Australian firms," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 39(2), pages 207-225, May.
    9. Rizov, Marian, 2008. "Corporate capital structure and how soft budget constraints may affect it," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(4), pages 648-684.
    10. Shoaib Ali & Attiya Yasmin Javid, 2015. "Relationship between Credit Rating, Capital Structure and Earning Management Behaviour: Evidence from Pakistani Listed Firms," PIDE-Working Papers 2015:121, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    11. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2001. "Company Financing, Captial Structure, and Ownership: A Survey, and Implications for Developing Economies," SUERF Studies, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, number 12 edited by Morten Balling, May.
    12. Schauten, M.B.J. & Spronk, J., 2006. "Optimal Capital Structure: Reflections on Economic and Other Values," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2006-074-F&A, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    13. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    14. Viet Anh Dang, 2005. "Testing the Trade-off and Pecking Order Theory: Some UK Evidence," Money Macro and Finance (MMF) Research Group Conference 2005 28, Money Macro and Finance Research Group.
    15. Paulo J. Maçãs Nunes & Zélia M. Serrasqueiro, 2007. "Capital Structure of Portuguese Service Industries: A Panel Data Analysis," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5), pages 549-562, July.
    16. Nestor Bruno & Marcelo Pedro Dabos & Fernando Andrés Grozs, 2021. "Determinantes de la estructura de capital: un survey con énfasis en Latinoamérica," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4444, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    17. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2005. "Company Financial Structure: A Survey and Implications for Developing Economies," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Green & Colin Kirkpatrick & Victor Murinde (ed.), Finance and Development, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Romain FOGO PAWO, 2020. "déterminants objectifs de l’endettement en contexte de rationnement du crédit," Journal of Academic Finance, RED research unit, university of Gabes, Tunisia, vol. 11(2), pages 280-292, December.
    19. repec:dgr:rugsom:01e54 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Clemente-Almendros, José A. & Sogorb-Mira, Francisco, 2018. "Costs of debt, tax benefits and a new measure of non-debt tax shields: examining debt conservatism in Spanish listed firms," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 162-175.
    21. Ruben Arrondo & Silvia Gomez-Anson, 2003. "A study of Spanish firms' security issue decision under asymmetric information and agency costs," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(10), pages 771-782.

    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:revfin:v:33:y:2017:i:c:p:29-40. 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/inca/620170 .

    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.