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Managerial Risk Attitudes and Firm Performance in Ghanaian Manufacturing: an Empirical Analysis Based on Experimental Data

Author

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  • Catherine Pattillo
  • Måns Söderbom

Abstract

Ghanaian manufacturing firms face a highly risky environment. Firms may attempt to manage these risks by undertaking production, input, and investment strategies designed to lower profit variability. Mean-variance analysis implies, however, that these strategies involve a trade-off with lower expected profits. This paper investigates the extent to which more risk averse managers who face high risks attempt to smooth profits at the expense of lower average profits. We use data from the Ghana Manufacturing Enterprise Survey (GMES) 1994-95, and a specialised component designed to measure managers’ risk attitudes using an experimental gambling approach with real monetary payoffs. Joint estimation of profit and profit variance functions which control for unobserved heterogeneity support model predictions. Firms with more risk averse managers who face high risks have lower profit rate variability and lower mean profit rates. These mean and variance differences are economically important and statistically significant.

Suggested Citation

  • Catherine Pattillo & Måns Söderbom, 2000. "Managerial Risk Attitudes and Firm Performance in Ghanaian Manufacturing: an Empirical Analysis Based on Experimental Data," CSAE Working Paper Series 2000-17, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
  • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2000-17
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jansen, Anika & Pfeifer, Harald & Raecke, Julia, 2017. "Only the brave? Risk and time preferences of decision makers and firms' investment in worker training," ROA Research Memorandum 002, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    2. Gouzaye, Amadou & Vitale, Jeffrey D. & Epplin, Francis M. & Adam, Brian D. & Stoecker, Arthur L., 2013. "The Value of Price Stabilization Policy for Cotton Producers in Burkina Faso," 2013 Annual Meeting, February 2-5, 2013, Orlando, Florida 142882, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    3. Rizwan Ullah Khan & Yashar Salamzadeh & Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah & Mazhar Hussain, 2021. "Factors affecting women entrepreneurs’ success: a study of small- and medium-sized enterprises in emerging market of Pakistan," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, December.
    4. Jean-Louis Warnholz, 2008. "Is investment in Africa low despite high profits?," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-31, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    5. Sharma, Smriti & Tarp, Finn, 2018. "Does managerial personality matter? Evidence from firms in Vietnam," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 432-445.
    6. Anh Do, Vu Phuong & Bui, Quang Tuyen, 2022. "The influence of leadership personality on profitability and firm investment in human capital: The case of Vietnamese SMEs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    7. Cucculelli, Marco & Ermini, Barbara, 2013. "Risk attitude, product innovation, and firm growth. Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 275-279.
    8. Albert Danso & Samuel Adomako & John Ofori Damoah & Moshfique Uddin, 2016. "Risk-taking Propensity, Managerial Network Ties and Firm Performance in an Emerging Economy," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 25(2), pages 155-183, September.
    9. Haeng-Sun Kim, 2019. "Differential Impact of Uncertainty on Exporting Decision in Risk-averse and Risk-taking Firms," Working Papers hal-02128335, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ghanaian manufacturing; risk aversion; profit function; variance function;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations

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