Agency Costs of Free Cash Flows and Investments in Business Sustainability

45 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2017

See all articles by Ferdinand A. Gul

Ferdinand A. Gul

Deakin University - Department of Accounting

Anthony C. Ng

The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics; Sunway University

Date Written: Jan 20, 2017

Abstract

This paper extends the literature on the determinants of environment, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of sustainability investment by examining whether low growth firms with the agency problems of high free cash flows (FCF) (Jensen, 1986) have more incentives to invest in ESG sustainability. We use sustainability performance as a proxy for sustainability investment, since sustainability performance does not emerge naturally and firms must have invested in sustainability to attain performance. The results indicate that firms with high FCF are associated with higher levels of ESG sustainability investment, after controlling for dividend distributions, debt interest payments and investment expenditure for maintaining asset-in-place and acquiring new investment. We also find that high FCF firms with high investments in ESG sustainability are associated with higher market returns than similar firms with low investments in ESG.

Keywords: Business Sustainability Investment, Corporate Investment, Free Cash Flows, Agency Costs

JEL Classification: G14, G31, M14

Suggested Citation

Gul, Ferdinand A. and Ng, Anthony C., Agency Costs of Free Cash Flows and Investments in Business Sustainability (Jan 20, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3003629 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3003629

Ferdinand A. Gul

Deakin University - Department of Accounting ( email )

Melbourne
Australia

Anthony C. Ng (Contact Author)

The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics ( email )

Level 4, Faculty of Business and Economics
111 Barry Street
Carlton, VIC 3010
Australia

Sunway University ( email )

No 5 Jalan University
Bandar Sunway
Bandar sunway, Selangor 47500
Malaysia

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