판매관리비와 미래 기업성과의 관계

초록

From the viewpoint of fundamental analysis of financial statements, an increase in the ratio of selling, general, and administrative costs to sales (hereafter SG&A cost ratio) between two periods is generally perceived as a negative signal about future firm performance (Anderson et al. 2007). However, recent few studies have shown that the increasing SG&A cost ratio has a positive influence on future profitability and firm value (Baumgarten et al. 2010). The existing literature thus show mixed evidence concerning the effects of SG&A cost ratio on future firm performance. While it has been argued that the expenditure of SG&A costs improves future performance as Research and Development costs and advertising expenses might do, it may negatively affect firm value because the expenditure of SG&A costs may suggest agency problems. Although some studies argue for a positive influence of an increasing SG&A cost ratio on future performance, few studies empirically examine the association between SG&A cost ratio and future performance. Therefore, this paper investigates the association between SG&A cost ratio and future performance that has not drawn much attention in the literature. The main results of the study are as follows. When sales decrease, we find a positive relationship between SG&A cost ratio and future performance, measured as net income, operating income, and market values. Specifically, when sales decrease or when they are loss firms, we also find a positive relationship between SG&A cost ratio and future performance. However, when sales increase or when they are profit firms, we find no significant relationship between SG&A cost ratio and future performance. The contributions of this research are as follows. It extends Anderson et al. (2007) by examining positive association between the expenditure of SG&A costs and future firm performance. It is also hoped that this study contributes to the enhanced understanding of the expenditure of SG&A costs by managers, and provides various implications to capital market participants and policy makers.

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