Did Cash Holding Affect Firm Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic? The Role of Women CEOs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22452/IJIE.vol18no2.8Keywords:
Firm performance, Cash holding, Women CEO, Covid-19, Risk-takingAbstract
The Covid-19 crisis led to severe financial challenges for companies, with
many struggling to meet their financial obligations due to insufficient cash flow. This
paper examines the effect of corporate cash holdings on firm performance during the
Covid-19 pandemic. The influence of women CEOs on corporate cash holdings and firm
performance during this difficult period was also investigated. By using a cross-sectional
ordinary least squares (OLS) regression approach, it was found that a sample of 624
Malaysian listed firms had higher cash holdings in 2019, which contributed positively
to firm performance in 2020. Despite women CEOs holding less cash on average, their
cash management practices during the pandemic improved firm performance compared
to their male counterparts. However, the interaction between cash holdings and female
CEO becomes insignificant when firm performance is analysed in 2021. The findings of
this study suggest important policy implications, especially in promoting gender diversity
in top management, as female leadership can contribute to firm survival and performance
during periods of extreme distress. This study extends the literature on corporate cash
management and gender-based differences in executive decision-making, which provides
empirical evidence on the role of female CEOs in crisis management.
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