Macroeconomic factors and financing strategies in working capital: Evidence from China

Changing economic situation of a country affects working capital by influencing lenders' financing abilities, firms' business activities, and managers' decisions. Hence, this paper explores the influence of macroeconomic factors in the relationship between working capital financing and firm performance over the period of 2000–2018. Applying the two-step generalized methods of moments, we found a non-linear and inverted U-shaped relationship between working capital finance (WCF) and firm performance, significantly influenced by the macroeconomic indicators that is, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, Inflation rate, and interest rate. We segregated the data regarding the global financial recession period 2008–2010 and disclosed that the non-linear and inverted U-shaped relationship between WCF and firm performance turns to linear and negative during this recession period. We also evaluated the role of GDP growth, inflation, and interest rate in WCF and firm performance relationship during the global recession and found that these factors do not influence the nexus during this period. Firm managers, lending agencies, and researchers may use these results in choosing the best financing options in working capital under the changing situation of macroeconomic factors. The WCF and firm performance analysis during the global recession period (2008–2010) may be the best prediction model for the current financial crisis caused by COVID-19.