Kailash Kabra | North-Eastern Hill University, Hill Univ. Shillong-793022 (India) (original) (raw)

Papers by Kailash Kabra

Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, May 27, 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and volunta... more The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and voluntary disclosure. The expectation is that with the introduction of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance in 2000, companies would be more aware of the need to have good governance and that good governance would lead to enhanced transparency. Regression analysis was performed on data collected from annual reports for years 2001 and 2006. Consistent with expectation, the extent of voluntary disclosure has increased from 2001 to 2006. The increase was statistically significant at the 5% level. However contrary to expectation, none of the corporate governance variables recommended in the Code was statistically significant.

Business perspectives and research, Sep 4, 2017

This study examines the asymmetries in capital structure adjustment speed depending on firms’ aff... more This study examines the asymmetries in capital structure adjustment speed depending on firms’ affiliation to business groups. Using partial adjustment framework on a dataset of 2001 listed Indian non-financial firms over the period of 2005–2013, it was found that Indian firms annually adjusted about 37 percent of their deviation from target leverage. Groups firms, in general, adjust their leverage ratio slower than the stand-alone firms, suggesting lesser net benefits of adjustment for the former than the latter. The results are persistent irrespective of firms’ extent of deviation from their target leverage. However, the net benefits of adjustment and consequently the adjustment speed for both the groups of firms, irrespective of their extent of deviation from target leverage, seem to be alike, when they are over-levered and lower for group firms than the stand-alone firms, when they are under-levered. These findings indicate that both group and stand-alone firms face identical threats, when they are over-levered, whereas group firms possibly have alternative arrangements to reduce the owner–manager agency conflicts and tax liability, when they are under-levered. These findings are expected to prove helpful for financial managers in designing their capital structure based on ownership structure, and the nature and extent of deviation from the target leverage.

Managerial Finance, Dec 5, 2016

Purpose This paper studies the relationship between characteristics of firms’ and their propensit... more Purpose This paper studies the relationship between characteristics of firms’ and their propensity to maintain zero-leverage (ZL). Its second objective is to examine the impact of macroeconomic conditions on firms’ ZL policy. Finally, the purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying motives behind eschewing debt for constrained and unconstrained firms. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses data of 2001 non-financial and non-utility listed Indian firms over a period of 2005-2013 from Capitaline database. Size quintiles and dividend payment status have been used to differentiate between constrained and unconstrained firms. It uses t-test and logistic regression to draw inferences. Findings In general, firms pursuing ZL policy are financially constrained. However, there is a sub-section of ZL firms found unconstrained with high profitability. They appear to be “self-sufficient” to meet their financing requirements. Finally, macroeconomic conditions are counter cyclically related to firms’ ZL policy. Research limitations/implications The impact of corporate governance practices on firms’ ZL policy could not be examined due to data inadequacy. However, financial constraints and the presence of ZL firms come out as important factors to be paid special attention for future empirical works on capital structure. Practical implications The findings can be useful for financial managers in designing capital structure on the basis of their financial position. Originality/value Previous studies on ZL phenomenon are based on developed countries. The findings of previous studies conducted for developed countries get revalidated for the first time in the context of an emerging economy like India.

International Journal of Business Environment, 2020

This paper examines the value relevance of quantitative and qualitative environmental disclosure ... more This paper examines the value relevance of quantitative and qualitative environmental disclosure of 145 polluting companies' in India. Environmental disclosure is measured by a checklist of items based on Global Reporting Initiative guidelines as well as environmental regulations prevailing in India. Subsequently, the disclosure scores are drawn individually by using content analysis of annual reports for a period of nine years, i.e., from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018. Employing static and dynamic panel data regression method, the study finds both quantitative as well as qualitative environmental disclosure plays an important role in enhancing the market value and allows the firm to differentiate it from others. Further, the study finds investment in research and development (R&D) has a positive impact on the financial performance of a company. However, the study finds a negative association between the interaction effect of R&D expenditure with environmental disclosure and the financial performance of a firm.

Business perspectives and research, Apr 8, 2020

The Poznań University of Economics Review, 2019

Corporate Governance (CG) in India has undergone major transformation in the recent past with the... more Corporate Governance (CG) in India has undergone major transformation in the recent past with the enactment of Companies Act, 2013 and revision of SEBI's Listing Agreement. Though some studies were undertaken in the Indian context few conventional aspects of CG have been repetitively addressed with conflicting results. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of some prominent CG attributes such as board size, board independence, role duality, board's gender diversity, ownership concentration and audit committee independence on both market as well as accounting based measures of firm performance (FP). To this end the study uses a sample of top 100 non-financial and non-utility firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the period of 2014-2018 and employs two stage least square with instrumental variables technique of estimation which takes into account potential endogeneity in CG-FP relationship. The findings reveal a significant positive impact of board size, ownership concentration and audit committee independence on market based measure of FP while board independence is found to have a significant negative impact on accounting based measure of FP. Moreover role duality and gender diversity are not associated with FP. The outcome of this study highlights how the relationship between CG and FP works in the unique institutional setting of India and it should be of interest to regulators, practitioners and other market participants.

Social Science Research Network, 2019

SEDME. Small Enterprises development, management and extension journal, Sep 1, 2006

Business perspectives and research, 2020

The significance of firms' growth opportunities as one of the determinants of leverage is documen... more The significance of firms' growth opportunities as one of the determinants of leverage is documented in many prior studies. But, there are not enough studies which examine the impact of growth on leverage adjustment speed. In this backdrop, the present study investigates the relationship between growth and leverage adjustment speed. Second, the study also examines the moderating role of two dimensions of target deviation, that is, nature and level of deviation in the relationship between growth and leverage adjustment speed. Using partial adjustment model on a dataset of 28,532 firm-year observations comprising 2,718 listed Indian firms with 4-12 years data for each firm, the study observes faster leverage adjustment speed for high-growth firms (36%) than low-growth firms (24%). The results also confirm the moderating effect of target deviation in the relationship between growth and adjustment speed. Overall, the study concludes that firms' growth opportunities cause asymmetries in target adjustment speed by altering the costs and benefits of adjustment, and nature and level of target deviation moderates the relationship between growth and adjustment speed. These findings are expected to have substantial practical implications for financial managers in their capital structure decisions.

Emerging economy studies, Oct 4, 2019

This paper considers the trade-off and pecking order theory in a unified framework and examines t... more This paper considers the trade-off and pecking order theory in a unified framework and examines the influence of adverse selection costs on target adjustment process by investigating the relationship between firms' financing imbalance and their target adjustment speed. Using a large dataset of 2718 non-financial and non-utility listed firms over a period of 2004-2005 to 2015-2016, the study observes that Indian firms adjust toward target leverage with a moderate adjustment speed of 32-36 percent. Moreover, firms with above-target debt make faster adjustment than firms with below-target debt, and firms with financing deficit make faster adjustment than firms with financing surplus. The extensions of target adjustment model by considering financing imbalance and direction of deviation together, and also by incorporating extent of deviation further reveal that firms try to avoid equity and prefer to deal in debt while making adjustments toward the target. In fact, firms deal in equity only when they are highly deviated from target leverage. All these findings suggest that adverse selection costs play significant role in the adjustment process. Therefore, though capital structure decisions of Indian firms are guided by trade-off theory, significance of pecking order arguments cannot be negated. This study makes important contributions to the existing literature as prior studies on impact of financing imbalance on adjustment speed are based on US which is very much different from emerging economies, particularly India.

Business perspectives and research, Feb 26, 2020

The significance of firms’ growth opportunities as one of the determinants of leverage is documen... more The significance of firms’ growth opportunities as one of the determinants of leverage is documented in many prior studies. But, there are not enough studies which examine the impact of growth on leverage adjustment speed. In this backdrop, the present study investigates the relationship between growth and leverage adjustment speed. Second, the study also examines the moderating role of two dimensions of target deviation, that is, nature and level of deviation in the relationship between growth and leverage adjustment speed. Using partial adjustment model on a dataset of 28,532 firm-year observations comprising 2,718 listed Indian firms with 4–12 years data for each firm, the study observes faster leverage adjustment speed for high-growth firms (36%) than low-growth firms (24%). The results also confirm the moderating effect of target deviation in the relationship between growth and adjustment speed. Overall, the study concludes that firms’ growth opportunities cause asymmetries in target adjustment speed by altering the costs and benefits of adjustment, and nature and level of target deviation moderates the relationship between growth and adjustment speed. These findings are expected to have substantial practical implications for financial managers in their capital structure decisions.

Managerial Finance, Nov 16, 2022

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of carbon productivity on f... more PurposeThe primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of carbon productivity on firms' financial performance. Secondly, the study also examines the moderating effect of industry types and firm size in the relationship between productivity and firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data used for the study includes 66 listed Indian firms over the period from 2015–2016 to 2019–2020. The data used in the study are collected from the published corporate annual reports and sustainability reports. The study uses a random effect model based on the results of the Hausman test and the Breusch-Pagan test to investigate its objectives.FindingsCarbon productivity has a favorable impact on firms' financial performance in India, indicating that firms may gain competitive advantages by minimizing carbon emissions and improving carbon productivity. Small and high carbon-intensive firms reap greater benefits from the improvement in carbon productivity compared to their opposite counterparts. However, such differential impact is only observed for the market-based measure but not for the accounting-based measure of financial performance.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that high carbon-intensive firms should focus more on improving carbon productivity. Small firms and firms belonging to high carbon-intensive industries can improve their market performance by improving carbon productivity.Originality/valueThis study is a noble attempt to investigate the moderating effect of industry type and firm size while examining the impact of carbon productivity on firm performance in the context of an emerging economy.

Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, Mar 27, 2021

In view of ongoing reforms in India with emphasis on improving transparency of corporate, the pre... more In view of ongoing reforms in India with emphasis on improving transparency of corporate, the present study aims to examine the influence of voluntary disclosure on the market value of India’s top-listed firms. To this end, the study uses a sample of top 100 non-financial and non-utility firms listed at Bombay Stock Exchange based on market capitalization over a 5-year period (2014–2018). To control potential endogeneity in the relationship between voluntary disclosure and firms’ market valuation, fixed effect panel data model and two-stage least squares model of estimation have been employed. The result obtained from the analysis suggests that enhanced level of voluntary disclosure significantly improves the market value of sample firms. The study further undertakes additional analysis by categorizing voluntary disclosure into its sub-components wherein the findings reveal that three components of voluntary disclosure such as corporate and strategic disclosure, forward looking disclosure and corporate governance disclosure make positive contribution towards market value of firms, while the remaining components of voluntary disclosure such as human and intellectual capital disclosure and financial and capital market disclosure do not appear to have any significant influence on the same. Overall, the finding suggests that voluntary disclosure made by sample firms is considered relevant by investors. However, value relevance of different components of voluntary disclosure varies with the nature and extent of information disclosed. The study offers some important policy implications.

Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective

Indonesian Journal of Sustainability Accounting and Management

The study explores and highlights the relationship between dividend payout (DP) policy and corpor... more The study explores and highlights the relationship between dividend payout (DP) policy and corporate social responsibility (CSR). For this purpose, the author used a survey method to find previous research articles that have discussed this relationship. The study’s findings suggest that CSR and DP, individually and with other variables, have been considerably researched. However, when it comes to the relationship between the two variables, the research is only about a decade old. Thus, minimal research has explored this relationship and has concentrated only on developed economies. Most of these researchers have found a positive relationship between the two variables, despite taking different proxies to measure CSR, which is contrary to the Resource-Based Theory. The author concluded that there is a lack of research focusing on the relationship between the two major corporate decisions. Thus, no theory(ies) explains the relationship, and corporate managers, policymakers, investors, ...

Social Science Research Network, 2017

SEDME (Small Enterprises Development, Management & Extension Journal): A worldwide window on MSME Studies, 2006

Global Business and Economics Review

Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, 2017

This article empirically investigates the impact of corporate governance attributes on companies’... more This article empirically investigates the impact of corporate governance attributes on companies’ decision to disclose environmental information since corporate governance ensures fair, responsible, credible and transparent corporate behaviours to its stakeholders. The corporate governance attributes used in the study are board size, chief executive officer duality, domestic institutional ownership and foreign institutional ownership. Environmental disclosures are measured by a checklist of items based on Global Reporting Initiative guidelines as well as environmental regulations prevailing in India. Disclosure scores are drawn individually by using content analysis of annual reports for a sample of 177 most polluting companies in India for a period of 6 years, that is, from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015. Employing panel data regression model, the result indicates that foreign institutional ownership is the most important corporate governance attribute that engages corporates in environmen...