The impact of human resources flexibility on crisis management: Evidence from Jordanian manufacturing companies

Liquidity is a firm’s ability to pay its current obligations as they come due and thus remain in business in the short run, which reflects the ease with which assets can be converted to cash. The objective of working capital management (WCM) is to minimize the cost of maintaining liquidity while guarding against the risk of insolvency, working capital policy applies to short-term decisions, and capital structure finance applies to long-term decisions.
Several studies have been conducted on the impact of WCM on cash holding levels. The impact of WCM on liquidity and cash holding levels is analyzed in this study. The study also makes a comparison between large- and small-scale firms. Panel data for 62 Jordanian industrial firms covering an eleven-year period (2006–2016) have been analyzed. The descriptive analysis indicates that large firms hold more cash than small firms, as well as more debt, cash flow and growth.
The findings of the data set indicate that WCM, as a variable (working capital net of cash), is a strong predictor of firm cash holding levels. When a firm has several cash substitutes, it will maintain low cash levels. The separate analysis shows that there are significant differences between small- and large-scale firms for determinates related to cash holding levels. Firm size and cash flow ratios were strong predictors of cash holding levels for both samples.

This research aims to apply the value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model to test the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on market value of the Jordanian industrial firms. The research increases the awareness of the need for firms of all sizes to communicate and value their business beyond capturing numbers alone. The sample for this study is 73 Jordanian manufacturing shareholders companies during the period 2005–2017. The sample employed consists of 648 firm-year observations. Market value is measured using the market capitalization over the total assets. Valuation approaches are a challenging area created to enable the stakeholders, or outside parties, to put an economic value on a firm.
The IC and its components: capital employed (CEE), structural capital (SCE), and human capital (HCE) of industrial firms have been analyzed, and their impact on market value has been estimated using regression models. The results show that there is no relationship between IC and the market value; HCE is associated with the market value, and SCE and CEE are not associated with the market value. This could be explained by the increase in employees’ training, as a regular training program is an essential factor in managers’ and employees’ performance. Practically, investors have a positive view of a firm that has higher employee expenditure than its investment in physical capital. Future research should be made on the empirical analysis of other sectors to determine whether different results and explanations can be obtained.

Traditional accounting has divided costs into variable and fixed costs, with changes made according to production levels, consequently, the cost behavior changes according to changes in the volume of production activity. Therefore, it has become necessary for successful management to understand cost behavior to face market changes and to adopt strategies that increase sales volume.
The study period covered 12 years between 2006 and 2017. The study population was from Jordanian industrial shareholding companies. Using the regression models, the main results indicated that sales expenses could not explain changes in sales revenue in Jordanian companies; there was a significant relationship between sales expense changes and sales revenues, with sales expense changes having incremental information content over sales expense levels in explaining sales revenues. There was also no significant relationship between sales expense levels, sales expense changes, and sales revenues. The study suggests that future researches should be made in order to obtain business-oriented and specific information on how the decisions affect sales behavior. Overall, the study findings enhance our understanding about companies’ cost behavior and provide useful insights into financial and management accounting literature.