CORPORATE SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF LISTED FIRMS IN SELECTED SUB-SAHARA AFRICA COUNTRIES

Abstract

The paper investigated the effect of corporate specific attributes on financial performance by employing samples from listed non-financial firms in Sub-Sahara African countries of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa between the periods of 2012-2021. The study sourced data from annual reports of non-financial firms in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. The model evidenced that, the series are evenly spread, are not faced with multi-collinearity issues, and that the robust fixed effect model is appropriate for the study since the p-value of the Hausman Test estimated at 0.000 is below 0.05 significant level. Evidently, the results obtain from the fixed effect regression shows that, firm size has an inconsiderable (insignificant) positive effect on firm performance both in Kenya and Nigeria. However, it has an insignificant negative effect on firm performance in the case of South Africa. Again, liquidity (current ratio) has an insignificant positive effect on firm performance. Furthermore, asset tangibility has a negative and insignificant effect on the performance of understudied firms in Kenya but reduce the performance of understudied firms in Nigeria. In the case of South Africa, asset tangibility improves the performance of South African firms minimally. However, only leverage was consisted in the three sampled firms in that leverage has a negative and significant effect on the performance of firms in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Meanwhile, cash-flow from operations exerted direct yet considerable effect on understudied firms in Kenya but had adverse yet negligible effect on understudied firms in Nigeria. Hence, the paper submits that, managers of SSA firms should endeavor to reinvest profitability into the firm, which will increase the growth of the company and enhance financial performance.
 Keywords: Corporate Specific Attributes, Performance, Listed Firms, Sub-Sahara Africa Countries.