Trade credit in economic fluctuations and its impact on corporate performance: a panel data analysis from China

Abstract

ABSTRACTTrade credit is an important auxiliary measure to complete transactions in supply chains, and it is also an important source of short-term financing for companies. This paper uses panel data for Chinese listed companies from 2002 to 2016 to study the impact of Tobin’s Q and bargaining power on trade credit under different economic conditions, and we ultimately study how trade credit affects companies’ performance during economic fluctuations. We find that companies with higher Tobin’s Q values tend to reduce the use of trade credit demand, which increases during the economic expansion period and weakens during the economic downturn. Second, companies with lower bargaining power tend to increase their use of trade credit expansion as a competitive tool; however, this effect will weaken during the economic expansion period and will increase during the economic downturn. We also find that the amounts of trade credit demand and expansion are negatively correlated with corporate performance and that this effect weakens during the economic expansion period and increases during the economic downturn. The cycle of trade credit expansion is positively related to corporate performance. This relationship weakens during the economic expansion and strengthens during the economic downturn.