The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Corporate Performance: The Moderating Role of Cash Resources and Human Resources

Iranian Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 25 آبان 1404

نوع مقاله: Original Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijaaf.2025.95164.1584

نویسندگان

Najmeh Hajian^{* 1}؛ Mahdieh Yazdanbakhsh²

¹Accounting Department, Faculty of Management and Financial Science, Khatam university, Tehran, Iran

²Accounting department, khatam university, Tehran, Iran

چکیده

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on firms’ financial and market performance. The study employs quarterly data from a sample of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange, covering 22 quarters—11 quarters before the COVID-19 crisis and 11 quarters during the pandemic. In total, 2,310 firm-quarter observations were analyzed using panel data methods in EViews 13 software.

The findings indicate that during the quarters affected by COVID-19, the pandemic had a significant negative effect on the operating profit ratio and return on assets. In contrast, due to the inflationary conditions induced by the pandemic, COVID-19 exerted a significant positive effect on stock prices and, consequently, on firms’ market performance. Moreover, the results show that adequate cash holdings mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on both financial and market performance, suggesting that sufficient liquidity can serve as a financial buffer during crises. Conversely, a larger workforce amplifies the negative effect of COVID-19 on financial performance, given that COVID-19 is a human-centered crisis, while it does not influence the relationship between COVID-19 and market performance.

Beyond confirming the expected negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on firms’ financial performance, the findings highlight two novel contributions. First, they show that maintaining adequate cash holdings can serve as a defensive shield for firms during crises. Second, they reveal that a larger workforce may intensify the adverse effects of human-centered crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

کلیدواژه‌ها

COVID-19 Crisis؛ Corporate Financial Performance؛ Corporate Market Performance؛ Cash Resources؛ Human Resources