Government Support, Cost Constraints, Financial Risk, and Firm Performance: Evidence from Five Listed Express Delivery Companies
Abstract
This paper examines the relationships between government support, cost constraints, financial leverage, and firm performance using a balanced panel of five listed express delivery companies from 2017 to 2024. Firm and year fixed-effects models are employed for estimation.
The results show that government subsidy intensity is positively associated with firm performance, and this relationship remains robust when
alternative measures are applied. The operating cost ratio has a generally negative effect on performance, with significance observed in some
specifications. Financial leverage is negatively related to ROA but becomes insignificant when ROE is adopted, indicating that the effect varies across performance measures. The findings suggest that express delivery firms should improve subsidy efficiency, strengthen cost control,
and maintain prudent debt management to support long-term development.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
[1] General Office of the CPC Central Committee and General Office of the State Council. (2024). Action Plan for Effectively Reducing
Total Logistics Costs in Society [EB/OL]. Published November 28, 2024; accessed August 31, 2026. https://www.mee.gov.cn/zcwj/
zyygwj/202411/t20241128_1097450.shtml.
[2] Du, Z., & Zhang, M. (2020). Performance evaluation of cross-border e-commerce logistics enterprises. Statistics & Decision, 36(21),
181-184.
[3] He, X., & Lu, G. (2023). The impact of regional logistics capability on the performance of circulation enterprises: Evidence from listed
companies in the circulation industry. Journal of Commercial Economics, (21), 26-29.
[4] Zhong, X., Ou, W., Gao, L., et al. (2021). An empirical study of the effect of ambidextrous innovation on firm performance: Evidence
from logistics enterprises. Journal of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Social Sciences Edition), 34(6), 76-84.
[5] Li, N., & Zhang, R. (2026). Digital economy development, customer concentration, and logistics-firm performance. Communication of
Finance and Accounting, (12), 74-78.
[6] Luo, H., & Wang, L. (2021). The impact of third-party logistics integration on supply-chain performance. Chinese Journal of Management, 18(3), 448-454.
[7] Wu, W., Chen, J., Zhao, X., et al. (2024). The impact of supply-chain digitalization on firm innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed
companies. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 41(11), 67-78.
[8] Liao, S., & Xu, H. (2023). Digital transformation and financing constraints of logistics firms: Mechanisms and micro evidence. Journal
of Commercial Economics, (18), 95-98.
[9] Wan, C. (2022). Government subsidies, social responsibility, and efficiency of circulation enterprises. Journal of Business Economics, (1),
19-31.
[10] Liu, Z., Zhang, Y., & Jiang, Y. (2023). The impact of fiscal and tax policies on logistics-firm GTFP: A comparison of tax expenditures
and fiscal subsidies. Research on Financial and Economic Issues, (6), 102-115.
[11] Lü, J., & Zeng, H. (2023). The impact of R&D expenditure on the value of transportation firms: The moderating role of government
subsidies. Logistics Engineering and Management, 45(1), 123-126.
[12] Zhao, Y., & Li, J. (2023). Supply-chain finance, financial leverage, and core-firm performance: Evidence from the logistics industry. Logistics Sci-Tech, 46(17), 144-148, 153.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/frim.v4i9.10234
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
