운전자본과 고정자산 투자간의 관계

In this paper, we analyse empirically the relations between working capital and fixed asset investment of firms listed on Korea Securities Market. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows. Firms will seek to lower long-term cost by smoothing fixed asset investment and maintaining stationary investment with working capital. Working capital is not only an important use of fund, but also a source of liquidity that should be used to smooth fixed asset investment relative to cash flow shocks if firms face financial constraints. Working capital investment is more sensitive than fixed asset investment to cash flow fluctuations. If firms face financial constraints, working capital investment will compete with fixed asset investment for the limited pool of available cash flows. So, fixed asset investment will have negative relationship with working capital investment. Finally, controlling for the fixed asset investment smoothing effects of working capital results in a much larger estimate of the long run impact of financial constraints. Financial constraints is measured by credit ratings level and market access level. Whited(1992), Cantillo and Wright(2000), and Faulkender and Smith(2007) emphasize that low credit rating firms or market unaccessible firms are more likely to face financial constraints, and rarely make use of new equity issuing.