Business Network, Corporate Liquidity, And Stakeholders Of The Firm

Abstract

My research builds on the view that firms are not standalone entities, but rather, they are inter-connected into a large business network through input-output relationships. Firms interact closely with their major stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and creditors, and such interactions have profound influences on firm policies and their access to financing. In my dissertation, I explore the impact of these connections on corporate liquidity management and financing decisions. The first essay studies a business network based on customersupplier relations, and how a firm's connectivity in the network can affect firmlevel policies. The second essay is a joint study with Prof. Yaniv Grinstein. It examines one important aspect of corporate internal liquidity, cash holdings, and its relationship with firm-specific and economy-wide uncertainties. The third essay explores the interaction between interfirm connections and bank-lending decisions. More specifically, how a firm's connections with a bank's existing borrowers affect the bank's lending decision to the firm.