Is cash really king? : En kvantitativ studie om kassainnehav under Covid-19 pandemin

Sammanfattning: Cash holding of a firm has in previous studies been argued to be significant in terms of the firm's performance during a financial crisis taking place on international markets because of the financial protection that cash holding provides. Similar research taking place on the Swedish market is deficient, and more so regarding current crises. This study aims to investigate to which extent cash holding affects the firms performance based on the Covid-19 pandemic on the Swedish market, and so on to observe whether a higher percentage of cash is advantageous during this financial crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic. Special consideration has also been given to the determining factors behind companies decisions regarding the level of cash holdings based on a selection of 676 small to medium-sized companies in the IT line of business. The study assumes a quantitative research method where the numeric data has been produced and compiled based out of the Retriever Business database. Based on a bivariate analysis, this study finds a low correlation between the cash holdings and company performance, which has subsequently been analyzed on the basis of theories and previous research. Furthermore, a higher cash holding generates a faster recovery rate for companies. Thus, companies' short-term results are not affected by the level of cash holdings, but the effect becomes increasingly apparent in the long term.