Impact of Financial Structure on Business Efficiency of Listed Companies on the Stock Market in Vietnam: The Moderating Role of Agency Costs

This study aims to evaluate the impact of financial structure (DR, SDR) on business efficiency (ROA and ROE). At the same time, analyze the regulatory role of agency costs (TAU, RAE) in the relationship between financial structure and business efficiency of listed companies on Vietnam’s stock market. The authors conducted quantitative analysis through the GMM model. The data collected from cross data and time-series data of 481 enterprises listed on Vietnam’s stock market in 2012–2020. Research results show that: (i) financial structure through debt ratio (DR) has a positive linear relationship with ROA, but has a nonlinear relationship (U-shaped) with ROE; (ii) financial structure (measured by short-term debt ratio–SDR) has a positive effect on both ROA and ROE; (iii) agency costs play a role in moderating the relationship between financial structure and business efficiency. Specifically, The effect of financial structure on business efficiency more strength by the efficiency of total asset utilization (TAU), but the ratio of administrative expenses to total revenue (RAE) reduces this impact.