An empirical study on the relationship between inventory leanness and firm performance in retail industries

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K13620
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 07090:Commerce-related
• Research Institution: Hokusei Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: Kamada Naoya 北星学園大学, 経済学部, 講師 (50756385)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 在庫リーンネス / 企業業績 / 小売企業

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Although there is rich literature reporting the positive relationship between inventory leanness and firm financial performance, these studies have reported mixed evidence about functional form of the relationship. According to the previous research, three types of functional form, including linear, inverted-U, and interaction, have been examined and all of these functional forms have been supported by empirical analyses, regardless of whether the research context was manufacturing or retailing. To address this gap, secondary data from the Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities is used to explore the relationship between inventory leanness and firm profitability. The results show that inventory leanness is positively associated with retail frm profitability. Furthermore, the results support hypothesis regarding the positive moderating effect of information technology use on the relationship between inventory slack on firm profitability.

Free Research Field

サプライチェーンマネジメント

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は在庫リーンネスは小売企業の収益性に対して正の影響を及ぼすこと、そして、収益性に及ぼす在庫リーンネスの効果は、情報システム化の水準が高い状況において、より強められることを明らかにした。この発見は、在庫リーンネスの水準を高めることと収益性を高めることは矛盾しないことを示唆している。つまり、小売企業は在庫リーンネスを高めることにより、収益性を高めるだけでなく、食品ロスや衣料品廃棄物に代表される過剰在庫問題を解決できる可能性があり、社会的問題を同時に解決できる可能性があることが明らかとなった。