Determinants of growth of companies on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange

Abstract: This study investigates the determinants of growth of companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange. The literature on firm growth has identified an impressive number of determinant factors of firm growth, demonstrating that growth is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon. The factors identified, however, have often yielded contradictory results regarding their influence, primarily since the operationalisation of growth relies on several approaches in terms of measures or periods retained. This study mainly focuses on firm-specific determinants, which include firm size, firm age, gender diversity, liquidity, leverage, and profitability. The dependent variable, firm growth, is measured by the log-differences of sales. Data about variables were collected from the INET BFA (IRESS) database and published annual reports. Using panel data of 187 companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange during the period 2009-2018, the results of the fixed effect model show that firm age, liquidity, and profitability are negatively correlated with firm growth. The results further reveal that the law of proportionate effect or Gibrat’s law is not valid for JSE-listed companies...M.Com. (Financial Management