Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze and identify key factors affecting working capital behavior of companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach Working capital requirement and cash conversion cycle were used to proxy working capital behavior. The study explored nine main factors widely discussed in previous research to explain working capital behavior: operating cash flow, growth opportunities, performance, firm value, age, size, leverage, economic conditions and industry type. The study employed a panel data analysis for 68 listed Egyptian industrial firms for the period 2000–2010. Different techniques of the generalized method of moments were used to test the validity of the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that working capital behavior is affected by various factors related to firm characteristics, economic conditions and industry type. Originality/value This study provides financial managers with a better understanding of the impact of different internal and macroeconomic factors on working capital behavior in an emerging market, such as Egypt’s.

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Family-controlled firms are a unique form of business because of the special nature of its ownership structure, management style, and financing needs. Moreover, these firms face difficulty in achieving a balanced mix of available financing alternatives (i.e., debt and equity), and this mix has a direct impact on the firms’ profitability, risk, and value. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to review the literature on how family involvement in business via ownership, management, and control affects capital structure decisions. The review showed that in a comparison with nonfamily businesses, family-controlled firms on average have higher debt levels. Additionally, family ownership is positively associated with debt financing, and the participation of family members in a firm’s top management leads to an increase in the firm’s overall debt level. Insights generated from the current study highlight the critical influence of family involvement in business on key financial policies such as capital structure decisions.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of family involvement in ownership (FIO) on profitability and value based on a sample of Egyptian corporations. Firm profitability and market valuation were measured by return on total assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q ratio (TQ), respectively. A panel data analysis for 67 Egyptian firms for the period 2010-2018 was employed, and the generalized method of moments (GMM) with fixed-effects estimator was applied to confirm the veracity of the study hypothesis. The research findings demonstrated that profitability and firm value is positively affected by FIO. Hence, the higher the level of FIO, the higher the profitability and market valuation of the firm. The implications of the current research highlight the vital role of FIO as a primary source of equity finance in modern corporations.