Determinants of Firms’ Performance: Evidence from Non-Financial Firms in Malaysia

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to provide further evidence on the determinants of firm's profitability in Malaysia. A better understanding of this topic is important not only for the purpose of enriching empirical studies in this field but also for the purpose of sectoral and cross-country comparison. The use data from non-financial shariah compliant firms are the unique contribution of this paper. The data for the final sample consists of 169 firms and analyzed using the panel data analysis techniques to identify the key determinants of firm's profitability. The study finds that the profitability of these firms significantly affected by the size of the firms, efficiency, and the level of sales. In addition, firms' efficiency suggested to be the most important variable affecting firm's performance. Although this paper provides empirical evidence, several areas need to be refined with future empirical research. First, this paper uses only limited number of variables, the inclusion of other firm specific variables might lead to a new set of findings and conclusion. Second, this paper has not taken into consideration the effect of using different data analysis technique. Future studies might want to explore the used of other techniques in analyzing the data.