企業生命週期與成本僵固性關聯性：經營策略的調節效果

Corporate Life Cycle and Cost Stickiness: The Moderating Effect of Business Strategy

本研究以2005至2022年台灣上市櫃公司為樣本，探討企業生命週期與成本僵固性的關聯性，並進一步檢測前述關聯性在不同企業經營策略下是否有所差異。將公司劃分為成長期、成熟期和衰退期，並同時將成本費用區分為銷管費用、廣告費用及研發費用後，實證結果發現，相較於成熟期，在成長期階段公司之銷管費用及廣告費用會有較高的成本僵固性現象，而處於衰退期階段的公司，則會減緩銷管費用僵固性，但廣告費用僵固性則會提高，顯示位處於不同企業生命週期的公司因面臨不同經營問題，會採取不同成本管理決策進而影響成本僵固性。進一步考量公司採取之經營策略後，發現採取產品差異化策略的企業，若位於成長階段或衰退階段，其銷管費用、研發費用及廣告費用的僵固程度均顯著大於成熟期。

Using a sample of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange from 2005 to 2022, this study investigates whether there is a difference in cost stickiness across various stages of the corporate life cycle and examines the role of business strategy in this relationship. After dividing the observations into growth, mature, and decline stages, the study further differentiates cost expenditures into selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, advertising expenses, and research and development (R&D) expenses. The empirical results show that, relative to firms in the mature stage, firms in the growth stage are tend to enhance the cost stickiness in SG&A expenses and advertising expenses. Conversely, firms in the decline stage are likely to weaken the cost stickiness in SG&A expenses while strengthening the stickiness in advertising expenses. The results indicate that firms in different life cycle stages face different operating situations, they make different cost management decision and then affect the cost stickiness. In addition, this study also finds that for firms adopting a differentiation strategy, when they are either in the growth stage or decline stage, the stickiness in SG&A expense, R&D expense and advertising expense is higher than firms in the mature stage.