Abstract

Organizational theory claimed favorable effect of slack on performance and the agency theory; supported an adverse influence of slack on performance. This study explored the association between the financial slack and the financial performance of firms in Africa. This study further rexamined the mediating effect of the banking sector and the stock market development on the slack-performance nexus. While the firm performance is measured as the return on assets (ROA), and return on sales (ROS), the slack components are categorized as available, potential and recoverable slacks. We used firm-level data from 457 firms in 13 African countries from 2006 to 2015. The finding of this study supported the organizational theory that favors a positive effect of slack on performance. The result of mediation analysis shows that both the banking sector and the stock market development have no strong mediating effect on the slack-performance relationship of firms in Africa. This study finally offers micro and macro level policy implications.