Abstract

Stickiness of costs occurs as declining of the demand, in order to avoid adjustment costs, managers decide to maintain the unutilized resources. Managerial decisions to maintain unutilized resources can also be caused by personal considerations and result in agency costs. In this study, the effect of the agency problem on degree of costs stickiness has been examined. Free cash flow, the CEO tenure and CEO horizon has been used as variables of the agency problem and the number of 135 firms were selected in the period of the years 1383 to 1393 as a statistical sample which totally created a number of 1485 firm-year. In order to test these hypotheses of the study, multiple log-linear regression, using pooled data through generalized least squares method with cross-sectional weighting, has been applied. The findings of this study indicate that there is a positive and significant correlation between the free cash flows and the cost stickiness of goods sold, the sales, general and administrative costs and furthermore, a positive and significant correlation between CEO tenure and the cost stickiness of goods sold, and moreover, a positive and significant correlation between CEO horizon and the cost stickiness of sales, general and administrative costs; by contrast, no significant correlation between CEO horizon and cost stickiness of goods sold, CEO tenure and cost stickiness of sales administration and general cost has not been found. Overall, the results indicate that there is positive and significant relation between the agency problem and degree of costs stickiness.