Cost Structure of Selling, general, and administrative Expense：Evidence from Public Companies in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Yi-bei Tsai, 蔡宜貝
• Other Authors: 陳建中
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/vuc4xb

碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 會計研究所 === 102 === In this study, we examined the cost structure of selling, general, and administrative costs (SG&;A costs) in Taiwanese publicly traded corporations. First, we investigated whether cost stickiness exists in SG&;A costs. We found SG&;A costs increase on average at a rate of 0.31% per 1% increase in sales but decrease only 0.24% per 1% decrease in sales. This implied the sticky behavior of SG&;A costs truly existed in Taiwan. Second, we examined the magnitude of relative SG&;A cost changes depend on the impact of prior sales changes direction. The empirical results show that when sales increase in the prior period, costs in the current period are sticky. When sales decrease in the prior period, costs in the current period are anti-sticky. This study further analysis the management made cost adjustment, not only consider the direction of prior period sales change, but also the amount of prior period sales change. We found costs rise to a greater extent following the amount of prior period sale change increasing. And SG&;A costs exhibit greater stickiness with the amount of prior period sale change increasing.