دانشگاه اصفهان نشریه پژوهش های حسابداری مالی 2322-3405 16 3 2024 11 21 The Effect of Sustainable Management and Environmental Stability on Relationship Between Cost Stickiness with Investment Efficiency and Firms Profit Transparency تأثیر مدیریت پایدار و ثبات محیطی بر رابطۀ چسبندگی هزینه‌ها با کارایی سرمایه‌گذاری و شفافیت سود شرکت‌ها 1 30 29527 10.22108/far.2025.144563.2114 FA اسماعیل اخلاقی یزدی نژاد استادیار گروه حسابداری، دانشکدۀ مدیریت، اقتصاد و حسابداری، دانشگاه هرمزگان، بندرعباس، ایران. 0000-0003-1239-8098 مصطفی شمس الدینی استادیار گروه اقتصاد، دانشکدۀ مدیریت، اقتصاد و حسابداری، دانشگاه هرمزگان، بندرعباس، ایران. Journal Article 2025 03 03 Sustainable management and environmental stability are becoming increasingly important for firms seeking to balance economic goals with social responsibilities. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of sustainable management and a firm’s environmental stability on the relationship between cost stickiness, investment efficiency, and profit transparency in the firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. To achieve the research objectives, the research hypotheses were tested based on a statistical sample of 110 firms during 10 years from 2014 to 2023 using the combined data estimation method with EViews software. The results show cost stickiness has a negative relationship with profit transparency and investment efficiency in the studied firms, and environmental stability can weaken this negative relationship. Also, sustainable management has a positive and significant relationship with profit transparency and investment efficiency. Still, based on the results, it is not possible to confirm the effect of sustainable management on the negative relationship between cost stickiness, profit transparency, and investment efficiency. Since the more asymmetric cost behavior of firms, more information uncertainty of firms, and more discretionary choices of managers, the results of this research can provide managers, investors, and policymakers with a better understanding of the performance and firms policies. <strong>Introduction</strong> In the current challenging economic environment, although firms have always been under pressure to reduce short-term costs, traditional approaches have often ignored the long-term impact on operational sustainability, human resources, and integration with the larger business goals. Consequently, sustainable management and environmental sustainability have emerged as pivotal elements for organizations aiming to integrate present operations with long-term objectives, thereby ensuring financial sustainability. A sustainable management approach, centered on the optimal allocation of resources, has been demonstrated to result in several key benefits. Chief among these is the capacity to effectively control costs and reduce waste. Additionally, such an approach catalyzes the adoption of more sustainable operating practices. In this context, the phenomenon of cost stickiness (asymmetric costs) as an indicator of inefficiency in resource allocation and cost management can be considered a threat to achieving sustainability goals. In this regard, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of sustainable management and environmental sustainability of the firm on the relationship between cost stickiness, investment efficiency, and profit transparency in firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. <strong> </strong><strong>Methods & Material</strong> The present research can be classified as both a multiple correlation and a post-event study. The research population comprises all firms admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange between the beginning of 2014 and the end of 2023. For the statistical sample to be an appropriate representation of the desired statistical population, the screening method has been employed. Consequently, to achieve the research objectives, the hypotheses were tested based on a statistical sample comprising 110 firms using the combined data estimation method with EViews. The data for this research has been collected by referring to the audited financial statements, the published official reports, a database of the Tehran Stock Exchange, and the Rahavard software. <strong> </strong><strong>Findings</strong> The present study examined five primary hypotheses. The objective of the first hypothesis is to assess the impact of cost stickiness on profit transparency. The findings indicate that cost stickiness exerts a detrimental influence on profit transparency. In summary, cost stickiness, arising from asymmetric cost behavior, is influenced by the firm's conditions. This phenomenon is evident in financial statements and directly impedes transparency in firm information. Firms must prioritize not only financial performance metrics but also non-financial performance indicators, including environmental, ethical, and social considerations. The second and fifth hypotheses examined the effect of sustainable management on the relationship between cost stickiness and profit transparency and the relationship between cost stickiness and investment efficiency. However, the findings of this study did not corroborate the hypotheses derived from previous research, which anticipated an association between sustainable management and the nexus of cost stickiness, profit transparency, and investment efficiency. It is noteworthy that the competitive structure of the Iranian market, which is predominantly characterized by state-owned enterprises, has led to a reduction in the pressure for financial transparency. The rejection of hypotheses related to sustainable management can be attributed to the aforementioned factors, as well as the weakness of institutional incentives. Furthermore, the fourth hypothesis posits that cost stickiness exerts a detrimental influence on the investment efficiency of firms. The third and sixth hypotheses of the study posit that environmental stability in the firms under study weakens the negative relationship between cost stickiness, profit transparency, and investment efficiency. However, studies related to asymmetric cost behavior have presented various logics for the cause of cost asymmetry. One such logic is the strategic decision-making of managers considering the uncertainty of future demand. The underlying logic is that asymmetric cost behavior is the result of decision-making that reflects the business environment of the firm and the structural characteristics of the industry to which the firm belongs. The additional logic applied is that asymmetric cost behavior manifests in the process through which managers pursue their private interests and utility. In the context of the Iranian economy, sanctions and currency fluctuations have led to an intensification of environmental uncertainty, thereby strengthening managers' motivation to make conservative decisions. In such circumstances, environmental stability within industries characterized by predictable macro policies has facilitated the alignment of cost stickiness with performance indicators, thereby reducing resource adjustment costs. The hypotheses posit that cost stickiness in the firms under study is the result of managers' deliberate decisions. In periods of sales decline, some managers consider this decline to be temporary and predict an imminent return to previous sales levels. Consequently, they deliberately prefer to maintain resources related to operational activities during periods of sales decline. This strategy emerges because the exhaustion of resources in response to a decline in sales, and the subsequent necessity to reacquire them when sales recover, results in increased costs for the firm over time. It has been demonstrated that an increase in activity results in greater financial expenditure than a decrease in activity. Instabilities have been shown to reduce the return on assets and increase the cost of external financing. This, in turn, has been demonstrated to exacerbate the financial constraints of firms. Consequently, the incentive to withhold transparency in accounting information is increased. <strong> </strong><strong>Conclusion & Results</strong> The findings of the research indicate that cost stickiness exerts a detrimental effect on profit transparency and investment efficiency. Therefore, firm owners, especially board members, are advised to consider conflict of interest when monitoring the behavior of managers, because cost stickiness is created at the will and according to the strategies of managers, and this directly affects the transparency of financial statement information. Consequently, it can directly impact shareholder decision-making processes, influencing the price and value of the firm. Moreover, the occurrence of this event can potentially lead to future financing challenges for the firm. Conversely, shareholders are counseled to exercise prudence when allocating capital to enterprises that demonstrate cost stickiness, as the information disseminated by these entities differs from that of analogous enterprises with less pronounced cost stickiness. This disparity in information quality can directly influence shareholders' assessments of the enterprise's condition.   امروزه مدیریت پایدار و ثبات محیطی برای شرکت‌هایی که به دنبال متعادل‌کردن اهداف اقتصادی با مسئولیت­های اجتماعی هستند، اهمیتی فزاینده‌ دارد. هدف اصلی این مطالعه بررسی تأثیر مدیریت پایدار و ثبات محیطی شرکت‌ها بر رابطۀ چسبندگی هزینه با کارایی سرمایه‌گذاری و شفافیت سود در شرکت‌های پذیرفته‌شده در بورس اوراق بهادار تهران است. برای دست‌یابی به اهداف پژوهش، فرضیه­ها بر اساس رویکرد تخمین داده‌های ترکیبی با نرم‌افزار Eviews برای یک نمونۀ آماری 110تایی از شرکت‌های فعال در بورس اوراق بهادار تهران طی سال­های 1393 تا 1402 آزمون شدند. یافته‌های پژوهش نشان می‌دهد چسبندگی هزینه رابطۀ منفی با شفافیت سود و کارایی سرمایه‌گذاری در شرکت‌های تحت بررسی دارد و ثبات محیطی می­تواند این رابطۀ منفی را تضعیف کند. همچنین، مدیریت پایدار رابطه‌ای مثبت و معنا­دار با شفافیت سود و کارایی سرمایه‌گذاری دارد؛ اما بر اساس نتایج، نمی­توان تأثیر مدیریت پایدار را بر رابطۀ منفی بین چسبندگی هزینه­ها با شفافیت سود و کارایی سرمایه‌گذاری تأیید کرد. از آنجا ‌که هرچه رفتار هزینۀ شرکت‌ها نامتقارن‌تر باشد، عدم قطعیت اطلاعاتی شرکت‌ها و گسترۀ انتخاب‌های اختیاری مدیران بیشتر می‌شود، نتایج این پژوهش می­تواند درکی بهتر از عملکرد و سیاست­های شرکت‌ها برای مدیران، سرمایه‌گذاران و سیاست‌گذاران ارائه دهد.   https://far.ui.ac.ir/article_29527_4da8b6591c0719c5f215085a144e8e5c.pdf