This article provides fresh insights into the link between brand equity and firm-level productivity, including the direct effect and the potential interaction effect with research and development (R&D) and human capital. A panel data model using Chinese listed companies’ accounting data from 2012 to 2017 is constructed to test our hypotheses. The main findings are as follows: First, both the direct effects and the potential interaction effects with R&D and human capital are significant. Second, a larger direct effect exists in large enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and manufacturing sector enterprises when considering firm heterogeneity. Third, when it comes to the interaction effect, firms are able to use R&D and human capital to enhance the impact of brand equity on firm productivity, while this effect is insignificant in non-state-owned and service sector enterprises. Overall, our results suggest brand equity will play an important role in future growth in China, and proper attention should be devoted to it in terms of policy and regulation.

The rise in firm-level cash asset ratios has become a prominent trend in countries around the world which may further influence the capital allocation efficiency. This study analysed the inefficient effect of cash holdings on the capital allocation by combining the internal capital market theory with principal–agent theory and asymmetric information theory. The theoretical hypotheses were tested using linear panel regression models based on financial data from Chinese listed enterprises. We found that corporations holding more cash assets had lower capital allocation efficiency than those with fewer cash assets, which is consistent with agency theory and asymmetric information theory. Internal capital markets exacerbated this adverse effect. Additional testing was conducted to examine the heterogeneity of this effect between different types of ownership and strategy; the findings showed that an increase in cash holdings had a greater marginal impact on overinvestment among privately owned enterprises and underinvestment among state-owned enterprises. Internal capital market operation alleviated the problem of overinvestment but exacerbated the problem of underinvestment in privately owned enterprises, whereas it increased overinvestment in state-owned enterprises. The results suggested that different types of enterprises should deal with the inefficient effect of cash assets based on the causes of inefficient investment.