A multiple objective stochastic programming model for working capital management

The level of working capital is one of the main financial decisions affecting a firm's value, shareholder wealth, competitiveness, liquidity, and profitability. An aggressive (conservative) working capital policy has a positive (negative) impact on profitability but a negative (positive) impact on liquidity. In this paper, we propose a multiple objective stochastic programming model to select an efficient working capital strategy that takes into consideration not only the conflicting impact of working capital policy on the two firm objectives of liquidity and profitability but also the interrelationships and stochastic aspects of the components of working capital. The proposed model was used to help a start-up retailer to determine its optimal working capital.