The Effect of Strategy on the Asymmetric Cost Behavior of SG&A Expenses

Asymmetric cost behavior has been attributed to deliberate managerial resource commitment decisions and a firm’s strategic choices is a significant determinant of these decisions. This study investigates the effect of strategy on the intensity and direction of the asymmetric cost behavior of selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Employing a sample of US-listed firms for the period 1991–2014, we provide empirical evidence that a firm’s strategic orientation determines the direction and intensity of cost asymmetry. Firms classified as prospectors exhibit SG&A cost stickiness whereas firms classified as defenders exhibit SG&A cost anti-stickiness. Sensitivity and causality tests indicate that a firm’s strategic positioning and its portfolio of intangible re-sources independently affect the resource allocation decisions that are responsible for the direction of cost asymmetry for the SG&A expenses.