Liquidity Management and Financial Performance Across Pandemic Phases: Evidence from Listed Manufacturing Firms in Tanzania

Purpose: This study examines whether the association between liquidity management and financial performance differs across pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods.Design/Methodology: Quarterly data from seven manufacturing firms listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (2018–2023) were analyzed using fixed-effects interaction models with firm-clustered and Webb-bootstrap inference.Findings: The Quick Ratio (QR)–financial performance association varied across pandemic phases, while no comparable evidence emerged for the Current Ratio (CR). The QR pattern remained under calendar-time controls but weakened after winsorization and was not reproduced by alternative liquidity measures or first-difference analysis. Thus, the evidence is specification-sensitive rather than conclusive.Practical Implications: Liquidity indicators should be interpreted alongside asset composition, operating requirements, and economic conditions rather than as uniform targets.Originality: The study provides a phase-sensitive application of Trade-Off Theory by showing that liquidity–performance relationships may vary across economic conditions and liquidity measures.