Value-Creation Efficiency as a Decision-Making Basis and Its Assessment in the Financial Management of Energy Companies: Evidence from the Polish Capital Market

Abstract

A study of the efficiency of the energy companies that are listed on the Polish capital market, which will be the object of the analysis in this paper, is focused on assessing the degree of accomplishment of their basic financial objectives, namely, the maximization of their market values. The main research methods that are used in the article are methods for analyzing and evaluating the literature (in order to present the current scientific achievements in the field under study) and descriptive statistics and mathematical statistical methods for analyzing the interdependence of the phenomena (used to characterize and compare the analyzed energy-sector companies, as well as to quantify the determinants of the value-creation efficiency of these companies). This article is focused on the conditions and problems that are related to the decision-making processes that are aimed at increasing efficiency in the area of building enterprise-value. These require the use of tools for efficiency measurement that enable management to quantify and assess changes in an enterprise’s market value and the efficiency of its creation. Within the conducted research, it has also been proven that this is the market perspective that is of key significance from the point of view of the criteria of making financial management decisions. The market perspective reflects the expectations of the majority of company stakeholders, to the fullest. The study showed that the allocation of capital in the listed energy companies during the period of 2014–2020 was subject to a relatively high risk of losing the economic value of the invested capital. In terms of asset value, dividing the studied group of companies into portfolios of two groups of companies additionally showed that the volatility of the market and equity returns for the smaller companies was higher than it was for the larger companies.