The impact of performance measures, leverage and efficiency on market value added: Evidence from Iran

The paper uses a sample of 450 firm-year observations from the Iranian market and applies pooled ordinary least square and panel data regression. The results indicate that EVA has no superiority over other performance measures, and that return on sales and return on assets are more powerful than EVA in explaining firm market value. Due to EVA's lack of correlation with market value, investors cannot use it as an internal value creation measure along with the traditional performance measures. This paper is one of the first studies on the relevance of traditional accounting and value-based performance measures in explaining TSE market values. The results extend EVA's role in explaining market values, and address its effect on investors' decisions in a continental Asian market with characteristics similar to that of Iran.