Moderating Role of Agency Costs on The Relationship Between Ownership Structure and Firms' Value of Listed Agricultural Firms in Nigeria

This study examines the moderating role of agency costs on the relationship between ownership structure and firm value of listed agricultural firms in Nigeria for the period 2015–2024. The study adopts a correlational research design using secondary data obtained from the annual reports of five listed agricultural firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group. Ownership structure was proxied by managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and foreign ownership, while firm value was measured using Tobin’s Q. Agency cost, measured by asset utilization ratio, served as the moderating variable. Data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques with the aid of STATA 13. The findings reveal that foreign ownership has a positive and significant effect on firm value, while managerial and institutional ownership show no significant direct effects. However, agency costs significantly moderate the relationship between ownership structure and firm value positively in the case of institutional ownership but negatively in the case of foreign ownership. The moderating effect between agency costs and managerial ownership was statistically insignificant. The study concludes that ownership structure influences firm value differently depending on the type of ownership and the level of agency costs. It recommends that agricultural firms strengthen institutional investor participation through improved governance mechanisms and that policymakers encourage foreign investment while implementing frameworks to mitigate agency-related inefficiencies. The study contributes to corporate governance literature by providing sector-specific evidence on how ownership configurations and agency dynamics jointly shape firm value in emerging economies like Nigeria.