Trade credit financing and stock price crash risk

This study investigates the association between trade credit financing and stock price crash risk within China's context. We find that firms using more trade credit financing have significantly lower future stock price crash risk. This negative association is more pronounced for firms with greater information asymmetry and for firms located in less developed financial markets. This finding is robust to the endogeneity concern, alternative measures of stock price crash risk, and the inclusion of other factors identified in prior studies that might affect stock price crash risk. Further evidence suggests that both the monitoring mechanism and the disclosure mechanism drive the documented relation. Our study suggests that access to trade credit can significantly reduce the likelihood of crash risk in a country like China with less developed formal bank financing. Our study also suggests that investors can effectively avoid stock price crash risk by using the trade credit information disclosed in financial statements.     

Internal Control and Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence from China

This paper examines the role played by internal control and its five components (i.e. control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring) in alleviating future stock price crash risk. Using a unique dataset from China, we find evidence that internal control is negatively associated with future stock price crash risk. Specifically, control environment, information and communication, and monitoring are significantly and negatively associated with future stock price crash risk. Moreover, the negative association between internal control and crash risk is significantly more pronounced in firms with weak internal and external governance (i.e. audited by non-Big 4 auditors, located in provinces with low market development, and less conservative in accounting) and with poor ability to mitigate impacts of extreme negative events (i.e. non-state-owned enterprises). Our study highlights the delicate role of internal control as a mechanism in preventing crash of stock price.     

The role of mutual funds in the sustainable energy sector

The integration of renewable energy criteria in mutual fund investment decisions could channel private resources into the funding of environmentally related projects implemented by firms contributing to sustainable development. This paper examines the performance of European renewable energy funds that invest globally by comparing their risk‐adjusted returns with those achieved by black energy and conventional mutual funds. It uses Carhart's model on a sample of 81 renewable energy funds, 125 black energy funds, and 4,337 conventional mutual funds. The results indicate that 32.1% of renewable mutual funds—most of which adopt energy producers, renewable energy technology, and energy efficiency‐focused criteria—perform significantly better than the S&P Clean Energy market benchmark, this percentage being affected by the different states of the economy. However, none of them are able to beat the fossil fuel energy (S&P Global 1200 Energy Index) or conventional market benchmarks (S&P Global 1200 Index). Furthermore, 37.04% of renewable energy funds significantly underperform the S&P Global 1200 benchmark. Therefore, the investment in renewable energy funds has a financial cost for investors in relation to conventional fund investors.     

股价崩盘风险、信息环境与企业现金调整

以我国2009—2016年沪深上市公司数据为样本，探究了股价崩盘风险、信息环境对企业现金调整的影响。研究发现：股价崩盘风险越大，企业现金调整速度越快，且这种正相关关系对于分析师跟踪数量较少、机构投资者持股比例少的企业而言更为显著。进一步考察股权性质在企业现金调整速度中的影响，发现国有企业与民营企业面对股价崩盘风险的现金调整速度并不具有显著差异，但是对于民营企业而言，更多的分析师跟踪和机构投资者持股将显著降低企业应对股价崩盘风险的现金调整速度，信息环境对于国有企业的作用并不显著。     

非效率投资、审计监督与股价崩盘风险

选取2008年至2013年A股上市公司的数据,研究非效率投资行为可能引发的经济后果,并研究了审计监督对非效率投资行为经济后果的影响。实证研究表明,在其他条件一定的情况下,管理层的非效率投资状况越严重,就越有动机向外界隐瞒其代理动机和利益侵占行为等负面消息,造成上市公司未来的股价崩盘风险越高。独立审计作为公司治理的外部监督主体与保证机制,能够通过缓解代理问题和降低代理成本,显著抑制非效率投资对股价崩盘风险的影响。研究结论表明防范和化解股市的风险需要从上市公司代理问题的源头上做起这一政策性意义。     

Multinationals' Offshore Operations,Tax Avoidance,and Firm‐Specific Information Flows: International Evidence

Using a large sample of multinational enterprises (MNEs) over the period 1999–2009, this study investigates whether and how offshore operations via offshore financial centers (OFCs) impact the extent to which firm‐specific information is incorporated into stock price, relative to common information. Our analyses show that, irrespective of whether a firm is a Type I offshore firm (directly having headquarters registered in OFCs) or a Type II offshore firm (indirectly setting up subsidiaries in OFCs), the amount of firm‐specific information flowing into stock price is lower for offshore firms than for non‐offshore firms. We also find that as offshore firms become more aggressive in their tax avoidance strategies, their stock prices impound a lower amount of firm‐specific information relative to common information. Finally, we find that a strong offshore proclivity also deters firm‐specific information flows, thereby driving up stock price synchronicity. Our results suggest that the opaque and complex nature of business and financial transactions in OFCs, coupled with their institutional characteristics, that is, weak and flexible legal enforcement, zero or extremely low taxation, and low litigation risk, provide offshore firms with not only stronger incentives but also the opportunities and means to adopt opaque disclosure policies and aggressive earnings management.     

Examining the behavior of renewable‐energy fund investors

Mutual fund investors could contribute to sustainable development by encouraging fund managers to channel their savings into the funding of sustainable energy projects adopted by firms. This study examines whether renewable‐energy investors take into account financial and/or nonfinancial factors when making the decision to invest in a specific fund, comparing their investment behavior with that of black‐energy and conventional investors. To this end, we have gathered information about 4,368 mutual funds (76 renewable‐energy funds, 109 black‐energy funds, and 4,183 conventional mutual funds) from January 2007 to December 2017. For this sample, we adopt a panel‐data approach with Petersen's standard errors clustered by fund and year. Our results indicate that renewable‐energy fund investors are less sensitive to past financial performance than are black‐energy and conventional fund investors, indicating that the former derive their utility from nonfinancial attributes whereas black‐energy investors derive their utility from a conditional multiattribute and conventional fund investors derive their utility from financial attributes.     

Modelling stock price behaviour by financial ratios

The main purpose of this study is to find out which economic dimensions of the firm are reflected in stock price behaviour in the Finnish stock market. Based on the previous theoretical articles, four economic dimensions are chosen: profitability, financial leverage, operating leverage and corporate growth. Twelve (12) financial ratios are then selected to represent these four dimensions. All the Finnish firms common series listed for the whole 1974–1986 period are included in the empirical analysis.All of the four expected dimensions above are found in the empirical classification pattern of ratios. On the cross-sectional level, profitability and financial leverate are reported as determinants of stock price behaviour. Corporation growth is merely connected to the risk of the common stock. Somewhat weaker results concerning the association between stock price behaviour and operating leverage factor may be due to difficulties measuring operating leverage on an empirical level.When studying the intra-year explanatory power of financial ratios, it is reported that the explanatory power of financial ratios tends to increase when the reporting day approaches, and starts to decrease after that releasing day of financial statement numbers. Empirical evidence strongly indicates that financial ratios represent pricing relationships in a substantive manner.The financial support by the Academy of Finland as well as the helpful comments and suggestions of an anonymous referee are gratefully acknowledged.     

媒体报道、会计稳健性与股价崩盘风险

新闻媒体的信息传播和监督治理功能在减少信息不对称、缓解管理者囤积坏消息等方面发挥着重要作用。以沪深A股上市公司2012—2018年非平衡面板数据为样本,通过OLS回归分析上市公司股价崩盘风险是否会受到媒体报道及会计稳健性的影响。实证结果表明,媒体报道和会计稳健性与股价崩盘风险呈显著负相关关系,会计稳健性可以强化媒体报道对股价崩盘风险的影响。进一步分析发现,媒体报道与股价崩盘风险之间的负相关主要集中在正面新闻报道较多的公司和诉讼或声誉风险较高的公司。     

并购中的业绩承诺条款与股价崩盘风险

本文以2008—2016年有业绩承诺的A股上市公司为样本，研究了并购中业绩补偿承诺条款的设置与兑现对并购业绩的影响，以及并购业绩未达预期产生的经济后果。研究发现，设定高增长率的业绩目标对并购业绩完成具有负面作用，采用股份补偿、非累计补偿、减值测试补偿以及双向业绩对赌对并购业绩实现具有积极作用。在承诺兑现过程中，承诺后期业绩目标压力更大，业绩完成率更低。在业绩承诺完成的经济后果方面，本文发现，未完成业绩承诺的并购相对于完成承诺的并购具有更高的股价崩盘风险，进行盈余管理的并购相对于未进行盈余管理的并购具有更高的股价崩盘风险。     

社会责任报告语调与股价崩盘风险

以2006—2017年披露社会责任报告的所有A股上市公司为研究对象,实证检验了社会责任报告的语调对股价崩盘风险的影响。实证结果显示,社会责任报告的净正面语调与股价崩盘风险呈显著正相关关系,具体表现为通过正面语调离差策略来隐匿企业的负面信息。进一步分析发现,当企业的信息不对称程度较高,企业自愿披露社会责任报告时,其社会责任报告净正面语调与未来股价崩盘风险呈显著正相关关系,而管理层隐匿坏消息的动机是出于缓解企业的融资约束问题。研究在丰富社会责任信息披露和股价崩盘风险相关领域研究的同时,对上市公司、投资者和监管部门也有重要的启示作用。     

Co‐evolution in Strategic Renewal Behaviour of British,Dutch and French Financial Incumbents: Interaction of Environmental Selection,Institutional Effects and Managerial Intentionality*

abstract How do incumbent firms and environments co‐evolve and how are firm‐level adaptation and selection at industry level interrelated? Can and do large established organizations renew themselves to adapt to their environment? Three single‐lens theories, relating to environmental selection, institutional theory, managerial intentionality, and a co‐evolutionary perspective are used to investigate strategic renewal of incumbent firms. We derive propositions and distinguish between three dimensions of strategic renewal and develop metrics to investigate our propositions in a multi‐level, multi‐country, longitudinal study of the European financial services industry. Our results provide the following insights. From an environmental selection perspective, we found incumbents have a preference for exploitation renewal actions. Country institutional environments appear to explain to what extent incumbents prefer internal and/or external renewal actions. Managerial intentionality seems to explain outlier behaviour and firm‐specific frequency and timing of renewal actions. From a co‐evolutionary perspective, interaction effects explain deviations from predictions derived from the single‐lens theories applied in this paper.     

Motives and consequences of IPOs in cold periods

We analyze the motives and long-term stock price performance of firms that pursue IPOs in cold IPO periods. We find that firms are more likely to engage in an IPO during a cold period when their earnings are relatively high and are expected to decline in the future. We also find that IPO firms during a cold period are more likely to have managed their earnings prior to the IPO. Furthermore, we find that cold IPO firms experience significantly weaker stock price performance than hot IPO firms, and results are robust to different criteria for defining hot and cold IPO periods, different measures of stock price performance, and different investment holding periods. We find that investment opportunities, the backing of a venture capitalist, and an increase in earnings in the year of the IPO lead to significantly higher long term stock price performance of IPO firms. Our multivariate models confirm the adverse cold IPO period effect on stock price performance even after controlling for the IPO motives and the firm's earnings performance. Our results also hold within the post-Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) era.     

Identifying consumers' engagement with renewable energy

A moral engagement with sustainability enhances consumers' willingness to pay an increased rate for renewable energy when utility firms offer a variety of financial incentives to buy, rent and lease energy solutions to promote the uptake of energy‐efficient technologies. Using structural equation modelling, with data collected from 140 residential energy consumers in Canada, this paper tests and finds evidence that consumers' moral disengagement with environmental concerns negatively influences their willingness to pay more for renewable energy. Furthermore, it is observed that a consumer's perceived sense of control when evaluating energy solutions further accentuates the effects of moral disengagement on willingness to pay. These findings also illuminate the socio‐economic factors that encourage moral engagement concerning renewables. These findings underscore and build upon the claims of the theory of moral self‐regulation. The results and implications guide energy suppliers in potential niche business models to promote the uptake of energy efficient technologies. Similarly, the findings can guide policy‐makers on the cognitive and psychological factors that shape consumers' moral engagement with environmental concerns.     

MODELING THE NEXUS BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWABLE ENERGY: THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES

Motivated by the gained momentum of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) under the umbrella of the United Nations organization, in the light of the SDG‐7, which stipulates the access to affordable, sustainable, and modern energy, this paper explores the dynamic relationship between renewable energy and the pillars of sustainable development. Its insights are driven using a simultaneous equation model based on a panel of 25 African economies covering the period 1990–2014. The results show that renewable energy is important for sustainable development and that higher levels of renewable energy can increase sustainability. The findings also confirm the positive influence of renewable energy on the economic, environmental, social, and institutional dimensions. These positive effects stem from investment in clean energy in the whole of Africa, combined with structural changes promoting the use of clean energy and the achievement of the millennium development goals. The findings should be useful for policymakers in Africa. Aggressive renewable energy policies will be crucial for achieving energy‐policy goals and the “multiple benefits” of renewable energy, such as reducing climate change and air pollution, improving energy security, and increasing access to energy.     

Disentangling the influence of internationalization on sustainability development: Evidence from the energy sector

This paper aims to deepen our understanding of the relationship between firms' internationalization and their sustainability development. We expected firms with a higher level of internationalization to exhibit better environmental management and performance. A sample of 287 publicly traded firms in the energy and energy‐related utilities sector was used to test these relationships. We focused on the energy sector, as energy production and supply have historically accounted for the lion's share of global greenhouse gas emissions. We found that firms' level of internationalization had a positive effect on their environmental management, whereas its effect on environmental performance was not found to be significant. We also tested whether these relationships change when firms' internationalization is oriented towards developing countries. Upon a closer look, the relationship was found to be significant between internationalization towards developing countries and better environmental management, thus contributing to the line of literature that does not support the pollution haven hypothesis.     

中国上市公司送转行为动因研究——基于高送转样本的检验

关于中国上市公司大量进行股票送转的动机,学术界尚存争论。本文将不同送转理论纳入同一个计量模型,利用2006～2010年进行高送转公司的样本对不同送转理论进行了验证,为解决关于股票送转动机的争论提供了经验证据。实证结果支持了"最适价格假说"与"股本扩张假说",而拒绝"信号传递假说"、"价格幻觉假说"与"股利迎合假说"。此外,本文模型对高送转公司的预测准确度达90%,基于模型预测建立高送转公司的投资组合可以获取较稳定的超额收益。     

Adoption of High‐Performance Work Systems by Local Subsidiaries of Developed Country and Turkish MNEs and Indigenous Firms in Turkey

High‐performance work systems (HPWSs) are seen as important in helping strengthen competitive strategies of developed‐country multinational enterprises (DC MNEs). Commensurate with global competitive pressures and internationalization strategies, emerging‐country MNEs (EC MNEs) and indigenous firms are also increasingly adopting HPWSs. HPWSs are not only seen as simply performance enhancing systems, but also as facilitators of internationalization. MNEs represent an important test bed for the HPWSs and their applicability in different national contexts. In this article, we contribute to the extant literature by focusing on HPWS adoption level within domestic subsidiaries of DC MNEs and EC MNEs along with stand‐alone indigenous firms in a single‐country setting by keeping the host‐country environment as constant. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does going abroad lead to going green? Firm outward foreign direct investment and domestic environmental performance

This study examines whether and how outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) affects firms' domestic environmental performance. We use both the reverse knowledge transfer and resource crowding perspectives to predict the association. Using a sample of Chinese firms, we find that firms' environmental performance improves after the initiation of OFDI, which is consistent with the reverse knowledge transfer perspective. Furthermore, we find that when the host countries of OFDI are developed countries, have stricter environmental regulations, and are characterized by higher values for the long-term orientation and masculinity dimensions of national culture, firms enjoy a further improvement in environmental performance. Our channel tests show that firms' domestic green patent applications and their investment in research and development increase after the initiation of OFDI.