Political control and performance in China's listed firms

The performance implications of the involvement of grassroots local party committees of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the decision making of China's listed firms are investigated. First, we show that the decision-making power of local party committees relative to the power of the largest shareholders is associated positively with firm performance. This result suggests that party control restrains the largest shareholders from expropriation but that the existing level of party control is insufficient to control the largest shareholders. Second, we show that the decision-making power of local party committees relative to managers is associated negatively with firm performance. This result suggests that the political costs associated with party control over managers are more detrimental to firm performance than are agency problems and that the existing level of party control over managers is excessive. On balance, our results indicate that the existing level of party control is excessive and that reducing the decision-making power of local party committees would improve the performance of China's listed firms. Journal of Comparative Economics 32 (4) (2004) 617–636.     

Composition of R&D expenditures and firm performance

ABSTRACT

The explosion of research and development (R&D) expenditures in China brings a puzzling fact that the proportion of research in R&D is extremely small, and thus the proportion of development is large. This article distinguishes research from development in R&D and investigates the heterogeneous effects of the two components on the performance of Chinese listed firms. Using a generalized propensity score matching approach with continuous treatments, we present non-linear relationships between R&D composition and firm performance. While development-oriented firms benefit more from an increase in profit than a growth in productivity, orientation toward research contributes more to productivity gains than to profitability. Research and development activities are found to be complementary in promoting firm performance. The results suggest the existence of optimal proportions of the components of R&D for maximizing firm performance.     

Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms

This paper examines the role of affiliation with the ruling Communist Party in the operation of private enterprises in China. Using a nationwide survey of private firms, we find that the Party membership of private entrepreneurs has a positive effect on the performance of their firms when human capital and other relevant variables are controlled. We further find that Party membership helps private entrepreneurs to obtain loans from banks or other state institutions, and affords them more confidence in the legal system. Finally, we find Party membership to be more important to firm performance in regions with weaker market institutions and weaker legal protection.     

高管报酬激励与企业绩效——来自中国上市公司的证据

本文利用我国上市公司高管人员报酬数据及财务数据,分析了上市公司高管人员的报酬现状及其报酬绩效联系.我们发现,上市公司高管报酬的变化与当年的会计绩效显著正相关,但与会计绩效的变化之间的关系不稳定,上市公司股东价值每增加100万元,高管平均报酬仅增加3.8元;上市公司市场异常收益率每增加10%,高管平均报酬增加1.58%.不同性质和规模的公司报酬绩效联系不同.     

机构投资者持股、政治联系与审计定价--基于民营上市公司的经验证据

以沪深两市2009—2012年661家A股主板民营上市公司为样本,对机构投资者持股、政治联系与审计定价的关系进行实证研究。研究结果表明：机构投资者持股比例越高,审计定价越高;进一步的分组研究发现有政治联系且有机构投资者持股的民营上市公司,随着机构持股比例的增加,其审计定价也越高;而没有政治联系且有机构持股的民营上市公司,随着机构持股比例的增加,审计定价越低,说明机构投资者和政治联系是审计定价过程中两个重要的影响因素。     

Ownership, investment climate and firm performance

The importance of a country's ‘investment climate’ for economic growth has recently received much attention. In this paper we use a new survey of 1,500 Chinese enterprises in five cities to measure more precisely components of the investment climate and their effects on firm performance. Our firm‐level analysis reveals that both ownership and investment climate measures matter for investment, productivity and growth. In particular, firm performance is positively correlated with foreign and domestic private ownership, light regulatory burdens, limited corruption, technological infrastructure and labour market flexibility. In contrast, gains from improving banking access and physical infrastructure are quite limited.     

CEO turnover, firm performance, and enterprise reform in China: Evidence from micro data

In this paper, we use unique data on China's listed firms from 1998 to 2002 to show that CEO turnover is significantly and inversely related to firm performance, although the magnitude of the relationship is modest. In addition, we find that this turnover-performance link is weaker for listed firms that are still controlled by the state and those that have a relatively weak non-state controlling shareholder. In contrast, the appointment of independent directors enhances the turnover-performance link. Moreover, the listing suspension mechanism, adopted by China's securities regulatory agency, appears to be effective in improving the turnover-performance tie. Finally, listed firms with CEOs holding additional positions among the controlling shareholders have a weaker turnover-performance link. Journal of Comparative Economics 34 (4) (2006) 796–817.     

Information technology and firm performance: mediation role of absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship in manufacturing SMEs

ABSTRACT

The success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) depends on dynamic capabilities, as it provides opportunities to remain competitive and perform well in the dynamic business environment. Although several studies show the significant positive impacts of dynamic capabilities on firm performance, our knowledge of the underlying mechanism through which IT capabilities affect the firm performance is not yet clear. Applying the dynamic capability view, this study investigates the intervening role of absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship. The data of 417 respondents is collected from medium-sized manufacturing sector SMEs in Punjab, Pakistan. The research hypotheses have been analysed through the structural equation modelling method by using the Smart-PLS software. The research findings show that absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship partially mediates the relationship between IT capabilities and firm performance. Furthermore, the sequential path of IT technical skills, absorptive capacity, corporate entrepreneurship, and firm performance is highly significant as compared to other paths.     

独立董事制度与中国创业板上市公司治理结构

为了规范上市公司的法人治理结构,使董事会更公正地代表股东利益尤其是中小股东的利益,针对创业板市场中民营企业比例较大的特点,借鉴国际市场经验,笔者认为,在创业板上市公司中引入独立董事制度是完善中国创业上市公司治理结构的重要步骤。     

Family firm succession and performance

We analyse more than half a million businesses from the Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners with less survivorship and size biases. After controlling for firm- and owner-specific characteristics, we find family businesses generate fewer receipts and less employment and payroll. Family businesses involving a second-generation owner-manager show better performance. On the other hand, those managed by founder-owners show worse performance. These results of all firms, mostly small businesses, are contrary to the previous studies of large public firms. However, for a subsample of 2064 businesses large enough to be listed on a US stock exchange, the results become consistent with the previous large-firm studies.     

How does ownership structure affect capital structure and firm value?Recent evidence from East Asia1

The present paper examines the effects of ownership structures on capital structure and firm valuation. It argues that the effects of separation of control from cash flow rights on capital structure and firm value also depend on the separation of control from management as well as on legal rules and enforcement defining investors’ protection. We obtain firm‐level panel data (three stage least squares, 3SLS) estimates from four of the East Asian countries worst affected by the last crisis. There is evidence that the general wisdom that higher control than cash flow rights may lower firm value may be reversed among owner‐managed family firms in the sample countries.     

Ownership dynamics and firm performance in an emerging economy: a meta-analysis of the Russian literature

This paper provides a meta-analysis of studies on the effect of ownership on the performance of Russian firms over 20 years of rapid institutional and economic changes. We review 29 studies extracted from the EconLit and Web of Science databases with a total of 877 relevant estimates. We find that the government negatively affects company performance regardless of its administrative level. In contrast, private ownership is positively associated with firm performance. However, the effect size and statistical significance are notably varied among different types of private ownership. While the effect of insider (employee and management) ownership is comparable to that of foreign investors, the effect of domestic outsider investors is considerably smaller. Our assessment of publication selection bias reveals that the existing literature does not contain genuine evidence for a series of ownership types and, therefore, some of the findings have certain limitations.     

When two tribes go to work: Board political diversity and firm performance

A substantial literature has studied how increased diversity in terms of gender, age, education, and race amongst members of firms' boards affects decisions and performance. This paper studies whether ideological diversity in the boardroom affects firm performance. We find that whilst a board with a broader range of political opinions and beliefs is correlated with better performance ceteris paribus, that the causal impact of such an increase in diversity is negative and substantial. This negative effect is still present when diversity is measured excluding top management, and when diversity is defined in terms of the difference between firms' management and non-executive directors. In conclusion we consider the implication of these findings given the recent growth in both political polarization and ideological segregation.     

Ownership transformation,firm performance and manufacturing growth in China

Many commentators and researchers have attributed the manufacturing success in China to its ownership reforms. Using a micro database from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, this paper documents and quantifies this development. With systematic and robust analyses, it shows that the development of private ownership indeed played an essential role in improving firm performance and the allocation and utilization of production resources in the Chinese manufacturing sector. In addition, the paper estimates the contributions of firms under different ownership to manufacturing growth, showing that the development of private ownership was the driving force of manufacturing growth in China. The strong credible evidence has important policy implications for further maintaining sustainable development in China.     

中国医药上市企业公司治理结构与企业绩效关系的实证研究

选择了2007—2009年中国A股医药上市企业为研究样本,对中国医药上市企业公司治理结构与企业绩效的关系进行了实证研究。研究结果表明,中国医药企业公司治理结构与企业绩效之间存在着密切的关系,但同时也发现医药上市企业的董事会和监事会对提升企业绩效并没有充分发挥其应有的监督作用,管理层的激励机制也有待进一步改善。     

内生性视角下股权结构与公司业绩关系的实证研究

本文以中国沪深两市上市公司2001—2004年的数据，选择了900家公司为研究样本，在考虑股权结构内生性的基础上，研究了股权结构与公司业绩的关系。结果表明：国有股与业绩呈显著的U型关系，股权结构的其他变量在内生性的框架下并没有通过显著性检验。因而得出了并不存在所谓的最优股权结构，股权结构本身可能是内生的研究结论。     

Overpayment to directors and future operating performance

This article derives the predicted excess compensation from corporate governance variables and explores the impact of director excessive compensation on future operating performance. By using the data in Taiwan as the research samples, this article finds that overpayment to directors will decrease the future operating performance of the firm. The results are consistent, regardless of analysing in the form of fixed compensation or performance-based compensation.     

企业文化的测量及其对企业绩效的影响研究综述

企业文化在企业管理中的作用及其对企业价值的贡献愈来愈大,所以近年来已逐渐成为大家研究的热点。从企业文化的度量方法及典型量表、企业文化对企业绩效影响的理论分析及实证分析对国外现有研究进行了系统分析、归纳与总结,最后对我国企业文化研究趋势进行了展望。     

中国上市银行内部治理机制与综合绩效

本文通过对我国14家上市商业银行上市以来至2008年公布的所有年报和半年报数据进行实证分析,考察了不同内部公司治理机制对包括盈利性、安全性和流动性在内的银行综合绩效的影响。与以往研究不同的是,本文发现,股权集中度以及独立董事比例与银行综合绩效间并不存在简单的线性关系,而是存在显著的倒U型非线性关系;董事会规模和银行综合绩效呈现出显著负相关的关系。此外,控股股东性质对上市银行综合绩效没有明显影响,也无直接证据支持战略投资者持股和管理层薪酬激励能显著改善银行业绩。     

Diversification strategies and firm performance in Vietnam

This paper is based upon the assumption that a firm's profitability is determined by its degree of diversification which is, in turn, strongly related to the antecedent decision to carry out diversification activities. This calls for an empirical approach that permits the joint analysis of the three interrelated and consecutive stages of the overall diversification process: diversification decision, degree of diversification and outcome of diversification. We apply parametric and semi‐parametric approaches to control for sample selection and the endogeneity of the diversification decision in both static and dynamic models. For the analysis, we use the census dataset on the whole firm population in Vietnam, as a representative of transition countries. After controlling for industry fixed‐effects, the empirical evidence from the firm‐level data shows that diversification has a curvilinear effect on profitability: it improves firms’ profit up to a point, after which a further increase in diversification is associated with declining performance. This implies that firms should consider optimal levels of product diversification when they expand their product offerings beyond their core business. Other noteworthy findings include the following: (i) the factors that stimulate firms to diversify do not necessarily encourage them to extend their diversification strategy; (ii) firms that are endowed with highly technological resources and innovation investment are likely to successfully exploit diversification as an engine of growth; and (iii) while industry performance does not have a strong influence on the profitability of firms, it impacts their diversification decision as well as the degree of diversification.