CEO duality and firm performance: The moderating roles of other executives and blockholding outside directors

This study examines how the effect of CEO duality on firm performance is affected by two internal governance forces – namely other executives in the top management team and blockholding outside directors. Results based on a longitudinal dataset from the U.S. computer industry were consistent with my hypotheses. Specifically, I found that the effect of CEO duality was negative when the CEO had dominant power relative to other executives and when the board had a blockholding outside director, but was nonsignificant otherwise. This study enriches our understanding of the effect of CEO duality, and helps reinforce the call for the nonduality structure as the default choice and put the burden of proof on those who wish to justify otherwise on special grounds.     

Shareholders’ Voting at General Meetings: Evidence from the Netherlands

We study annual general meetings of shareholders in the Netherlands. The Dutch corporate governance system is characterized by relatively concentrated shareholdings and large stakes owned by pension funds, banks and insurance companies. The legal protection of shareholders is poor due to the presence of takeover defenses, such as certificates, which deprive shareholders from their voting rights. An analysis of the minutes of 245 general meetings in the period 1998–2002 reveals that on average 30% of the equity capital is represented at the meeting. All proposals at the meeting are sponsored by the management and only 9 out of 1,583 proposals are rejected or withdrawn. Our analyses show that pension funds are the most active and critical shareholders at the meetings, while certificates effectively restrict shareholder rights. Our main conclusion is that the general meetings do not provide shareholders in the Netherlands any significant influence on management.     

信息透明度与经理薪酬契约有效性:来自中国证券市场的经验证据

本文以2003-2006年深圳证券交易所A股上市公司为研究对象,实证考察信息透明度对经理薪酬契约有效性的影响,试图从经理薪酬契约角度重新诠释信息透明度的经济后果.研究发现,信息透明度能够显著提高经理薪酬契约的有效性.具体而言,信息透明度越高的公司,经理薪酬业绩敏感性越高,经理薪酬与盈利业绩和亏损业绩之间的非对称性越小.研究还发现,与非国有企业相比,国有上市公司信息透明度对经理薪酬契约有效性的影响更加显著.本研究论证了信息透明度在减少股东与经理之间的信息不对称和降低公司代理成本中的重要作用.     

The impact of managerial political ties on corporate governance and debt financing: Evidence from Ghana

In this study, we draw upon insights from agency theory to examine the impact of managerial political ties on cost of debt and also to explore whether corporate governance mediates this impact. We hypothesize that political ties reduce financial reporting quality, disclosure of non-financial information and board independence, and are therefore associated with higher interest rates. We also hypothesize that the negative effect of political ties on the cost of debt will be stronger if firms borrow from privately-owned banks versus government-owned banks. Using data from Ghana, we find support for our direct and moderation hypotheses; political ties are associated with high interest rates and poor corporate governance. However, we do not find evidence of mediation. Altogether, the findings reveal the dark side of political connections and highlight the cost of political embeddedness in emerging credit markets.     

The effect of the board and executive committee characteristics on the degree of internationalization

Many corporate governance observers agree that when firms encounter dramatically changed competitive environments, the board of directors may become involved in the strategy formation process. Based on Finkelstein and Hambrick’s (Finkelstein, S., Hambrick, D., 1996. Strategic leadership: top executives and their effects on organizations. West, Minneapolis, MN.) conceptual model, we examine the effects of the board of directors and executive committee characteristics on the degree of internationalization of the U.S. telecommunications industry during the 12 years after AT&T’s 1984 divestiture. We also examine the effects of the regulatory environment and core business growth on the degree on internationalization during this time. We find support linking executive committee characteristics and regulatory environment to the degree of internationalization. Characteristics of the entire board are consistently found to be insignificant.     

Board leadership structure and diversity over CEO time in office: A test of the evolutionary perspective on Italian firms

An evolutionary perspective on CEO-board relations suggests that CEO objectives and interests change over time, and that board roles should shift accordingly, from CEO leadership development during the early stages of CEO time in office toward monitoring during the latest stages. This study examines how two board characteristics, board leadership structure and board diversity, shape innovation investment among Italian firms. Empirical results support the hypothesized effects, suggesting that the board’s effects are contingent upon CEO time in office.     

基于中国上市公司的CEO更替与公司治理有效性研究

以中国上市公司为样本,采用2002～2005年的数据,从CEO更替的视角检验了中国公司治理的有效性.实证结果表明:中国的公司治理是有效的,即企业绩效差的CEO更可能被更换,但是这种有效性与正式制度安排的公司治理机制并不相关,这可能是非正式制度的公司治理机制发挥了重要作用.     

上市公司治理:理论与现实的距离——基于1250份上市公司“自查报告和整改计划”的分析

本文根据1250家上市公司所公布的"自查报告和整改计划",重点从大股东、董事会/监事会、经理层以及投资者法律保护等四个方面对"自查报告和整改计划"的调查问题进行全面归纳、整理、分解和剖析,通过统计分析和理论文献对比,综合反映出目前我国上市公司治理现状和问题.调查分析结果表明,虽然我国目前已基本上建立了一整套与上市公司治理相关的法律法规,上市公司在大股东、董事会、经理层和投资者保护等方面的行为得到了一定的规范约束.但是,我国上市公司治理仍然处在不断完善过程中,如何强化大股东的信托义务和法律责任,从根本上解决大股东侵占中小股东利益的问题、保证董事会制度的独立性和有效性、培育经理人市场,积极推进股权激励机制、落实投资者法律保护制度等成为今后完善我国上市公司治理的重要任务.     

Corporate social responsibility recognition and support for the arts: Evidence from European financial institutions

This research investigates whether financial institutions that have gained a good reputation in relation to their CSR activities also engage in significant corporate support for the arts (CSA). Using a sample composed of the 42 largest listed European financial institutions, data from 2004 to 2013 (i.e., 420 firm-year observations) and manually collected CSA disclosure information, our findings indicate that entities rewarded for their CSR initiatives are also those that engage in significant CSA. We also find that CSA disclosure reported in the social reports of financial institutions is a predictor for the attainment of a CSR award, whereas that reported in annual reports is not. Our findings suggest that annual and social reports have a different informative relevance, at least in relation to CSR initiatives in the form of CSA, for the stakeholders of financial institutions. Thus, our results provide useful insights for companies’ communication strategies showing, for example, that social reports are the best channel to communicate about CSA.     

Increasing women's contribution on board decision making: The importance of chairperson leadership efficacy and board openness

In the last decade, the number of women on corporate boards has increased slightly, but the prevailing minority status of women directors implies that they will continue to face social barriers. While prior research has largely focused on explaining social barriers (e.g., being categorized as an out-group member) to increase diversity and its negative consequences, how boards can avoid these obstacles remains unclear. Stemming from recategorization theory, we examine whether and to what extent board chairperson leadership efficacy and board openness (as mechanisms to avoid out-group bias) enhance the influence of women when they are in the minority in board decision-making. In a sample of 146 Norwegian firms, we found a positive relationship between women minorities and women directors’ contribution to board decision-making. Moreover, we found that this positive impact increases when the board chairperson exercises leadership and the board operates in an atmosphere of openness.     

董事会特征影响上市公司违规行为的实证研究

本文以2001-2005年间因为违规行为被监管层公开谴责、公开批评或公开处罚的195家A股上市公司及其195家配对公司为研究对象,应用二分类Probit回归、广义线性模型和排序Probit回归分析方法,研究董事会特征是否会影响公司违规的发生概率、发生频率和严重程度等违规行为.结果表明,董事会规模过大会降低工作效率;独立董事比例越高,公司经营越规范;审计委员会的设立可以在一定程度上监督约束公司行为.美中不足的是,它们在统计上均不显著,这可能是因为我国的上市公司治理制度建设才刚刚起步,其治理作用尚未充分显现.与代理理论相矛盾,关于董事会领导结构的实证结果支持现代管家理论,董事长兼任总经理的公司越不容易违规,违规程度越轻微,这可能意味着董事会是一个复杂的体系以至单一的理论无法完全诠释其运营原理.此外,董事会会议越频繁并不意味着董事越勤勉,更可能是公司隐患越多.本文结论将为上市公司董事会的设置乃至公司治理机制建设提供经验证据和启示.     

审计委员会与信息披露质量:来自中国上市公司的经验证据

本文选择深交所信息披露考评结果与证券分析师盈余预测精度作为上市公司信息披露质量的衡量指标,使用2006年深市上市公司的相关数据,实证检验了审计委员会与上市公司信息披露质量之间的关系.研究发现,与未设置审计委员会的上市公司相比,设立审计委员会的上市公司具有更高的信息披露质量,审计委员会的独立性对提高上市公司信息披露质量有着积极的促进作用.本文的政策含义是,在进一步完善资本市场的过程中应重视上市公司审计委员会建设.     

The Performance Implications of Ownership-driven Governance Reform

This paper explores the performance impact of recent changes in foreign shareholdings and boardroom reforms in Japan. Empirical research on the impact of reform on the Japanese corporate governance system could provide useful lessons for their European counterparts who are themselves facing similar pressures to reform. We found that although participation of outside directors in strategic decision-making was associated with positive stock returns, the increase in the ratio of outside directors, the separation of the board members and executive officers, and the reduction of board size were not related to firm performance.     

监事会的本原性质、作用机理与中国上市公司治理创新

针对理论上对监事会制度去留的争论,按照企业本质→企业目标→公司治理机能→监事会的本原性质与作用机理→中国上市公司治理创新这一思路进行了探讨。研究认为,企业在本质上是融契约性与生产性为一体的一组契约联合网络,其目标是持续竞争优势的获取与维系。对此,要求公司治理承担着对等的两项机能——保健机能和激励机能。依此逻辑,监事会的本原性质是通过业务监督与财务监督活动的展开,为缔约者提供了一个减少缔约风险,增加缔约意愿的监督制衡机构的同时,又为以股东为首的利益相关者提供了一个参与机制。最后,指出中国上市公司治理创新也应该以引入符合本原性质的监事会作为突破口。     

The double-edged sword of CEO/chairperson duality in corporatized state-owned firms: evidence from top management turnover in China

This study examines how board leadership structure (CEO duality) affects the corporate governance of corporatized state-owned firms where the state shareholders use these firms to serve both profit and non-profit objectives. We propose that CEO duality will generate a positive (negative) significant impact on the firms’ corporate governance when state owners tend to monitor their CEOs on the basis of profit (non-profit) considerations. We test our hypotheses by examining the relations between CEO duality and CEO turnover in Chinese listed companies that are ultimately controlled by central or local governments. We find that CEO duality is negatively related to turnover in marginal profit-making firms where turnover would be value-enhancing. This suggests that CEO duality is detrimental to these firms’ corporate governance because it entrenches relatively poorly performing CEOs. Duality is also negatively related to turnover in high-profitability firms where turnover would be non-value-enhancing. This suggests that CEO duality might positively contribute to the corporate governance of these firms by reducing the occurrence of non-value enhancing turnover. Overall, our study suggests that CEO duality is a double-edged sword in corporatized state-owned firms.     

管理者过度自信与企业投资行为异化——来自我国证券市场的经验证据

本文以非金融类A股上市公司为研究样本,考察了管理者过度自信与企业投资行为的关系。研究发现,过度自信的管理者倾向于过度投资,并对融资活动产生的现金流有更高的敏感性。即当公司有充裕的融资活动现金流时,过度自信的管理者会过度投资;反之,则投资不足。本文还发现,过度投资与经营活动产生的自由现金流之间的敏感性基本上不受管理者过度自信心理特征的影响,这与其它一些研究的结论不一致。     

企业现金持有量影响因素的实证研究——来自我国上市公司的经验证据

20世纪90年代末,国外企业出现持有大量现金与现金等价物的现象,为什么企业持有大量的现金与现金等价物,以及企业持有现金的后果等问题,逐步得到国外学者的关注而成为一个研究的热点,国外学者主要从权衡理论、信息不对称理论、公司治理机制,以及投资者的法律保护程度等方面展开现金持有量的研究.由于我国的经济与制度环境同国外有很大差别,我国证券市场的发展处于一个转型时期,内部人控制严重,资本市场还不完善,国外的实证结论直接移植到国内缺乏说服力.上市公司现金持有量的影响因素也逐步得到国内学者的关注,但我国的研究还处于起步阶段.本文在理论分析与文献梳理的基础上,以我国部分上市公司为样本,检验了我国上市公司的特质性因素和公司治理机制对公司现金持有量的影响.研究结果表明,公司现金持有量与财务杠杆、银行性债务、净营运资本负相关,与公司的投资机会正相关,权衡理论和优序融资理论得到了经验支持;国有股、董事会规模、股东保护程度与现金持有量负相关;经营者持股与现金持有量正相关;股权集中度、独立董事、以及领导权结构并没对公司现金持有量产生显著影响.本文从现金持有量的角度为我国上市公司治理的不完善性提供了证据,需要我们从股权结构、董事会特征等方面进一步完善公司治理机制,规范公司的现金持有行为.     

Stakeholders' Expectations of Board Roles: The Case of Subsidiary Boards

Journal of Management and Governance - What is the best for acompany? In most countries it isconsidered to be a duty for board membersto act in the best interest of thecompany. Few, however,...     

资本结构与代理成本——来自中国国有控股上市公司和民营上市公司的经验证据

资本结构如何影响代理成本是资本结构研究的一个重要领域.本文以2000-2005年国有控股上市公司和民营上市公司为研究对象,通过对这一问题的实证分析发现,控股股东持股比例与民营上市公司代理成本负相关,而与国有控股上市公司代理成本正相关;第二至十大股东持股比例与代理成本呈负相关,对民营上市公司代理成本的影响效果要好于国有控股上市公司;管理者持股比例与代理成本正相关;社会公众股比例与上市公司代理成本不存在相关性;债务总体水平与代理成本正相关,但在国有控股上市公司中的程度要大于民营上市公司;银行借款比例对代理成本的影响要好于商业信用比例.这两种债务比例对民营上市公司代理成本的效果影响要好于国有控股上市公司;流动负债比例和长期借款比例与上市公司的代理成本正相关.总之.民营上市公司的代理成本要低于国有控股上市公司,资本结构是造成这种差异的重要因素.这一结论的政策意义在于:完善资本结构有助于我国上市公司改善治理结构、降低代理成本;我国政府要进一步推进民营化改革,以不断提高我国上市公司质量.