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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected society in immeasurable ways, including investment. As the pandemic has impacted society's values, it has proven to be a major turning point for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment. This investment approach, which evaluates a company's ESG ratings alongside traditional financial metrics, was already "coming off a banner year,” and its reach continues to expand. Although numerous studies have investigated the impact of ESG scores on financial returns and the trend in ESG investment strategies, only a limited number of studies have attempted to capture the key players in ESG investment. Therefore, to determine the most influential investors in the ESG investment field, the cumulative impacts are calculated based on the ESG scores of invested companies, the total market price of invested companies, and the investor history portfolio report. We perform an iteration of calculation to convey the impacts that the invested companies have on the ultimate investors, and we identify the major players in the field and differences in the trend by type of investor and country. Copyright © 2022 Keeley, Li, Takeda, Gloria and Managi.
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One of the most serious risks from COVID-19 is a financial crisis for a company. Governments and central banks have used both fiscal and monetary tools on a large scale to alleviate the financial crises of companies. We build a cross-sectional model to explore who obtained more bank loans after the outbreak of COVID-19. Using data from China's listed companies, we find that real estate companies and state-owned companies obtained more bank loans. In addition, there is no evidence that industries more severely affected by the virus obtained more bank loans. Our findings demonstrate that the misallocation of credit in China worsened after the outbreak of COVID-19.
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PurposeWith emerging markets representing great growth opportunities and serving as indispensable components in the global supply chain, it is unclear how well modern supply chain management theories developed in advanced markets apply to emerging markets. This study integrates the institution-based view with supply chain management literature to examine how integration capabilities can be leveraged to achieve supply chain agility in emerging markets and how the efficacy of integration capabilities is shaped by internal and external institutional contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines how firms in emerging markets can leverage their platform integration and knowledge integration capabilities with channel distributors to improve the supply chain agility and how such relationships are shaped by both the internal (proxy by ownership structure) and external (proxy by regional openness) institutional contexts in which firms operate. Survey and archival data collected from 207 firms operating in China, one of the largest emerging markets, were used to test the proposed research model.FindingsThe results reveal that platform integration and knowledge integration are two driving forces for supply chain agility in the emerging markets. Moreover, the results indicate that state-owned firms are able to achieve higher supply chain agility from their investments in knowledge integration with channel distributors than non-state-owned firms. While firms in regions with a high level of openness enjoy higher supply chain agility from knowledge integration, firms in regions with a low level of openness can catch up by investing in platform integration with their channel distributors.Originality/valueThe authors extend the extant study on supply chain integration (SCI) research to examine how operational and strategic integration with channel distributors can help the focal firm achieve supply chain agility in emerging markets. The study results also enrich the existing studies in emerging markets by revealing the importance of the institutional context in which firms operate on B2B channel management.
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The unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a need to re-examine sustainable corporate governance practices. Within this context, the current study investigates the moderated effect of gender-diverse corporate boards on sustainable corporate governance practices in Malaysian financial and non-financial firms during the period 2011-2020, employing the dynamic estimator (S-GMM). During the COVID-19 pandemic, a negative relationship between ownership constructs and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators is observed in non-financial firms, whereas the opposite is reported for financial firms. Moreover, the moderated effect of gender-diverse boards is only substantiated in financial firms. The findings reveal that sustainable corporate governance is practised in financial firms but not in non-financial firms. Particularly, we draw significant implications for policymakers and regulatory bodies of Malaysia to carefully monitor the implementation of sustainable corporate governance given uncertain circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic. Further, our study is beneficial for academics, practitioners, and research scholars for their future research endeavours.
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Faced with the double shock of COVID-19 and Sino-US trade conflict, how to upgrade technology and products and then establish a "dual circulation" development pattern has become the major challenges for Chinese government and enterprises. Under the framework of heterogeneous enterprise theory, this paper introduces foreign ownership structure into enterprise skill demand function, and discusses the influence of foreign ownership structure on the skill upgrade of export enterprises and domestic enterprises. And this paper make empirical verification for the model deductions, based on the data of industrial enterprise from 2000 to 2008. The results confirm that:1) The skilled wage of export enterprises are always higher than that of domestic enterprises based on the same proportion of foreign capital;2) The skilled wage of domestic-sale and export firms will increase with higher proportion of foreign capital, but the characteristics of the latter only holds for foreign-ownership enterprises;3) Once the proportion of foreign exceed 0.5, it will induce a dramatic change for corporate culture, and thus impulse the skilled wage jump up into a higher level which is more prominent among exporters. It is showed that continuing to expand the level of opening to the outside world, lifting control on foreign capital, strengthening the cooperation between domestic and foreign capital can more effectively promote the technology promotion and skill upgrading of Chinese enterprises, and jointly accelerate the establishment of an expanding domestic market and a leading trade power. © 2022 Systems Engineering Society of China. All rights reserved.
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The purposes of this paper are (i) to examine 3 driving factors affecting China A-shares market performance;namely systematic risk, idiosyncratic risk, and market sentiment, and (ii) to investigate the relationship between state-owned enterprise (SOE) & non-SOE and stock returns. In addition, the study also analyze normal condition and the impacts of Sino-US trade war and Covid-19 pandemic. This study employs monthly data which is divided into two parts namely (i) 2004-2020 period and (ii) 2018-2020 period. Multiple classic asset pricing models are employed to investigate the impacts of the 3 driving factors on stock returns. The results showed that these 3 driving factors exert significant influence on China A-shares in 2004-2020, However, the impact of market sentiment is weak during the period 2018-2020. Furthermore, market risks, firm size and B/M factor show great impacts on both SOE and non-SOE, profitability factor affecting non-SOE stock return is more important than investment which improves SOE stock return. This study proposes that investors and companies pay more attention to systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk, which potentially have greater impact on the stock market and to reduce unnecessary economic losses © International Journal of Economics and Management
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This paper investigates how economic policy uncertainty affects firms' frequency and their choice of financial instruments to raise capital. By applying a three-step sequential framework over a sample of 6834 publicly listed US non-financial firms, we find that during periods of high economic uncertainty, firms raise capital more frequently with a preference toward debt financing. The empirical findings suggest that firms prefer debt financing over equity financing to avoid ownership dilution and high equity premia. The rise in leverage during periods of high economic uncertainty highlights the importance of scrutinizing policy tools used to stabilize the economy during such times.
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Purpose>Energy efficiency is critical for global sustainability (International Energy Agency, 2019). The purpose of this paper is to examine how agency conflicts arising from pyramidal ownership structures impact the energy intensity (EI) of group-affiliated Indian firms. Group-affiliated firms face unique governance challenges. For instance, parent owners (promoters) may transfer profits from one group-affiliated firm to another firm in which they have greater ownership. The authors hypothesize that such governance issues will lead to underinvestment in energy-saving projects among group firms in which promoters have a low ownership stake, resulting in their greater EI.Design/methodology/approach>The authors measure EI as the ratio of total energy expense to total sales revenue (EI) and as the industry-adjusted version of this ratio. Group-affiliated Indian firms are divided into high- and low-stake firms based on the sample’s median promoter ownership.Findings>Results support the authors’ prediction: group firms in which promoters have low ownership are more energy intensive, consistent with these firms being exposed to greater governance challenges and agency conflicts that result in operating inefficiencies and/or underinvestment in energy-saving projects.Practical implications>Given energy efficiency will be key in addressing climate change, this study could raise awareness among activists, motivate regulators to consider agency problems among group-affiliated firms in emerging markets and may underscore the importance of environmental-related corporate disclosures.Originality/value>To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to identify the significant impact that firm ownership structure and associated governance challenges have on corporate EI.
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The ownership structures of European banks are today quite different relative to those before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), particularly due to new takeovers, government guarantees, bailouts, and other defensive market responses post-GFC. These new ownership structures raise questions as to how these banks have performed, particularly during the implementation of non-standard central bank monetary policies in response to crises that have occurred since the GFC. This paper develops a time-varying series of changing government, private and public bank ownership structures, and compares the performance of several major European banking institutions during periods of crises and mitigating central bank actions. We specifically evaluate as to whether crisis-driven changes of ownership structure have influenced the corporate performance, resilience and signals of price discovery generated by these institutions? The COVID-19 pandemic is identified and used as an example of an idiosyncratic shock on which testing procedures are implemented. Significant differentials within the European banking system based on government supports are identified. The data examined show that the information share of price discovery among government-supported European banks is significantly higher in non-crisis periods than non-government supported banks. We present several companion tests consistent with this evidence and discuss a variety of implications for future research and policy.
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Purpose The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on earnings management practices in China using a sample of family and non-family enterprises. More specifically, this study aims to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic causes variation in Chinese listed family and non-family enterprises' operations, as reflected in the level of real earnings management (REM). Design/methodology/approach This study uses three standardised REM indicators, namely, the abnormal level of cash flows from operations, the abnormal level of production costs and the abnormal level of discretionary expenses. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions are applied to compare the earnings management of Chinese family and non-family enterprises during the pre-pandemic period (2017-2019) and the pandemic period (2020). Findings The authors find that Chinese listed non-family enterprises tend to participate in more REM activities than family enterprises before the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the opposite is true during the pandemic. The authors also find that COVID-19 has increased the involvement of family and non-family enterprises in REM activities. Originality/value The results of previous studies based on REM using Chinese listed firms may not be applicable under the new social background of COVID-19. As the period after the COVID-19 outbreak is relatively recent, Chinese researchers have yet to study it comprehensively. The present study is amongst the first empirical attempts investigating the effect of a pandemic financial reporting by investigating whether and how the burst of the COVID-19 crisis affected financial reporting through the earnings management practices of listed Chinese family and non-family enterprises. Such information is crucial because it can provide analysis for all stakeholders to make better decisions.
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Purpose>This study aims to investigate the relationship between capital regulation and risk-taking behavior (financial stability) concerning the impacts of the recent global (COVID-19) crisis and diverse ownership structure.Design/methodology/approach>The analysis uses an unbalanced panel data set from 32 commercial banks of Bangladesh for 2000–2020. The authors use the two-step system generalized method of moments and three-stage least squares to produce the study outcomes.Findings>The robust results reveal that the relationship between capital regulation and risk (financial stability) is negative (positive) and bi-directional. More significantly, COVID-19 makes banks fragile and demands more capital to absorb risk. However, the effect of COVID-19 is heterogeneous when the authors consider ownership structure. Among the diverse ownership styles, Islamic and active shareholding show their controlling wheel on capital regulation and risk-taking aptitude (financial stability) during the global (COVID-19) crisis. In normal economic conditions, private banks and minority active shareholding can be a good determinant for capital regulation and risk (financial stability). On the other hand, state-owned and large banks have been found as less capitalized and highly risky.Originality/value>This study is the pioneer in exploring capital regulation and risk toward the recent global (COVID-19) crisis.
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Access to formal credit remains critical for business operations, particularly for firms unable to generate sufficient funds internally. Using the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey dataset, 2018, we analyzed 230 Kenyan firms that applied for loans. These loans are sourced from banks (private, commercial, or state-owned) or non-banking financial institutions. Specifically, the paper explores the effect of financial institution type and firm-related characteristics on loan amounts advanced. The results show that the preferred credit provider matters, with the sensitivity level varying among the three institutional types. Additionally, the collateralization value, the owner’s equity proportion of fixed assets, and any existing credit facility correlate positively with the outcome variable. There is an inverse relationship between the largest shareholder’s ownership and the loan amount. The study uses the new product (service) launches to measure innovation. The findings suggest that firms in the innovation process access higher loan amounts than their non-innovative peers. Be that as it may, the difference in amount effect size between the two groups is small based on Cohen’s d rule. The paper highlights the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
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This paper studies whether the market can recognize the value of corporate governance mechanisms (ownership structure, board structure, and managerial incentives) of Chinese listed companies. We find that when companies are faced with "black swan" events, such as COVID-19, non-state-owned enterprise are found to be more valuable, that is, the stock price of non-state-owned enterprises are more immune to the negative shocks of COVID-19. For board structure, the arrangement of the duality of chairman and CEO is found to be more valuable and can effectively alleviate the negative shocks of the epidemic on the stock price. For managerial incentives mechanisms, it shows that management shareholding, management compensation, and executive stock options are all effective mechanisms and can better withstand the negative shocks of the COVID-19 epidemic on the stock price of companies. This paper sheds light on the value of corporate governance mechanisms in the Chinese capital market from the perspective of investors, which enriches literature in the field of corporate governance.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , China , Humans , Ownership , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of regulation and market competition on the risk-taking Behaviour of financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Design/methodology/approach The empirical framework is based on panel fixed effects/random effects specification. For robustness purpose, this study also uses the generalized method of moments estimation technique. This study tests the hypothesis that regulatory capital requirements have a significant effect on financial stability of Islamic and conventional banks (CBs) in the MENA region. This study also investigates the moderating effect of market power and concentration on the relationship between capital regulation and bank risk. Findings The estimation results support the view that capital adequacy ratio (CAR) has no significant impact on credit risk of Islamic banks (IBs), whereas market competition does play a significant role in shaping the risk behavior of these institutions. This study report opposite results for CBs - an increase in the minimum capital requirements is followed by an increase in a bank's risk level, which has a negative impact on their financial stability. Furthermore, the results support the notion of a non-linear relationship between banking concentration and bank risk. The findings inform the regulatory authorities concerned with improving the financial stability of banking sector in the MENA region to set their policy differently depending on the level of concentration in the banking market. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature on the effectiveness of regulatory reforms (in this case, capital requirements) and market competition for bank performance and risk-taking. In regard to IBs, capital requirements are less effective in requiring IBs to adjust their risk level according to the Basel III methodology. This study finds that IBs' risk behavior is strongly associated with market competition, and therefore, the interest rates. Moreover, banks operating in markets with high banking concentration (but not necessarily, low competition), will decrease their credit risk level in response to an increase in the minimum capital requirements. As a result, these banks will be more stable compared to their conventional peers. Thus, regulators and policymakers in the MENA region should restrict the risk-taking behavior of IBs through stringent capital requirements and more intense banking supervision. Practical implications The practical implications of these findings are that the regulatory authorities concerned with improving banking sector stability in the MENA region should proceed differently, depending on the level of banking market concentration. The findings inform regulators and policymakers to set capital requirements at levels that would restrict banks from taking more risk to increase their returns. They are also important for bank managers who should avoid risky strategies in response to increased regulatory pressure (e.g. increase in the minimum required capital level of 8%), as they may lead to an increase in the level of non-performing loans, and therefore, a greater probability of bank default. A future extension of this study will focus on testing the effect of bank risk-taking and market competition on the capitalization levels of banks in the MENA countries. More specifically, this study will investigates if banks raise their capitalization levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value The analysis of previous research indicates that there is no unambiguous answer to the question of whether IBs perform differently than CBs under different competitive conditions. To fill this gap, this study examines the influence of capital regulation and market competition (both individually and interactively) on bank risk-taking behavior using a large sample of banking institutions in 18 MENA countries over 14 years (2005-2018). For the first time in this line of research, this study shows that the level of market power is positively associated with the level of a bank' insolvency risk. In others words, IBs operating in highly competitive markets are more inclined to take a higher risk than their conventional peers. Regarding the IBs credit risk behavior, this study finds that market power has a limited impact on the relationship between CAR and risk level. This means that IBs are still applying in their operations the theoretical models based on the prohibition of interest.
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Financial reliability, along with clearness of business transactions, is one of the mainstays of sustainability. In this research, I investigate whether enterprises expand discretionary revenue when their income before intentional shaping is marginally under the consensus on the income prediction provided by analysts. The innovation of the paper lies in taking into account the role of managerial ownership, ownership concentration, and higher proportions of institutional investors in this situation. Higher ownership concentration and greater percentage of institutional investors in equity were analysed while considering the expropriation hypothesis. In order to assess the concern of managerial ownership for revenue manipulation, I considered the alignment of interest hypothesis. In this research, I certified that enterprises expand discretionary revenue when their revenue and operating income prior to intentional shaping barely miss the consensus forecast. I found that the existence of managerial ownership curtailed the magnitudes of upward discretionary revenue when revenue prior to intentional shaping was marginally below the consensus on revenue. Greater ownership concentration and higher proportions of institutional investors were on the bound of the statistical trend to expand discretionary revenue when net earnings, before intentional shaping, were marginally below analysts’ forecasts.
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The current study examines how the effect of COVID-19 on U.S. restaurant firms' stock returns varies according to the firms' pre-pandemic characteristics by employing three firm-level dimensions (financial conditions, corporate strategies, and ownership structure). Employing 795 firm-year observations obtained from annual reports and other databases, this study found that restaurant firms with past characteristics of larger size, more leverage, more cash flows, less ROA, and more internationalization are more resilient to stock declines reacting to COVID-19 than otherwise similar firms. Whereas, dividend, franchising, institutional ownership, and managerial ownership did not show any significant moderating effect on the relationship between COVID-19 and stock returns. This study sheds light on the research topic by providing insights into drivers of restaurant firm's stock returns during the COVID-19 shock. Future studies can employ the variables and method used in the current study to extend the understanding of the issue.