{"title":"Supply chain vertical common ownership and cost of loans","authors":"Haowen Tian , Junkai Wang , Sirui Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores how vertical common ownership reduces supply chain risk and influences creditors' decisions, focusing on the cost of loans. Findings reveal that creditors view such firms as less likely to default, evidenced by lower loan spreads. This effect is stronger for suppliers with more relationship-specific investments, weaker bargaining power, higher information asymmetry, and long-term common institutional ownership. Results remain robust through quasi-natural experiments from financial institutions' M&As, supplier-customer pair analyses, etc. We also compare vertical common ownership with the horizontal one and demonstrate its incremental contributions. Moreover, the fraction of customer sales and the institutional investors' share ownership likely influence the likelihood of vertical common ownership, with our results consistently holding under Heckman analysis. Overall, the results suggest that vertical common ownership enhances coordination and monitoring, reducing risks and creditor risk premiums. The findings may offer valuable insights into managing supply chain risks and understanding their financial implications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102677"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142428546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of internal governance on investment policy: Evidence from CEO voluntary turnovers","authors":"Ivan E. Brick , Darius Palia , Yankuo Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102676","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The theoretical and empirical literature suggests that CEO might not make risky long-term investments if the CEO believes that the benefit of such investments would not materialize or is not recognized by the market until after the CEO has retired. This paper tests the predictions of the Acharya, Myers, and Rajan (2011) internal governance model to counteract the CEO’s tendency to forego such investments on a sample of voluntary CEO turnovers. We find that the optimal level of sharing of tasks between the CEO and her top-management team, the firm’s internal governance, is dependent on the CEO’s career horizon. Additionally, we find the effect of internal governance only matters for older CEOs. We also find that the closer the internal governance is to the optimal level, the smaller is the underinvestment for an older outgoing CEO. We find that the new incoming CEO divests profitably the assets acquired under good internal governance. Finally, we find that optimal internal governance is found to have positive effects on corporate innovation. Our results are robust to continuous matching by generalized propensity score and controlling for the CEO’s explicit pay-performance sensitivity, succession plan, and pay duration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102676"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142445679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does tax reform affect labor investment efficiency?","authors":"Steven E. Kaplan , Eugie Y. Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102673","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102673","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigate whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) impacts labor investment efficiency. By lowering the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, ceteris paribus, the TCJA provides firms with a cash windfall. Based on difference-in-differences analysis using non-US based firms as a control group, we find that in the post-TCJA years, labor investment inefficiency increased for US based, but not for non-US based, firms. Further, the increase in labor investment inefficiency is concentrated among US firms with high cash holdings, suggesting that these firms face higher agency costs in the post-TCJA period. Additional analysis suggests that in the post-TCJA period, managers of high cash holding firms were seeking a quiet life. We find weak evidence that strong corporate governance mitigated this negative behavior. Overall, our findings show that tax reform can impact labor investment efficiency and should be of interest to investors, boards of directors, tax authorities, and to researchers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102673"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142428545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corporate social responsibility and external disruptions","authors":"Po-Hsuan Hsu , Hsiao-Hui Lee , Long Yi","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We propose that corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment serves as an intangible investment in stakeholder relationships to guard against external disruptions to firms' operations and tangible assets. Using a difference-in-differences setting and a database of factory locations, we show that manufacturing firms with higher CSR ratings are much less affected by major natural disasters in terms of operating performance. We then propose two mechanisms through which CSR engagement shields manufacturing firms against external disruptions: employee motivation and customer loyalty. Empirical evidence suggests that CSR helps manufacturing firms survive major natural disasters by motivating employees, which leads to higher post-disaster productivity, and keeping customers, which leads to more stable post-disaster sales.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102675"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Johannes A. Barg , Wolfgang Drobetz , Sadok El Ghoul , Omrane Guedhami , Henning Schröder
{"title":"Institutional dual ownership and voluntary greenhouse gas emission disclosure","authors":"Johannes A. Barg , Wolfgang Drobetz , Sadok El Ghoul , Omrane Guedhami , Henning Schröder","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102671","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102671","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper shows evidence of a positive relationship between institutional dual holders, who hold both equity and debt in a firm, and voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) emission disclosure. Considering dual holders as particularly risk-sensitive institutional investors, we document that improvements in voluntary GHG emission disclosure are motivated by climate-conscious and risk-related considerations. The positive effect of institutional dual ownership is more pronounced in firms facing significant environmental risks, where disclosure enables clearer explanations and prevents exaggerated stakeholder reactions. The impact of dual ownership is also stronger in firms with poor information environments, where dual holders exploit their enhanced monitoring capacity through gathering information from both their public equity and private debt holdings. Consistent with our risk-based explanation, voluntary GHG emission disclosure reduces the cost of equity and increases firm valuation in firms with higher dual ownership.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102671"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142536027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marcin Borsuk , Nicolas Eugster , Paul-Olivier Klein , Oskar Kowalewski
{"title":"Family firms and carbon emissions","authors":"Marcin Borsuk , Nicolas Eugster , Paul-Olivier Klein , Oskar Kowalewski","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102672","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102672","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the relationship between family firms and carbon emissions using a large cross-country dataset of 6600 non-financial firms over the period 2010–2019. We find that family firms emit less carbon than non-family firms, especially after the Paris Agreement. Several factors contribute to this outcome, including governance structure, the degree of family control, R&D spending, and the issuance of green patents. Our study also shows that despite lower carbon emissions, family firms have lower environmental scores, primarily due to their reduced public commitment to emission reduction. Both environmental scores and carbon emissions increase when non-family CEOs are appointed and when family ownership decreases, indicating that agency conflicts may influence these outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102672"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142319578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digitalization and the performance of non-technological firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 and natural disaster shocks","authors":"José-Miguel Gaspar , Sumingyue Wang , Liang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Over the last decades, firms have been incorporating digital technologies into their operations, a process known as digitalization. Nevertheless, understanding the link between digitalization and firm performance remains challenging. We propose a new firm-level measure of digital intensity based on textual analysis of business descriptions and quarterly earnings calls. To overcome endogeneity, we use two quasi-natural experiments: the COVID-19 pandemic and shocks involving suppliers affected by U.S. natural disasters. Non-technological firms with higher pre-shock digital intensity experience higher abnormal returns, higher profitability, and higher revenue growth during the shocks. The supply chain is one of the areas through which digitalization contributes to significantly mitigate the effects of these shocks, thereby enhancing firm resilience.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102670"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119924001329/pdfft?md5=978a1ccc5e3110ea8ae14609a1cf9d9d&pid=1-s2.0-S0929119924001329-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142238119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xuedan Tao , Huabing Barbara Wang , Qian Xin , You Xu
{"title":"Does the mandatory disclosure of suppliers' tax uncertainties affect supply chain relations?","authors":"Xuedan Tao , Huabing Barbara Wang , Qian Xin , You Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102669","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102669","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We investigate whether and how the public revelation of tax uncertainty affects supply chain relations by utilizing an exogenous shock to tax reporting under FIN 48, which mandates the disclosure of uncertain tax benefits (UTBs). Using a difference-in-differences research design, we find that firms disclosing UTBs experience a significant decrease in sales to major customers after FIN 48 relative to firms without tax uncertainty. Further mechanism analyses suggest a risk perception channel that the disclosure heightens customers' risk perception of the suppliers: the adverse effect is more pronounced for suppliers with higher tax uncertainty or <em>ex ante</em> corporate risk. However, we do not find evidence for a tax morale channel that customers are concerned about sourcing from a “bad corporate citizen.” In cross-sectional analyses, we find a stronger adverse effect when customers and suppliers are less likely to engage in private information sharing or tax coordination, when suppliers disclose higher-quality UTBs, or when customers have lower tax risk tolerance or switching costs. Overall, our findings document an externality of tax disclosure from the perspectives of supply chain partners, suggesting that the disclosure of tax uncertainty provides valuable information to corporate customers and affects a firm's trade relations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102669"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142171870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tianxi Wang , Angelica Gonzalez , Jens Hagendorff , Vathunyoo Sila
{"title":"Little emperor CEOs: Firm risk and performance when CEOs grow up without siblings","authors":"Tianxi Wang , Angelica Gonzalez , Jens Hagendorff , Vathunyoo Sila","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102658","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102658","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using hand-collected data on the CEOs of Chinese companies, we find that managers who grow up without siblings are associated with riskier firms and worse performance. Our analysis exploits regional and time variation in China's compulsory one-child policy as a shock to fertility rates. Consistent with explanations that only-children have not experienced competition among siblings, we show that firms led by only-child CEOs underperform when industry competition is stronger. Our findings suggest that fertility policies affect the supply of managerial capital and, consequently, corporate policies and performance<em>.</em></div></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102658"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142721146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The performance of private equity portfolio companies during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Paul Lavery , Nick Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102641","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2024.102641","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We study the performance of PE-backed companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that, on average, PE-backed firms were more resilient compared to closely matched industry peers during the pandemic. However, this outperformance is of a smaller magnitude than during the pre-pandemic non-crisis period, suggesting that the outperformance is driven by investor selection of target firms ex ante, rather than active support mechanisms. The outperformance during the pandemic is found to be insignificant among firms which were the most vulnerable at the onset of the pandemic, and firms in the most exposed industries. These more vulnerable firms appear to have been less active in obtaining additional financing during the pandemic, and consequently, suffered a significantly higher incidence of distress. However, non-PE-backed firms in distress had a higher incidence of liquidation, while PE-owned firms more often negotiated formally with creditors to continue trading. Our analysis shines light on the role of PE investors during a large, exogenous shock, and suggests that, in the case of the pandemic, their adept target selection may help to explain the outperformance more so than their actions to protect vulnerable firms in a crisis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":15525,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Corporate Finance","volume":"89 ","pages":"Article 102641"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119924001032/pdfft?md5=4a2fd20ca1187e199a06d6e1d820de45&pid=1-s2.0-S0929119924001032-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142096975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}