Pub Date : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100467
Juan Liang , Liwei Shan , Albert Tsang , Xiaoxue Zhang
This study explores a new channel through which environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting mandates implemented in one country can influence firms’ ESG performance in another country, focusing on returnee CEOs in China who studied or worked abroad. We find that compared with Chinese firms led by returnee CEOs from countries without ESG mandates or Chinese CEOs with no foreign experience, firms managed by returnee CEOs from countries with ESG mandates implemented after their return show improved ESG performance. Therefore, returnee CEOs’ sustained attention to foreign regulatory environments has a lasting impact on their decision-making, particularly in relation to ESG practices. Additionally, we find that the influence of foreign ESG reporting mandates on Chinese firms’ ESG performance is stronger when mandates originate from countries with strong investor protection, when firms are audited by reputable auditors, when they generate more sales in foreign markets and when they have foreign subsidiaries. Our findings reveal how CEOs’ foreign relationships and networks can transcend geographical boundaries, shape individual behaviors and decisions and enhance ESG practices.
{"title":"Sustained learning and corporate ESG practices: evidence from returnee CEOs in China","authors":"Juan Liang , Liwei Shan , Albert Tsang , Xiaoxue Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100467","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100467","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores a new channel through which environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting mandates implemented in one country can influence firms’ ESG performance in another country, focusing on returnee CEOs in China who studied or worked abroad. We find that compared with Chinese firms led by returnee CEOs from countries without ESG mandates or Chinese CEOs with no foreign experience, firms managed by returnee CEOs from countries with ESG mandates implemented <em>after their return</em> show improved ESG performance. Therefore, returnee CEOs’ sustained attention to foreign regulatory environments has a lasting impact on their decision-making, particularly in relation to ESG practices. Additionally, we find that the influence of foreign ESG reporting mandates on Chinese firms’ ESG performance is stronger when mandates originate from countries with strong investor protection, when firms are audited by reputable auditors, when they generate more sales in foreign markets and when they have foreign subsidiaries. Our findings reveal how CEOs’ foreign relationships and networks can transcend geographical boundaries, shape individual behaviors and decisions and enhance ESG practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100467"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100464
Xiaoying Bai , Zhongqi Wu , Minggui Yu
Prior studies define corporate greenwashing as inconsistent and exaggerated environmental disclosures compared with actual practices. This study explores how the stock market identifies and penalizes greenwashing risks, focusing on mismatches between companies’ words and actions and suspicions of greenwashing. Using data from non-financial Chinese A-share firms that publish CSR reports (2008–2021), we test the stock risk premium effects of greenwashing. The results show that investors demand higher premiums due to greenwashing suspicions, while textual evidence of greenwashing amplifies negative reactions, but does not directly increase premiums. The mechanism analysis reveals that exposure to reputational risk, financial misallocation, and information frictions drive premium increases. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that external pollution shocks, internal financial regulations, and corporate strategies affect the amount of premiums. Moreover, firms mimic their peers’ disclosure formats to reduce their environmental information risks, which triggers a transmission of greenwashing and exacerbates systemic risks. Contrary to the view that heavily polluting firms are major greenwashers, low-polluting firms bear higher greenwashing risk premiums because investors already consider the environmental risks of heavily polluting firms. This study measures the likelihood of greenwashing by integrating its motives, expressions, and behaviors, thus offering policy insights for green finance and corporate environmental disclosure frameworks.
{"title":"Putting firms in the spotlight: does the mismatch between words and actions or suspicions of greenwashing drive stock risk premiums?","authors":"Xiaoying Bai , Zhongqi Wu , Minggui Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100464","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100464","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Prior studies define corporate greenwashing as inconsistent and exaggerated environmental disclosures compared with actual practices. This study explores how the stock market identifies and penalizes greenwashing risks, focusing on mismatches between companies’ words and actions and suspicions of greenwashing. Using data from non-financial Chinese A-share firms that publish CSR reports (2008–2021), we test the stock risk premium effects of greenwashing. The results show that investors demand higher premiums due to greenwashing suspicions, while textual evidence of greenwashing amplifies negative reactions, but does not directly increase premiums. The mechanism analysis reveals that exposure to reputational risk, financial misallocation, and information frictions drive premium increases. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that external pollution shocks, internal financial regulations, and corporate strategies affect the amount of premiums. Moreover, firms mimic their peers’ disclosure formats to reduce their environmental information risks, which triggers a transmission of greenwashing and exacerbates systemic risks. Contrary to the view that heavily polluting firms are major greenwashers, low-polluting firms bear higher greenwashing risk premiums because investors already consider the environmental risks of heavily polluting firms. This study measures the likelihood of greenwashing by integrating its motives, expressions, and behaviors, thus offering policy insights for green finance and corporate environmental disclosure frameworks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 100464"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145981559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100466
Qingmei Tan, Yiheng Cui
Digital innovation enables firms to build competitive advantages and achieve sustainability. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2014 to 2023, we explore the impact of digital innovation on corporate sustainability and the moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty. We find that digital innovation promotes corporate sustainability, with increasing economic policy uncertainty strengthening this effect. In mechanism tests, this effect occurs by improving management efficiency and mitigating managerial myopia. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that digital innovation has a greater positive effect on sustainability for firms with stronger green transformation capabilities and those facing greater marketization. Analysis of different digital innovation patents shows that utility model and invention patents contribute to corporate sustainability, unlike design patents. These findings highlight the effect of digital innovation on corporate sustainability and offer valuable insights for firms seeking to balance innovation, competitiveness and long-term sustainability.
{"title":"Can digital innovation be a new driver of corporate sustainability?","authors":"Qingmei Tan, Yiheng Cui","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100466","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100466","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital innovation enables firms to build competitive advantages and achieve sustainability. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2014 to 2023, we explore the impact of digital innovation on corporate sustainability and the moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty. We find that digital innovation promotes corporate sustainability, with increasing economic policy uncertainty strengthening this effect. In mechanism tests, this effect occurs by improving management efficiency and mitigating managerial myopia. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that digital innovation has a greater positive effect on sustainability for firms with stronger green transformation capabilities and those facing greater marketization. Analysis of different digital innovation patents shows that utility model and invention patents contribute to corporate sustainability, unlike design patents. These findings highlight the effect of digital innovation on corporate sustainability and offer valuable insights for firms seeking to balance innovation, competitiveness and long-term sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 100466"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145950277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100465
Du Yu, Ziwen Sun, Junwei Lu, Laifeng Yang
This study investigates how contingent fees in initial public offering (IPO) audits affect earnings reversals. Using a sample of Chinese firms with IPOs, we find that higher contingent fees are associated with a greater likelihood of post-IPO performance deterioration and worse firm outcomes. This effect is more pronounced among non-state-owned (vs. state-owned) firms and those facing weaker regulatory oversight, lower information quality and higher economic policy uncertainty. Further analysis shows that contingent fees significantly accelerate the IPO process, and that firms are likely to retain the same accounting firm that conducted their IPO audit after going public. We also observe that firms paying higher contingent fees experience worse long-term market performance following their listing. Overall, our results indicate that contingent fees in IPO audits undermine the independence of audits. This study not only contributes to the academic literature on contingent fees in the IPO context but also offers empirical support for regulatory efforts to enhance IPO audit pricing oversight.
{"title":"IPO audit contingent fees and earnings reversal","authors":"Du Yu, Ziwen Sun, Junwei Lu, Laifeng Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100465","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how contingent fees in initial public offering (IPO) audits affect earnings reversals. Using a sample of Chinese firms with IPOs, we find that higher contingent fees are associated with a greater likelihood of post-IPO performance deterioration and worse firm outcomes. This effect is more pronounced among non-state-owned (vs. state-owned) firms and those facing weaker regulatory oversight, lower information quality and higher economic policy uncertainty. Further analysis shows that contingent fees significantly accelerate the IPO process, and that firms are likely to retain the same accounting firm that conducted their IPO audit after going public. We also observe that firms paying higher contingent fees experience worse long-term market performance following their listing. Overall, our results indicate that contingent fees in IPO audits undermine the independence of audits. This study not only contributes to the academic literature on contingent fees in the IPO context but also offers empirical support for regulatory efforts to enhance IPO audit pricing oversight.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 2","pages":"Article 100465"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145950276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100462
Libin Qin , Dailing Li , Wen Bo
Drawing on agency theory, this study explores how the geographical distribution of institutional shareholders affects corporate ESG rating disagreements. A higher geographical concentration of institutional shareholders is found to correlate with reduced ESG rating disagreements, as concentration supports coordinated governance and enhances ESG disclosure quality. Heterogeneity analyses show that this effect of geographical concentration is more pronounced in environments with higher competition among institutional shareholders and less media attention toward ESG issues. Analysis of economic consequences indicates that reducing ESG rating disagreements enhances stock liquidity. This study offers important insights regarding how coordinated governance among institutional shareholders can improve corporate ESG performance and optimize governance structures. The findings have practical implications for promoting shareholder collaboration to enhance capital market efficiency and support sustainable development.
{"title":"Institutional shareholders’ geographical concentration, coordinated governance effects, and ESG rating disagreement","authors":"Libin Qin , Dailing Li , Wen Bo","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drawing on agency theory, this study explores how the geographical distribution of institutional shareholders affects corporate ESG rating disagreements. A higher geographical concentration of institutional shareholders is found to correlate with reduced ESG rating disagreements, as concentration supports coordinated governance and enhances ESG disclosure quality. Heterogeneity analyses show that this effect of geographical concentration is more pronounced in environments with higher competition among institutional shareholders and less media attention toward ESG issues. Analysis of economic consequences indicates that reducing ESG rating disagreements enhances stock liquidity. This study offers important insights regarding how coordinated governance among institutional shareholders can improve corporate ESG performance and optimize governance structures. The findings have practical implications for promoting shareholder collaboration to enhance capital market efficiency and support sustainable development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100462"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100463
Wenfei Li, Yiyan Le
This paper examines the impact of firms’ voluntary ESG disclosures on social media on ESG rating divergence using data from China’s Sina Weibo. The results show that social media disclosure of ESG information alleviates ESG rating divergence, supporting the information effect hypothesis rather than the noise effect hypothesis of voluntary disclosure. ESG-related posts on Weibo contain significant informational value, as evidenced by their association with lower stock price synchronicity. Moreover, the mitigating effect is more pronounced for social media posts disclosing ESG information with more likes, reposts and comments. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of voluntary ESG information disclosure in reducing ESG rating divergence is more significant for firms rated by domestic agencies, non-polluting firms and firms in areas with higher Internet penetration. Additional tests rule out the possibility that firms disclose ESG information on social media primarily for greenwashing purposes. Overall, the findings highlight that social media is an effective channel for enhancing ESG information transparency, improving the ESG disclosure system and strengthening the reliability of ESG ratings.
{"title":"Voluntary ESG information disclosure on social media and ESG rating divergence: evidence from Sina Weibo","authors":"Wenfei Li, Yiyan Le","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100463","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100463","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of firms’ voluntary ESG disclosures on social media on ESG rating divergence using data from China’s Sina Weibo. The results show that social media disclosure of ESG information alleviates ESG rating divergence, supporting the information effect hypothesis rather than the noise effect hypothesis of voluntary disclosure. ESG-related posts on Weibo contain significant informational value, as evidenced by their association with lower stock price synchronicity. Moreover, the mitigating effect is more pronounced for social media posts disclosing ESG information with more likes, reposts and comments. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of voluntary ESG information disclosure in reducing ESG rating divergence is more significant for firms rated by domestic agencies, non-polluting firms and firms in areas with higher Internet penetration. Additional tests rule out the possibility that firms disclose ESG information on social media primarily for greenwashing purposes. Overall, the findings highlight that social media is an effective channel for enhancing ESG information transparency, improving the ESG disclosure system and strengthening the reliability of ESG ratings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100463"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100459
Liangyong Wan, Yongjia Zheng, Xiaoying Xu, Rui Wang
This study proposes a novel attention-based deep neural network (AttDNN) model specifically designed for predicting mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The model extends existing deep learning frameworks by incorporating M&A-specific features, regularization layers, and an attention mechanism that emulates human cognitive processes to structure M&A drivers and improve predictive performance. Empirical results demonstrate that the AttDNN model significantly outperforms traditional algorithms in forecasting M&A outcomes, achieving a 29.2 % improvement in predictive accuracy over conventional deep learning methods. This study provides valuable insights at the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial economics, offering practical implications for financial strategy and corporate M&A decision-making.
{"title":"Merger and acquisition prediction based on deep learning with attention mechanism","authors":"Liangyong Wan, Yongjia Zheng, Xiaoying Xu, Rui Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study proposes a novel attention-based deep neural network (AttDNN) model specifically designed for predicting mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The model extends existing deep learning frameworks by incorporating M&A-specific features, regularization layers, and an attention mechanism that emulates human cognitive processes to structure M&A drivers and improve predictive performance. Empirical results demonstrate that the AttDNN model significantly outperforms traditional algorithms in forecasting M&A outcomes, achieving a 29.2 % improvement in predictive accuracy over conventional deep learning methods. This study provides valuable insights at the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial economics, offering practical implications for financial strategy and corporate M&A decision-making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100459"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100460
Danglun Luo , Zihe Jiang , Xinxuan Zhuang , Jianmei He
Fund cliques (i.e., mutual funds holding the same stocks) are a common feature of global financial markets, raising the question: How do fund cliques shape firms’ information environment? Do they improve information efficiency or amplify noise trading? Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2020, we explore the impact of fund cliques on firms’ information environment (measured by stock price synchronicity). Research has found that the increase in the degree of fund clique significantly reduces stock price synchronicity. Our evidence supports the noise trading channel, showing that fund cliques amplify noise trading by reducing the marginal returns of private information acquisition or distorting price signals. Using the unique characteristics of the Chinese market, our paper enriches research on stock price synchronicity and institutional investor behavior, and provides references for emerging capital markets to optimize institutional investor supervision and improve firms’ information environment.
{"title":"Fund cliques and firms’ information environment: information efficiency or noise trading?","authors":"Danglun Luo , Zihe Jiang , Xinxuan Zhuang , Jianmei He","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100460","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100460","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fund cliques (i.e., mutual funds holding the same stocks) are a common feature of global financial markets, raising the question: How do fund cliques shape firms’ information environment? Do they improve information efficiency or amplify noise trading? Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2004 to 2020, we explore the impact of fund cliques on firms’ information environment (measured by stock price synchronicity). Research has found that the increase in the degree of fund clique significantly reduces stock price synchronicity. Our evidence supports the noise trading channel, showing that fund cliques amplify noise trading by reducing the marginal returns of private information acquisition or distorting price signals. Using the unique characteristics of the Chinese market, our paper enriches research on stock price synchronicity and institutional investor behavior, and provides references for emerging capital markets to optimize institutional investor supervision and improve firms’ information environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100460"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100461
Xiaofeng Liu , Nuo Shi , Gaoliang Tian , Ziyang Zhang
This paper examines the effect of government procurement on the firm-level labor share in China. Using manually collected local government contract data matched with A-share non-financial listed firms from 2015 to 2023, we find that firms receiving government procurement contracts experience increased labor shares. Government procurement enhances business stability and encourages regulatory and non-regulatory compliance, facilitating the allocation of economic gains to labor. This positive effect is primarily driven by non-SOEs and is pronounced among labor-intensive manufacturing firms. We also show that government procurement effectively promotes income equality and improves overall employee welfare. Our findings highlight the redistributive role of government procurement and the importance of contract design that aligns firm incentives with social objectives in emerging markets.
{"title":"Can government procurement increase the labor share? Evidence from China","authors":"Xiaofeng Liu , Nuo Shi , Gaoliang Tian , Ziyang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100461","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100461","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the effect of government procurement on the firm-level labor share in China. Using manually collected local government contract data matched with A-share non-financial listed firms from 2015 to 2023, we find that firms receiving government procurement contracts experience increased labor shares. Government procurement enhances business stability and encourages regulatory and non-regulatory compliance, facilitating the allocation of economic gains to labor. This positive effect is primarily driven by non-SOEs and is pronounced among labor-intensive manufacturing firms. We also show that government procurement effectively promotes income equality and improves overall employee welfare. Our findings highlight the redistributive role of government procurement and the importance of contract design that aligns firm incentives with social objectives in emerging markets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100461"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100458
Jin Huang , Dongling Li , Fei Guo
We show that executives’ early-life poverty experiences reduce both internal (executive–employee) and external (executive–peer) corporate pay disparities. Three mechanisms drive this effect: increased risk aversion in poverty-exposed executives, strategic avoidance of negative media coverage to protect reputation and curtailment of excessive executive perks. The results hold under multiple robustness tests. The poverty–equity link intensifies in state-owned enterprises, eastern-region firms, labor-intensive industries, firms with elevated donations, and firms led by executives with advanced degrees. This pay gap reduction primarily stems from restrained executive compensation, particularly when it exceeds industry benchmarks, rather than increased employee wages. These findings advance behavioral agency theory by revealing how leaders’ socioeconomic origins interact with institutional contexts to reshape compensation systems, offering new insights into inequality management.
{"title":"Executives’ poverty experience and internal and external pay disparities: Evidence from China","authors":"Jin Huang , Dongling Li , Fei Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjar.2025.100458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We show that executives’ early-life poverty experiences reduce both internal (executive–employee) and external (executive–peer) corporate pay disparities. Three mechanisms drive this effect: increased risk aversion in poverty-exposed executives, strategic avoidance of negative media coverage to protect reputation and curtailment of excessive executive perks. The results hold under multiple robustness tests. The poverty–equity link intensifies in state-owned enterprises, eastern-region firms, labor-intensive industries, firms with elevated donations, and firms led by executives with advanced degrees. This pay gap reduction primarily stems from restrained executive compensation, particularly when it exceeds industry benchmarks, rather than increased employee wages. These findings advance behavioral agency theory by revealing how leaders’ socioeconomic origins interact with institutional contexts to reshape compensation systems, offering new insights into inequality management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45688,"journal":{"name":"China Journal of Accounting Research","volume":"19 1","pages":"Article 100458"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145939548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}