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Political connections and directors' and officers' liability insurance – Evidence from China

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  • Jia, Ning
  • Mao, Xinshu
  • Yuan, Rongli

Abstract

Political connections provide firms with legal advantages and can shield managers and directors away from litigation risk. Using a sample of Chinese public firms, we find that politically connected firms have lower demand for the directors' and officers' liability insurance (D&O insurance). The association is robust to Heckman two-step selection model, an examination of market reaction to the departure of politically connected managers, a difference-in-differences analysis surrounding the hiring of a politically connected CEO, and controlling for firm performance. The effect is attenuated for firms in regions with strong market development and legal environment, but is accentuated for firms that are less socially important to the local government. Our findings highlight a substitution effect between political connections and D&O insurance in protecting managers and directors against legal liability, and advance our understanding of the key drivers of D&O insurance purchase in emerging markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Jia, Ning & Mao, Xinshu & Yuan, Rongli, 2019. "Political connections and directors' and officers' liability insurance – Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 353-372.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:58:y:2019:i:c:p:353-372
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2019.06.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Wan, Lihong & Zhang, Panpan & Lin, Qi, 2023. "The loss of political connections and corporate financialization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    3. Cai, Lingnan, 2023. "Equity incentive, political connection and bank loan in private enterprises," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
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    7. Nnadi, Modestus I. & Sorwar, Ghulam & Eskandari, Rasol & Chizema, Amon, 2021. "Political connections and seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    8. Wang, Lu & Su, Zhong-qin & Fung, Hung-Gay & Jin, Hong-min & Xiao, Zuoping, 2021. "Do CEOs with academic experience add value to firms? Evidence on bank loans from Chinese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    9. Wang, Man & Sun, Lujia, 2023. "Does Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance improve corporate governance of Chinese listed firms? The moderating role of insider ownership," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    10. Chen Liu & Dongmin Kong, 2021. "Business strategy and sustainable development: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 657-670, January.
    11. Xia, Changyuan & Yang, Junjie & Yang, Zeng & Chan, Kam C., 2023. "Do directors with foreign experience increase the corporate demand for directors' and officers' liability insurance? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    12. Kong, Xiaoran & Xu, Siping & Liu, Ming-Yu & Ho, Kung-Cheng, 2023. "Confucianism and D&O insurance demand of Chinese listed companies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Tha’er Amjed Mahmoud Ababneh & Mehmet Aga, 2019. "The Impact of Sustainable Financial Data Governance, Political Connections, and Creative Accounting Practices on Organizational Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Cao, Feng & Zhang, Xueyan & Yuan, Rongli, 2022. "Do geographically nearby major customers mitigate suppliers’ stock price crash risk?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(6).
    15. Wang, Litan & You, Kefei, 2022. "The impact of political connections on corporate tax burden: Evidence from the Chinese market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    16. Li, Wanfu & Jiang, Mengmeng & Zhang, Xuejiao & Wang, Yu & Qu, Xiaoyi, 2023. "Does foreign experience of top management affect corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    17. Hu, Yuanyuan & Fang, Jiali, 2022. "Peer Effects in Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    18. Sophie Wang, Qing & Lai, Shaojie & Pi, Shuwen & Anderson, Hamish, 2022. "Does directors' and officers' liability insurance induce empire building? Evidence from corporate labor investment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    19. Meng, Qingbin & Zhong, Ziya & Li, Xinyu & Wang, Song, 2023. "What protects me also makes me behave: The role of directors' and officers' liability insurance on empire-building managers in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    20. Kaijuan Gao & Chenglong Wang & Qi Su & Hanxiao Shen, 2020. "Do analysts follow firms with able managers?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(8), pages 1602-1612, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political connections; directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance; Substitution effect; Market development; Legal environment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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