IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i23p6810-d292732.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate Governance Structure, Financial Capability, and the R&D Intensity in Chinese Sports Sector: Evidence from Listed Sports Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Gang Chen

    (School of Economics and Management, Wuhan Sport University, Wuhan 430070, China)

  • James J. Zhang

    (Department of Kinesiology (Sport Management), University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA)

  • N. David Pifer

    (Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA)

Abstract

Innovations are the foundation of an enterprise’s sustainable development, which is particularly important for sports firms in an evolving Chinese sport industrial environment. Analyzing publicly-listed sports firms on The New Third Board (NTB) in China, this study examined the influence of corporate financial capability and corporate governance structure on firms’ R&D intensity through a series of multiple regression models. Findings revealed that corporate financial capability is an important determinant of R&D intensity, and corporate governance structure has a small but meaningful effect on R&D intensity. Specifically, for Chinese sports firms, several financial capability indicators, such as return on equity, accounts receivable turnover, assets turnover, and profit growth rate, have positive relationships with R&D intensity; however, other financial capability indicators, such as leverage and cash flow, have negative relationships with R&D intensity. Limited evidence was found to support the notion that corporate governance significantly influences R&D intensity, although sports firms with good governance mechanisms are more likely to increase the positive effects of financial capabilities on R&D intensity while decreasing the negative effects. Discussions were centered on planning and executing R&D activities in sports companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Gang Chen & James J. Zhang & N. David Pifer, 2019. "Corporate Governance Structure, Financial Capability, and the R&D Intensity in Chinese Sports Sector: Evidence from Listed Sports Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6810-:d:292732
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6810/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6810/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dasgupta, Sudipto & Noe, Thomas H. & Wang, Zhen, 2011. "Where Did All the Dollars Go? The Effect of Cash Flows on Capital and Asset Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(5), pages 1259-1294, October.
    2. Bettina Becker & Stephen Hall, 2009. "Foreign Direct Investment in R&D and Exchange Rate Uncertainty," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 207-223, April.
    3. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    4. Balsmeier, Benjamin & Fleming, Lee & Manso, Gustavo, 2017. "Independent boards and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 536-557.
    5. Li, Zhichuan Frank & Lin, Shannon & Sun, Shuna & Tucker, Alan, 2018. "Risk-adjusted inside debt," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 12-42.
    6. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    7. Huang, Ying Sophie & Wang, Chia-Jane, 2015. "Corporate governance and risk-taking of Chinese firms: The role of board size," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 96-113.
    8. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Lerner, Josh, 2010. "The Financing of R&D and Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 609-639, Elsevier.
    9. Schmid, Thomas & Achleitner, Ann-Kristin & Ampenberger, Markus & Kaserer, Christoph, 2014. "Family firms and R&D behavior – New evidence from a large-scale survey," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 233-244.
    10. Christopher F. Baum & Mustafa Caglayan & Oleksandr Talavera, 2013. "The Effects of Future Capital Investment and R&D Expenditures on Firms' Liquidity," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(3), pages 459-474, August.
    11. Chaoshin Chiao, 2001. "The relationship between R&D and physical investment of firms in science-based industries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 23-35.
    12. Yoo, Taeyoung & Sung, Taeyoon, 2015. "How outside directors facilitate corporate R&D investment? Evidence from large Korean firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1251-1260.
    13. Friend, Irwin & Lang, Larry H P, 1988. " An Empirical Test of the Impact of Managerial Self-interest on Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 271-281, June.
    14. Teirlinck, Peter, 2017. "Configurations of strategic R&D decisions and financial performance in small-sized and medium-sized firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 55-65.
    15. Erik Stam & Karl Wennberg, 2009. "The roles of R&D in new firm growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 77-89, June.
    16. Core, John & Guay, Wayne, 1999. "The use of equity grants to manage optimal equity incentive levels," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 151-184, December.
    17. Hanna Hottenrott & Bettina Peters, 2012. "Innovative Capability and Financing Constraints for Innovation: More Money, More Innovation?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1126-1142, November.
    18. Chia-Jane Wang, 2012. "Board size and firm risk-taking," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 519-542, May.
    19. I. A. Shaikh & L. Peters, 2018. "The value of board monitoring in promoting R&D: a test of agency-theory in the US context," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(2), pages 339-363, June.
    20. Chul Lee & Gunno Park & Jina Kang, 2018. "The impact of convergence between science and technology on innovation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 522-544, April.
    21. Brown, James R. & Martinsson, Gustav & Petersen, Bruce C., 2012. "Do financing constraints matter for R&D?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1512-1529.
    22. Richard C. Levin & Alvin K. Klevorick & Richard R. Nelson & Sidney G. Winter, 1987. "Appropriating the Returns from Industrial Research and Development," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 18(3, Specia), pages 783-832.
    23. Jeffrey L Coles & Zhichuan (Frank) Li & Albert Y Wang, 2018. "Industry Tournament Incentives," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 1418-1459.
    24. Kini, Omesh & Williams, Ryan, 2012. "Tournament incentives, firm risk, and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 350-376.
    25. Z. Jun Lin & Shengqiang Liu & Fangcheng Sun, 2017. "The Impact of Financing Constraints and Agency Costs on Corporate R&D Investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 3-42, March.
    26. Lv, David Diwei & Chen, Weihong & Zhu, Hang & Lan, Hailin, 2019. "How does inconsistent negative performance feedback affect the R&D investments of firms? A study of publicly listed firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 151-162.
    27. Guariglia, Alessandra & Liu, Pei, 2014. "To what extent do financing constraints affect Chinese firms' innovation activities?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 223-240.
    28. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    29. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    30. Torben Pedersen & Steen Thomsen, 1999. "Business Systems and Corporate Governance," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 43-59, June.
    31. Chintrakarn, Pandej & Jiraporn, Pornsit & Sakr, Sameh & Lee, Sang Mook, 2016. "Do co-opted directors mitigate managerial myopia? Evidence from R&D investments," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 285-289.
    32. Pedersen, Torben & Thomsen, Steen, 1999. "Business Systems and Corporate Governance," Working Papers 1-1999, Copenhagen Business School, Department of International Economics and Management.
    33. Dong, Jing & Gou, Yan-nan, 2010. "Corporate governance structure, managerial discretion, and the R&D investment in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 180-188, April.
    34. repec:cup:jfinqa:v:46:y:2011:i:06:p:1545-1580_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), 2010. "Handbook of the Economics of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    36. Driver, Ciaran & Guedes, Maria João Coelho, 2012. "Research and development, cash flow, agency and governance: UK large companies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1565-1577.
    37. Kiyohiko Ito & Vladimir Pucik, 1993. "Abstract," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 61-75, January.
    38. Munari, Federico & Oriani, Raffaele & Sobrero, Maurizio, 2010. "The effects of owner identity and external governance systems on R&D investments: A study of Western European firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1093-1104, October.
    39. Brown, James R. & Martinsson, Gustav & Petersen, Bruce C., 2017. "What promotes R&D? Comparative evidence from around the world," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 447-462.
    40. Patel, Pankaj C. & Guedes, Maria João & Soares, Nuno & da Conceição Gonçalves, Vítor, 2018. "Strength of the association between R&D volatility and firm growth: The roles of corporate governance and tangible asset volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 282-288.
    41. Zhang, JingJing & Guan, Jiancheng, 2018. "The time-varying impacts of government incentives on innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 132-144.
    42. Mudambi, Ram & Swift, Tim, 2011. "Proactive R&D management and firm growth: A punctuated equilibrium model," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 429-440, April.
    43. Himmelberg, Charles P & Petersen, Bruce C, 1994. "R&D and Internal Finance: A Panel Study of Small Firms in High-Tech Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 38-51, February.
    44. Carboni, Oliviero A., 2017. "The effect of public support on investment and R&D: An empirical evaluation on European manufacturing firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 282-295.
    45. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2011. "Corporate Governance, Product Market Competition, and Equity Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 563-600, April.
    46. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    47. Sasidharan, Subash & Jijo Lukose, P.J. & Komera, Surenderrao, 2015. "Financing constraints and investments in R&D: Evidence from Indian manufacturing firms," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 28-39.
    48. Klingenberg, Beate & Timberlake, Rachel & Geurts, Tom G. & Brown, Roger J., 2013. "The relationship of operational innovation and financial performance—A critical perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 317-323.
    49. Alam, Ashraful & Uddin, Moshfique & Yazdifar, Hassan, 2019. "Institutional determinants of R&D investment: Evidence from emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 34-44.
    50. Cazier, Richard A., 2011. "Measuring R&D curtailment among short-horizon CEOs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 584-594, June.
    51. Sasaki, Takafumi, 2016. "Financial cash flows and research and development investment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-15.
    52. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    53. Yung, Chris, 2016. "Making Waves: To Innovate or Be a Fast Second?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(2), pages 415-433, April.
    54. David Hillier & Julio Pindado & Valdoceu de Queiroz & Chabela de la Torre, 2011. "The impact of country-level corporate governance on research and development," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 42(1), pages 76-98, January.
    55. David Finegold & George S. Benson & David Hecht, 2007. "Corporate Boards and Company Performance: review of research in light of recent reforms," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 865-878, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Idrees Ali Shah & Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah & Muhammad Nouman & Farman Ullah Khan & Daniel Badulescu & Laura-Mariana Cismas, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Cash Holding: New Insights from Concentrated and Competitive Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Pedro Cuesta-Valiño & Pablo Gutiérrez-Rodríguez & Cristina Loranca-Valle, 2021. "Sustainable Management of Sports Federations: The Indirect Effects of Perceived Service on Member’s Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    3. Yang Ding & Gang Chen, 2022. "How Do Innovation-Driven Policies Help Sports Firms Sustain Growth? The Mediating Role of R&D Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Aurora M. García-Vallejo & Alberto Albahari & Vicente Añó-Sanz & Aurora Garrido-Moreno, 2020. "What’s Behind a Marathon? Process Management in Sports Running Events," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Chunling Li & Runsen Yuan & Muhammad Asif Khan & Khansa Pervaiz & Xiaoran Sun, 2020. "Does the Mixed-Ownership Reform Affect the Innovation Strategy Choices of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, March.
    6. Yingli Wu & Guangji Tong, 2022. "The evaluation of agricultural enterprise's innovative borrowing capacity based on deep learning and BP neural network," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 13(3), pages 1111-1123, December.
    7. Ziyu Guo & Gang Chen & Yang Ding, 2023. "Innovation-Driven Policies, Corporate Governance Structure and Total Factor Productivity in Chinese Sports Sector: Evidence from Listed Sports Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alam, Ashraful & Uddin, Moshfique & Yazdifar, Hassan, 2019. "Institutional determinants of R&D investment: Evidence from emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 34-44.
    2. Liu, Duan & Li, Zhiyuan & He, Hongbo & Hou, Wenxuan, 2021. "The determinants of R&D smoothing with asset sales: Evidence from R&D-intensive firms in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 76-93.
    3. Ziyu Guo & Gang Chen & Yang Ding, 2023. "Innovation-Driven Policies, Corporate Governance Structure and Total Factor Productivity in Chinese Sports Sector: Evidence from Listed Sports Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno & Stefania Patrizia Sonia Rossi, 2019. "Risk Aversion And Entrepreneurship: Financing Innovation For Smes Across Europe. Evidence From Multilevel Models," Working Papers 201902, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    5. Driver, Ciaran & Guedes, Maria João Coelho, 2012. "Research and development, cash flow, agency and governance: UK large companies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1565-1577.
    6. Peter-Jan Engelen & Marc van Essen, 2013. "Effects of firm-level corporate governance and country-level economic governance institutions on R&D curtailment during crisis times," Chapters, in: Mehmet Ugur (ed.), Governance, Regulation and Innovation, chapter 3, pages 58-85, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Francesco Aiello & Graziella Bonanno & Stefania P. S. Rossi, 2020. "How firms finance innovation. Further empirics from European SMEs," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(4), pages 689-714, November.
    8. Banerjee, Pradip, 2022. "Nature of financial constraints and R&D intensity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Huang, Minjie & Kubick, Thomas R. & Tseng, Kevin, 2021. "Technology spillovers and the duration of executive compensation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    10. Choi, Paul Moon Sub & Chung, Chune Young & Vo, Xuan Vinh & Wang, Kainan, 2020. "Are better-governed firms more innovative? Evidence from Korea," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 263-279.
    11. Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Ahmad Kaleem & Salman Zulfiqar & Umair Akram, 2019. "Innovation Investment: Behaviour Of Chinese Firms Towards Financing Sources," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(07), pages 1-29, October.
    12. San Martin-Reyna, J.M. & Duran-Encalada, Jorge A., 2012. "The relationship among family business, corporate governance and firm performance: Evidence from the Mexican stock exchange," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 106-117.
    13. Felix J. Lopez-Iturriaga & Emilio Lopez-Millan, 2015. "Institutional Framework, Corporate Ownership Structure, and R&D Investment: An International Analysis," HSE Working papers WP BRP 36/MAN/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    14. Tolossa Fufa Gulema & Zhou Xiaoyan, 2021. "Mediating Role of Innovation Capacity in the Relationship between Corporate governance and Firm Performance: evidence from Chinese listed firms," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 5(4), pages 105-122.
    15. Mario Tirelli, 2021. "On the optimal investment finance of small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1639-1665, April.
    16. Mónica López-Puertas Lamy, 2012. "How does Ownership Structure Influence Bank Risk? Analyzing the Role of Managerial Incentives," Working Papers 1208, Departament Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, revised Nov 2012.
    17. Ximing Yin & Ben-lu Hai & Jin Chen, 2019. "Financial Constraints and R&D Investment: The Moderating Role of CEO Characteristics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-18, August.
    18. Chrisostomos Florackis & Aydin Ozkan, 2009. "The Impact of Managerial Entrenchment on Agency Costs: An Empirical Investigation Using UK Panel Data," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 15(3), pages 497-528, June.
    19. Fidanoski, Filip & Mateska, Vesna & Simeonovski, Kiril, 2013. "Corporate Governance and Bank Performance: Evidence from Macedonia," MPRA Paper 46773, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2013.
    20. Sebahattin Yıldız & Cebrail Meydan & İlknur Taştan Boz & Önder Sakal, 2019. "Do the Quota Applications for Women on Boards Improve Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-12, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6810-:d:292732. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.