IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i7p5899-d1110024.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Venture Capital, Compensation Incentive, and Corporate Sustainable Development

Author

Listed:
  • Li Jing

    (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

  • Huying Zhang

    (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

Abstract

Innovation is one of the primary approaches by which companies address the progressively severe social, environmental, and market pressures that they face, and it is a crucial route for companies to maintain sustainable development. Venture capital (VC) plays a significant role in promoting enterprise innovation, especially breakthrough innovation. Venture capital can increase executive compensation and corporate innovation. Previous studies have also indicated that compensation incentives can be beneficial to corporate innovation. Although the relationships between two of these three variables have been validated, the relationship between VC, executive compensation, and corporate innovation has not yet received ample consideration. Our research focuses on the connections among these three variables, and we chose corporate for our sample, which listed corporations on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges in the period from 2009 to 2017. We found that VC has a mediating effect on innovation through executive compensation incentives, although not necessarily a full mediation effect—merely a partial one. Moreover, we found that VC primarily plays the role of a compensation incentive by amplifying the internal salary gap of corporate. By employing invention patents to replace explanatory variables, using a Heckman two-stage method, and utilizing propensity score matching (PSM) for robustness testing, the validity of the conclusion was confirmed. In addition, we discovered that experienced VC or companies with lower governance quality are more likely to use compensation incentives to promote corporate innovation. This study provides valuable insight for VC in cultivating corporate innovation, as well as for corporates looking to boost their innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Jing & Huying Zhang, 2023. "Venture Capital, Compensation Incentive, and Corporate Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5899-:d:1110024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5899/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5899/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Natee Amornsiripanitch & Paul A Gompers & Yuhai Xuan, 2019. "More than Money: Venture Capitalists on Boards," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(3), pages 513-543.
    2. Holmstrom, Bengt, 1989. "Agency costs and innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 305-327, December.
    3. Bai, Chong-En & Lu, Jiangyong & Tao, Zhigang, 2010. "Capital or knowhow: The role of foreign multinationals in Sino-foreign joint ventures," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 629-638, December.
    4. Magnus Henrekson & Tino Sanandaji, 2018. "Stock option taxation: a missing piece in European innovation policy?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 411-424, August.
    5. Bertoni, Fabio & Croce, Annalisa & Guerini, Massimiliano, 2015. "Venture capital and the investment curve of young high-tech companies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 159-176.
    6. Philippe Aghion & John Van Reenen & Luigi Zingales, 2013. "Innovation and Institutional Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 277-304, February.
    7. TIAN, Xiaoli & KOU, Gang & ZHANG, Weike, 2020. "Geographic distance, venture capital and technological performance: Evidence from Chinese enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. Sahaym, Arvin & Cho, Sam Yul & Kim, Sang Kyun & Mousa, Fariss-Terry, 2016. "Mixed blessings: How top management team heterogeneity and governance structure influence the use of corporate venture capital by post-IPO firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1208-1218.
    9. Zhang, Weike & Tian, Xiaoli & Yu, Ao, 2020. "Is high-speed rail a catalyst for the fourth industrial revolution in China? Story of enhanced technology spillovers from venture capital," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    10. Holmström, Bengt, 1989. "Agency Costs and Innovation," Working Paper Series 214, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    11. Wang, Ning & Hagedoorn, John, 2014. "The lag structure of the relationship between patenting and internal R&D revisited," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1275-1285.
    12. Minshik Shin & Sooeun Kim, 2014. "The Effects of Private Investments in Public Equity on R&D Investment in Small and Medium-Size Enterprises," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2S), pages 43-59, March.
    13. Wu, Ting & Yang, Shuwang & Tan, Jingjing, 2020. "Impacts of government R&D subsidies on venture capital and renewable energy investment -- an empirical study in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Conyon, Martin J. & He, Lerong, 2011. "Executive compensation and corporate governance in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1158-1175, September.
    15. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2007. "How ownership and corporate governance influence chief executive pay in China's listed firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 776-785, July.
    16. Tan, Yongxian & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Xinde & Zhao, Hailong, 2020. "The real effect of partial privatization on corporate innovation: Evidence from China's split share structure reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Ellen Engel & Elizabeth A. Gordon & Rachel M. Hayes, 2002. "The Roles of Performance Measures and Monitoring in Annual Governance Decisions in Entrepreneurial Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 485-518, May.
    18. Haemin Dennis Park & Daniel Tzabbar, 2016. "Venture Capital, CEOs’ Sources of Power, and Innovation Novelty at Different Life Stages of a New Venture," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 336-353, April.
    19. Giorgia Piacentino, 2019. "Venture Capital and Capital Allocation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(3), pages 1261-1314, June.
    20. Minshik Shin & Sooeun Kim, 2014. "The Effects of Private Investments in Public Equity on R&D Investment in Small and Medium-Size Enterprises," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(S2), pages 43-59.
    21. Frydman, Carola & Papanikolaou, Dimitris, 2018. "In search of ideas: Technological innovation and executive pay inequality," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 1-24.
    22. Rajiv D. Banker & Danlu Bu & Mihir N. Mehta, 2016. "Pay Gap and Performance in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(3), pages 501-531, September.
    23. Shai Bernstein, 2015. "Does Going Public Affect Innovation?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1365-1403, August.
    24. Jiang, Xuanyu & Yuan, Qingbo, 2018. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 148-168.
    25. Saebi, Tina & Foss, Nicolai J., 2015. "Business models for open innovation: Matching heterogeneous open innovation strategies with business model dimensions," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 201-213.
    26. Biggerstaff, Lee & Blank, Brian & Goldie, Brad, 2019. "Do incentives work? Option-based compensation and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 415-430.
    27. Lu, Jun & Wang, Wei, 2018. "Managerial conservatism, board independence and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-16.
    28. Josh Lerner & Ramana Nanda, 2020. "Venture Capital's Role in Financing Innovation: What We Know and How Much We Still Need to Learn," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 237-261, Summer.
    29. Lee, Peggy M. & Wahal, Sunil, 2004. "Grandstanding, certification and the underpricing of venture capital backed IPOs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 375-407, August.
    30. Colombo, Massimo G. & Meoli, Michele & Vismara, Silvio, 2019. "Signaling in science-based IPOs: The combined effect of affiliation with prestigious universities, underwriters, and venture capitalists," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 141-177.
    31. Liao, Woody M. & Lu, Chia-Chi & Wang, Hsuan, 2014. "Venture capital, corporate governance, and financial stability of IPO firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 19-33.
    32. Pu, Xiaohong & Zeng, Ming & Zhang, Weike, 2023. "Corporate sustainable development driven by high-quality innovation: Does fiscal decentralization really matter?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 273-289.
    33. Dane P. Blevins & Roberto Ragozzino, 2018. "An examination of the effects of venture capitalists on the alliance formation activity of entrepreneurial firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7), pages 2075-2091, July.
    34. Bengtsson, Ola, 2013. "Relational venture capital financing of serial founders," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 308-334.
    35. He, Jie (Jack) & Tian, Xuan, 2013. "The dark side of analyst coverage: The case of innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 856-878.
    36. Kim, J. Daniel, 2018. "Is there a startup wage premium? Evidence from MIT graduates," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 637-649.
    37. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin, 2002. "Venture capital in Europe and the financing of innovative companies [‘Robust financial contracting and the role of venture capitalists’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 17(34), pages 229-270.
    38. Buzzacchi, Luigi & Scellato, Giuseppe & Ughetto, Elisa, 2015. "Investment stage drifts and venture capital managerial incentives," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 118-128.
    39. Yael V. Hochberg, 2011. "Venture Capital and Corporate Governance in the Newly Public Firm," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 16(2), pages 429-480.
    40. Yangbin Sun & Cheng Cheng & Shenggang Yang, 2018. "Coaches or Speculators? The Role and Impact of Venture Capital on Executive Compensation in Chinese Listed Companies," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(10), pages 2225-2244, August.
    41. Francis, Jennifer & Smith, Abbie, 1995. "Agency costs and innovation some empirical evidence," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2-3), pages 383-409, April.
    42. Faleye, Olubunmi & Hoitash, Rani & Hoitash, Udi, 2011. "The costs of intense board monitoring," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 160-181, July.
    43. Umit Ozmel & Deniz Yavuz & Tim Trombley & Ranjay Gulati, 2020. "Interfirm Ties Between Ventures and Limited Partners of Venture Capital Funds: Performance Effects in Financial Markets," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(3), pages 698-719, May.
    44. Chahine, Salim & Goergen, Marc, 2011. "The two sides of CEO option grants at the IPO," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1116-1131, 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. Bo Zeng & Weimin Zhang & Defang Ma & Chenyang Zhang & Xiao Liu, 2023. "The Impact of Group Control on the Effectiveness of Enterprise Innovation: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Defang Ma & Liangwei Li & Yuxi Song & Mengkai Wang & Qiaowen Han, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability: The Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance on Corporate Development and Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Alberto Razul & Orlando Gomes & Mohamed Azzim Gulamhussen, 2024. "Bonuses, options, and bank strategies," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-28, January.

    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. Yang, Baochen & Song, Xinyu, 2023. "Does oil price uncertainty matter in firm innovation? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Nian Li & Chunling Li & Runsen Yuan & Muhammad Asif Khan & Xiaoran Sun & Nosherwan Khaliq, 2021. "Investor Attention and Corporate Innovation Performance: Evidence from Web Search Volume Index of Chinese Listed Companies," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Huang, Hua & Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Xueping & Feng, Chen & Ye, Yongwei, 2023. "Do board reforms in parent firms boost subsidiaries’ innovation?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Yuan, Rongli & Wen, Wen, 2018. "Managerial foreign experience and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 752-770.
    5. Huang, Yi-Hou & Liang, Woan-lih & Truong, Quang-Thai & Wang, Yanzhi, 2022. "No new tricks for old dogs? Old directors and innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    6. Ziyang Li & Qianwei Ying & Wu Yan & Chenjun Fan, 2022. "Does just‐in‐time adoption have an impact on corporate innovation: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1599-1635, April.
    7. Pang, Caiji & Wang, Ying, 2020. "Stock pledge, risk of losing control and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Lai, Shaojie & Yang, Laifeng & Wang, Qing & Anderson, Hamish D., 2023. "Judicial independence and corporate innovation: Evidence from the establishment of circuit courts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    9. Hedy Jiaying Huang & Ahsan Habib & Sophia Li Sun & Ying Liu & Huiting Guo, 2021. "Financial reporting and corporate innovation: a review of the international literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5439-5499, December.
    10. Fu, Yishu, 2019. "Independent directors, CEO career concerns, and firm innovation: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    11. Lily Nguyen & Le Vu & Xiangkang Yin, 2021. "The bright side of co‐opted boards: Evidence from firm innovation," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 29-53, February.
    12. Wang, Juxian & Ma, Mengdi & Dong, Tianyi & Zhang, Zheyuan, 2023. "Do ESG ratings promote corporate green innovation? A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Su, Zhong-qin & Xiao, Zuoping & Yu, Lin, 2019. "Do political connections enhance or impede corporate innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 94-110.
    14. Gu, Yuqi & Zhang, Ling, 2017. "The impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on corporate innovation," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 17-30.
    15. Sakaki, Hamid & Jory, Surendranath Rakesh, 2019. "Institutional investors' ownership stability and firms' innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 10-22.
    16. Danlin Shen & Carl R. Chen & Xinyan Yan & Zhihong Yi, 2022. "Do credit market accessibility and legal protection shape corporate innovation?," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(3), pages 719-754, September.
    17. Ramana Nanda & William R. Kerr, 2015. "Financing Innovation," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 445-462, December.
    18. Xiaoran Huang & Zheng Qiao & Lei Zhang, 2021. "The real effects of institutional spatial concentration," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(4), pages 1113-1167, December.
    19. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_028 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Acharya, Viral & Xu, Zhaoxia, 2017. "Financial dependence and innovation: The case of public versus private firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 223-243.
    21. Daniel Bradley & Incheol Kim & Xuan Tian, 2017. "Do Unions Affect Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(7), pages 2251-2271, July.

    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:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5899-:d:1110024. 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.