IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jecfin/v43y2019i1d10.1007_s12197-017-9425-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Directors’ liability insurance and investment-cash flow sensitivity

Author

Listed:
  • Chia-Chung Chan

    (Tunghai University)

  • Yung-Ho Chang

    (Tunghai University)

  • Chia-wei Chen

    (Tunghai University)

  • Yuwei Wang

    (Marist College)

Abstract

We examine the association between directors’ liability insurance and investment-cash flow sensitivity with listed firms in Taiwan. We find that directors’ liability insurance increases the investment-cash flow sensitivity. Specifically, insured firms are more likely to have excessive investment than uninsured firms given the same level of cash flow. This is the result of managerial opportunistic behaviors fueled by moral hazard inherent in directors’ liability insurance. Although managerial opportunism could certainly increase the likelihood of corporate wrongdoing, our results show that it could be mitigated by having improved regulation or corporate governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Chia-Chung Chan & Yung-Ho Chang & Chia-wei Chen & Yuwei Wang, 2019. "Directors’ liability insurance and investment-cash flow sensitivity," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 27-43, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecfin:v:43:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s12197-017-9425-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s12197-017-9425-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12197-017-9425-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12197-017-9425-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boyer, Martin, 2014. "Directors’ and officers’ insurance and shareholder protection," Journal of Financial Perspectives, EY Global FS Institute, vol. 2(1), pages 107-128.
    2. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    3. Grzegorz Pawlina & Luc Renneboog, 2005. "Is Investment‐Cash Flow Sensitivity Caused by Agency Costs or Asymmetric Information? Evidence from the UK," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 11(4), pages 483-513, September.
    4. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    5. Jarrad Harford & Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Firm Cash Holdings in the U.S," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 107-138, Springer.
    6. Chung, Hyeesoo H. & Wynn, Jinyoung P., 2008. "Managerial legal liability coverage and earnings conservatism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 135-153, September.
    7. Spence, Michael & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1971. "Insurance, Information, and Individual Action," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 380-387, May.
    8. Aguir, Iness & Burns, Natasha & Mansi, Sattar A. & Wald, John K., 2014. "Liability protection, director compensation, and incentives," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 570-589.
    9. Li, Kuei-Fu & Liao, Yi-Ping, 2014. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and investment efficiency: Evidence from Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 18-34.
    10. Agca, Senay & Mozumdar, Abon, 2008. "The impact of capital market imperfections on investment-cash flow sensitivity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 207-216, February.
    11. Steven M. Fazzari & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1988. "Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 141-206.
    12. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan, 2007. "Corporate governance and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 599-634, March.
    13. Core, John E. & Holthausen, Robert W. & Larcker, David F., 1999. "Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 371-406, March.
    14. Ashbaugh-Skaife, Hollis & Collins, Daniel W. & LaFond, Ryan, 2006. "The effects of corporate governance on firms' credit ratings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 203-243, October.
    15. Holderness, Clifford G., 1990. "Liability insurers as corporate monitors," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 115-129, September.
    16. Klock, Mark S. & Mansi, Sattar A. & Maxwell, William F., 2005. "Does Corporate Governance Matter to Bondholders?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 693-719, December.
    17. Michael Rothschild & Joseph Stiglitz, 1976. "Equilibrium in Competitive Insurance Markets: An Essay on the Economics of Imperfect Information," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 90(4), pages 629-649.
    18. Lin, Chen & Officer, Micah S. & Zou, Hong, 2011. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and acquisition outcomes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 507-525.
    19. Huang, Wei & Jiang, Fuxiu & Liu, Zhibiao & Zhang, Min, 2011. "Agency cost, top executives' overconfidence, and investment-cash flow sensitivity -- Evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 261-277, June.
    20. Hyeesoo H. Chung & Jinyoung P. Wynn, 2014. "Corporate governance, directors' and officers' insurance premiums and audit fees," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 29(2), pages 173-195, February.
    21. Romano, Roberta, 1991. "The Shareholder Suit: Litigation without Foundation?," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 55-87, Spring.
    22. Zou, Hong & Wong, Sonia & Shum, Clement & Xiong, Jun & Yan, Jun, 2008. "Controlling-minority shareholder incentive conflicts and directors' and officers' liability insurance: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2636-2645, December.
    23. John M. R. Chalmers & Larry Y. Dann & Jarrad Harford, 2002. "Managerial Opportunism? Evidence from Directors' and Officers' Insurance Purchases," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 609-636, April.
    24. Chae, Joon & Kim, Sungmin & Lee, Eun Jung, 2009. "How corporate governance affects payout policy under agency problems and external financing constraints," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2093-2101, November.
    25. Chen, Zhihong & Li, Oliver Zhen & Zou, Hong, 2016. "Directors׳ and officers׳ liability insurance and the cost of equity," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 100-120.
    26. Lin, Chen & Officer, Micah S. & Wang, Rui & Zou, Hong, 2013. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and loan spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 37-60.
    27. Chen, Kevin C.W. & Chen, Zhihong & Wei, K.C. John, 2009. "Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 273-289, June.
    28. Stuart L. Gillan & Christine A. Panasian, 2015. "On Lawsuits, Corporate Governance, and Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 82(4), pages 793-822, December.
    29. M. Martin Boyer, 2003. "Is the Demand for Corporate Insurance a Habit? Evidence from Directors' and Officers' Insurance," CIRANO Working Papers 2003s-42, CIRANO.
    30. Core, John E, 2000. "The Directors' and Officers' Insurance Premium: An Outside Assessment of the Quality of Corporate Governance," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 449-477, October.
    31. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    32. Boyer, M. Martin & Stern, Léa H., 2014. "D&O insurance and IPO performance: What can we learn from insurers?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 504-540.
    33. Brook, Yaron & Rao, Ramesh K. S., 1994. "Shareholder Wealth Effects of Directors' Liability Limitation Provisions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(3), pages 481-497, September.
    34. Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Song, Liang & Waisman, Maya, 2013. "Corporate governance and investment-cash flow sensitivity: Evidence from emerging markets," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 57-71.
    35. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    36. Laureen Regan & Yeon Hur, 2007. "On the Corporate Demand for Insurance: The Case of Korean Nonfinancial Firms," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 74(4), pages 829-850, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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).
    2. Liao, Tsai-Ling & Chuang, Hwei-Lin & Wang, Jo-Yu, 2022. "Directors' and officers’ liability insurance and the pricing of seasoned equity offerings," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 12-26.
    3. Yuan, Rongli & Sun, Jian & Cao, Feng, 2016. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 173-192.
    4. Li, Tianshi & Yang, Tina & Zhu, Jigao, 2022. "Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance: Evidence from independent directors’ voting," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    5. Wang, Jialong & Zhang, Jian & Huang, Haoyue & Zhang, Fan, 2020. "Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and firm innovation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 414-426.
    6. Su, Xuan-Qi, 2023. "Directors' and Officers' liability insurance and cross section of expected stock returns: A mispricing explanation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Bradley, Michael & Chen, Dong, 2011. "Corporate governance and the cost of debt: Evidence from director limited liability and indemnification provisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 83-107, February.
    8. Wang, Yuwei & Chen, Chia-wei, 2016. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and the sensitivity of directors' compensation to firm performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 286-297.
    9. Huang, Rachel J. & Jeng, Vivian & Wang, Cheng-Wei & Yue, Jack C., 2021. "Does size and book-to-market contain intangible information about managerial incentives? Learning from corporate D&O insurance purchase," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Li-Su Huang, 2022. "Directors and officers liability insurance and default risk," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 47(2), pages 375-408, April.
    11. Luo, Yan & Krivogorsky, Victoria, 2017. "The materiality of directors' and officers' insurance information: Case for disclosure," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 69-74.
    12. Lin, Feng-Yi & Guan, Liming & Ho, Chia-Ling & Wang, Teng-Shih, 2022. "Examining the D&O insurance effect on managerial ability," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    13. Lai, Yi-Hsun & Tai, Vivian W., 2019. "Managerial overconfidence and directors' and officers' liability insurance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Meng-Chi Chueh & Shen-Ho Chang, 2022. "Effects of Directors and Officers Insurance on Earnings Management Strategies: Moderating Role of Restatement Announcements," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 15(1), pages 71-93, July.
    15. Chiang, Yao-Min & Chang, Pang-Ru, 2022. "Overinvestment, ownership structure, and directors' and officers’ liability insurance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 38-50.
    16. Boyer, Martin, 2014. "Directors’ and officers’ insurance and shareholder protection," Journal of Financial Perspectives, EY Global FS Institute, vol. 2(1), pages 107-128.
    17. 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).
    18. Choonsik Lee & Heungju Park, 2016. "Financial constraints, board governance standards, and corporate cash holdings," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 21-34, January.
    19. Lin, Chen & Officer, Micah S. & Wang, Rui & Zou, Hong, 2013. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and loan spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 37-60.
    20. M. Martin Boyer, 2004. "Is the Demand for Corporate Insurance a Habit? Evidence of Organizational Inertia from Directors' and Officers' Insurance," CIRANO Working Papers 2004s-33, CIRANO.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Directors’ liability insurance; D&O insurance; Investment-cash flow sensitivity; Taiwan;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:spr:jecfin:v:43:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s12197-017-9425-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.