External profit pressure and operating efficiency: evidence from Chinese listed companies

Compared with western developed countries, the maturity and effectiveness of China’s securities market are relatively low, and investors are more likely to be swayed by analysts’ opinions. Efficiency is an important indicator to measure the competitiveness of listed companies, analysts’ earnings pressure can not only make management inclined to short-term investment behaviour, but also affect stakeholders’ views on the company, which is not conducive to the company’s efficiency and long-term development. Therefore, this study examines the impact of external profit pressure on the operating efficiency of Chinese listed companies and its internal mechanism. The technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) of the samples of listed companies are calculated by data envelopment method (DEA), it is found that external profit pressure has a negative impact on TE and PTE but a positive impact on SE. The institutional investor plays an intermediary role between external profit pressure and operating efficiency, and corporate social responsibility regulates the relationship between external profit pressure and institutional investors’ shareholding. The conclusion of the research has important theoretical value and practical significance in clarifying the relationship between external profit pressure and the operating efficiency.