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A comparison of shareholder identity and governance mechanisms in the monitoring of CEOs of listed companies in China

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  • Wang, Jiwei

Abstract

This paper compares the relative effectiveness of two measures by which the Chinese government attempted to improve the monitoring of listed companies: shifting the ownership of state shares from government agencies (GAs) to the corporate form of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and strengthening corporate governance through statutory regulations and guidelines. The results show that SOEs are better able than GAs to monitor top executives, as indicated by a higher sensitivity of top executive turnover to firm performance. However, corporate governance mechanisms have no significant impact on the sensitivity of top executive turnover to firm performance. This study suggests that incentives for controlling shareholders are more important than governance mechanisms in replacing executives due to poor performance in a transitional economy such as China's, where institutions that support governance mechanisms are still being developed.

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  • Wang, Jiwei, 2010. "A comparison of shareholder identity and governance mechanisms in the monitoring of CEOs of listed companies in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 24-37, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:21:y:2010:i:1:p:24-37
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    3. Truong, Cameron, 2011. "Post-earnings announcement abnormal return in the Chinese equity market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 637-661.
    4. LI, Tao & SUN, Laixiang & ZOU, Liang, 2009. "State ownership and corporate performance: A quantile regression analysis of Chinese listed companies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 703-716, December.
    5. Chang, Eric C. & Wong, Sonia M.L., 2009. "Governance with multiple objectives: Evidence from top executive turnover in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 230-244, April.
    6. Zhaoyang Gu & Song Tang & Donghui Wu, 2020. "The Political Economy of Labor Employment Decisions: Evidence from China," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4703-4725, October.
    7. Liao, Guanmin & Chen, Xin & Jing, Xin & Sun, Jianfei, 2009. "Policy burdens, firm performance, and management turnover," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 15-28, March.
    8. Paul McGuinness & Kevin Lam & João Vieito, 2015. "Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining corporate dividend policy and governance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 989-1038, December.
    9. Chen, Chao & Jin, Qinglu & Yuan, Hongqi, 2011. "Agency problems and liquidity premium: Evidence from China's stock ownership reform," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 76-87, April.
    10. Lin Cui & Yi Li & Klaus E. Meyer & Zijie Li, 2015. "Leadership Experience Meets Ownership Structure: Returnee Managers and Internationalization of Emerging Economy Firms," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 355-387, June.
    11. Fu, Kangkang & Kwok, Wing Chun & Wong, George, 2020. "Agency, firm growth, and managerial turnover: A Chinese study," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    12. Gong, Rong & Marsden, Alastair, 2014. "The impact of the 2007 reforms on the level of information disclosure by the Chinese A-share market," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 221-234.
    13. Qing He & Dongxu Li & Liping Lu & Terence Tai Leung Chong, 2019. "Institutional Ownership and Private Equity Placements: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 315-346, June.
    14. Henk Berkman & Rebel A. Cole & Lawrence J. Fu, 2014. "Improving corporate governance where the State is the controlling block holder: evidence from China," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7-9), pages 752-777, September.

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