IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v103y2025ics1057521925002789.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceived corporate individualism culture and corporate bond issuing costs

Author

Listed:
  • Su, Yu

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the perceived individualism culture of corporate executives influences U.S. primary bond market pricing. Corporate individualism culture is assessed through the cultural inheritance of executives, inferred from their surnames. Analyzing a sample of 4690 U.S. bonds issued by 675 firms between 2000 and 2021, this study finds a significant and positive relationship between corporate individualism culture and bond issuance costs, even after controlling for firm- and year-fixed effects. Moreover, the impact of a strong corporate individualism culture on bond issuance costs is more pronounced in firms experiencing high financial distress and weak corporate governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Su, Yu, 2025. "Perceived corporate individualism culture and corporate bond issuing costs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:103:y:2025:i:c:s1057521925002789
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104191
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521925002789
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104191?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anwer S. Ahmed & Scott Duellman, 2013. "Managerial Overconfidence and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 51(1), pages 1-30, March.
    2. Zheng, Xiaolan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2012. "National culture and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 468-488.
    3. Brogaard, Jonathan & Li, Dan & Xia, Ying, 2017. "Stock liquidity and default risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 486-502.
    4. Lawrence Fisher, 1959. "Determinants of Risk Premiums on Corporate Bonds," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(3), pages 217-217.
    5. Terrance Odean., 1996. "Volume, Volatility, Price and Profit When All Trader Are Above Average," Research Program in Finance Working Papers RPF-266, University of California at Berkeley.
    6. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate, 2005. "CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2661-2700, December.
    7. North,Douglass C., 1991. "Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521394161, November.
    8. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli, 2006. "Fertility: The Role of Culture and Family Experience," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(2-3), pages 552-561, 04-05.
    9. Hilary, Gilles & Hui, Kai Wai, 2009. "Does religion matter in corporate decision making in America?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 455-473, September.
    10. Qiuhong Zhao & Dave A. Ziebart, 2017. "Consequences of CEO Overconfidence," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 6(2), pages 1-94, May.
    11. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    12. Yihui Pan & Stephan Siegel & Tracy Yue Wang, 2020. "The Cultural Origin of CEOs’ Attitudes toward Uncertainty: Evidence from Corporate Acquisitions," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(7), pages 2977-3030.
    13. Barth, Andreas & Mansouri, Sasan, 2021. "Corporate culture and banking," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 46-75.
    14. Beugelsdijk, Sjoerd & Frijns, Bart, 2010. "A cultural explanation of the foreign bias in international asset allocation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 2121-2131, September.
    15. Graham, John R. & Grennan, Jillian & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shivaram, 2022. "Corporate culture: Evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 552-593.
    16. Zhe An & Zhe Cao & Zhian Chen & Donghui Li, 2020. "Does individualistic culture impact operational risk?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(3), pages 808-838, June.
    17. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Zhao, Mengxin, 2019. "Board Ancestral Diversity and Firm-Performance Volatility," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 1117-1155, June.
    18. Longstaff, Francis A & Schwartz, Eduardo S, 1995. "A Simple Approach to Valuing Risky Fixed and Floating Rate Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(3), pages 789-819, July.
    19. Hui Chen & Rui Cui & Zhiguo He & Konstantin Milbradt, 2018. "Quantifying Liquidity and Default Risks of Corporate Bonds over the Business Cycle," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(3), pages 852-897.
    20. Andy C.W. Chui & Sheridan Titman & K.C. John Wei, 2010. "Individualism and Momentum around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 361-392, February.
    21. Masulis, Ronald W. & Zhang, Emma Jincheng, 2019. "How valuable are independent directors? Evidence from external distractions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(3), pages 226-256.
    22. Edwin J. Elton & Martin J. Gruber & Deepak Agrawal & Christopher Mann, 2001. "Explaining the Rate Spread on Corporate Bonds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 247-277, February.
    23. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2015. "The value of corporate culture," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 60-76.
    24. John Y. Campbell & Glen B. Taksler, 2003. "Equity Volatility and Corporate Bond Yields," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2321-2350, December.
    25. Li, Feng & Minnis, Michael & Nagar, Venky & Rajan, Madhav, 2014. "Knowledge, compensation, and firm value: An empirical analysis of firm communication," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 96-116.
    26. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 23-48, Spring.
    27. Garay, Urbi & González, Maximiliano & Rosso, John, 2019. "Country and industry effects in corporate bond spreads in emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 191-200.
    28. Marc Oliver Rieger & Mei Wang & Thorsten Hens, 2015. "Risk Preferences Around the World," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(3), pages 637-648, March.
    29. Eric Van den Steen, 2004. "Rational Overoptimism (and Other Biases)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 1141-1151, September.
    30. Schrand, Catherine M. & Zechman, Sarah L.C., 2012. "Executive overconfidence and the slippery slope to financial misreporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 311-329.
    31. Baran, Lindsay C. & King, Tao-Hsien Dolly, 2010. "Going private transactions, bondholder returns, and wealth transfer effects," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1856-1872, August.
    32. Li, Kai & Liu, Xing & Mai, Feng & Zhang, Tengfei, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Culture in Bad Times: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(7), pages 2545-2583, November.
    33. Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2004. "Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 447-464, May.
    34. Aggarwal, Reena & Erel, Isil & Ferreira, Miguel & Matos, Pedro, 2011. "Does governance travel around the world? Evidence from institutional investors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 154-181, April.
    35. Hao, Jie & Pham, Viet & Sánchez, Daniela & Sánchez, Juan Manuel, 2021. "Perceptions of corporate corruption culture and debt contracting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    36. Dan Covitz & Chris Downing, 2007. "Liquidity or Credit Risk? The Determinants of Very Short‐Term Corporate Yield Spreads," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(5), pages 2303-2328, October.
    37. David A. Ziebart & Sara A. Reiter, 1992. "Bond ratings, bond yields and financial information," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(1), pages 252-282, September.
    38. Black, Fischer & Cox, John C, 1976. "Valuing Corporate Securities: Some Effects of Bond Indenture Provisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 351-367, May.
    39. Ephraim Clark & Selima Baccar, 2018. "Modelling credit spreads with time volatility, skewness, and kurtosis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 262(2), pages 431-461, March.
    40. 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.
    41. Lifeng Gu & Dirk Hackbarth & Tim Johnson, 2018. "Inflexibility and Stock Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 278-321.
    42. Gleason, Kimberly C. & Mathur, Lynette Knowles & Mathur, Ike, 2000. "The Interrelationship between Culture, Capital Structure, and Performance: Evidence from European Retailers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 185-191, November.
    43. Anh Viet Pham & Mia Hang Pham & Cameron Truong, 2022. "CEO cultural heritage and the pricing of audit services," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 181-214, January.
    44. Amy Dittmar & Ran Duchin, 2016. "Looking in the Rearview Mirror: The Effect of Managers' Professional Experience on Corporate Financial Policy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 565-602.
    45. Gormley, Todd A. & Matsa, David A. & Milbourn, Todd, 2013. "CEO compensation and corporate risk: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 79-101.
    46. Gebhardt, William R. & Hvidkjaer, Soeren & Swaminathan, Bhaskaran, 2005. "The cross-section of expected corporate bond returns: Betas or characteristics?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 85-114, January.
    47. Bruno Biais & Denis Hilton & Karine Mazurier & Sébastien Pouget, 2005. "Judgemental Overconfidence, Self-Monitoring, and Trading Performance in an Experimental Financial Market," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(2), pages 287-312.
    48. Jing-Zhi Huang & Ming Huang, 2012. "How Much of the Corporate-Treasury Yield Spread Is Due to Credit Risk?," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 153-202.
    49. Lin, Chih-Yung & Chen, Yehning & Ho, Po-Hsin & Yen, Ju-Fang, 2020. "CEO overconfidence and bank loan contracting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    50. Paul Hribar & Holly Yang, 2016. "CEO Overconfidence and Management Forecasting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 204-227, March.
    51. Li, Kai & Griffin, Dale & Yue, Heng & Zhao, Longkai, 2013. "How does culture influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-22.
    52. Huang, Ronghong & Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng & Faff, Robert W., 2016. "CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 93-110.
    53. Zhe An & Zhian Chen & Donghui Li & Lu Xing, 2018. "Individualism and stock price crash risk," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(9), pages 1208-1236, December.
    54. Iyer, Subramanian R. & Sankaran, Harikumar & Nejadmalayeri, Ali, 2017. "CEO overconfidence and agency cost of debt: An empirical analysis of CEO turnover events," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 300-313.
    55. Yaakov Weber & Oded Shenkar & Adi Raveh, 1996. "National and Corporate Cultural Fit in Mergers/Acquisitions: An Exploratory Study," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(8), pages 1215-1227, August.
    56. Pan, Yihui & Siegel, Stephan & Wang, Tracy Yue, 2017. "Corporate Risk Culture," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(6), pages 2327-2367, December.
    57. Hasan, Mostafa Monzur, 2022. "Corporate culture and bank debt," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    58. Lucian Bebchuk & Alma Cohen & Allen Ferrell, 2009. "What Matters in Corporate Governance?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 783-827, February.
    59. Merkley, Kenneth & Michaely, Roni & Pacelli, Joseph, 2020. "Cultural diversity on Wall Street: Evidence from consensus earnings forecasts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1).
    60. Chui, Andy C.W. & Kwok, Chuck C.Y. & (Stephen) Zhou, Gaoguang, 2016. "National culture and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-19.
    61. Gao, Haoyu & Wang, Junbo & Wang, Yanchu & Wu, Chunchi & Dong, Xi, 2020. "Media Coverage and the Cost of Debt," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(2), pages 429-471, March.
    62. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Managerial incentives and risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 431-468, February.
    63. Liu, Xiaoding, 2016. "Corruption culture and corporate misconduct," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 307-327.
    64. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella, 2014. "Corporate culture and CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 66-82.
    65. James Brugler & Carole Comerton-Forde & J Spencer Martin, 2022. "Secondary Market Transparency and Corporate Bond Issuing Costs [Asset pricing and the bid–ask spread]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(1), pages 43-77.
    66. Tung Lam Dang & Robert Faff & Hoang Luong & Lily Nguyen, 2019. "Individualistic cultures and crash risk," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(3), pages 622-654, June.
    67. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:1887-1934 is not listed on IDEAS
    68. Eric Van den Steen, 2010. "On the origin of shared beliefs (and corporate culture)," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(4), pages 617-648, December.
    69. Duc Duy Nguyen & Jens Hagendorff & Arman Eshraghi, 2018. "Does a CEO’s Cultural Heritage Affect Performance under Competitive Pressure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 97-141.
    70. Liang Shao & Chuck C Y Kwok & Ran Zhang, 2013. "National culture and corporate investment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 44(7), pages 745-763, September.
    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. Tung Lam Dang & Robert Faff & Hoang Luong & Lily Nguyen, 2019. "Individualistic cultures and crash risk," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(3), pages 622-654, June.
    2. Zhe An & Zhe Cao & Zhian Chen & Donghui Li, 2020. "Does individualistic culture impact operational risk?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(3), pages 808-838, June.
    3. Pascal Gantenbein & Axel Kind & Christophe Volonté, 2019. "Individualism and Venture Capital: A Cross-Country Study," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 741-777, October.
    4. Goodell, John W. & Kumar, Satish & Lahmar, Oumaima & Pandey, Nitesh, 2023. "A bibliometric analysis of cultural finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Bermpei, Theodora & Degl’Innocenti, Marta & Kalyvas, Antonios Nikolaos & Zhou, Si, 2023. "Lender individualism and monitoring: Evidence from syndicated loans," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    6. Cline, Brandon N. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2017. "Individualism, democracy, and contract enforcement," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 284-306.
    7. Antoniou, Constantinos & Cuculiza, Carina & Kumar, Alok & Yang, Lizhengbo, 2024. "It takes two to tango: Spousal risk preferences and CEO risk-taking behavior," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Afzali, Mansoor, 2023. "Corporate culture and financial statement comparability," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Aram, Mohsen & Nejadmalayeri, Ali, 2023. "National culture, lines of credit, and firm liquidity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    10. Foley, Sean & Frijns, Bart & Garel, Alexandre & Roh, Tai-Yong, 2022. "Who buys Bitcoin? The cultural determinants of Bitcoin activity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Yu Sung Ha & Jangkoo Kang & Kyung Yoon Kwon, 2025. "CEO cultural heritage and R&D expenditures," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 1390-1410, April.
    12. Jens Hagendorff & Sonya Lim & Duc Duy Nguyen, 2023. "Lender Trust and Bank Loan Contracts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1758-1779, March.
    13. Anh Viet Pham & Mia Hang Pham & Cameron Truong, 2022. "CEO cultural heritage and the pricing of audit services," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 181-214, January.
    14. Frijns, Bart & Hubers, Frank & Kim, Donghoon & Roh, Tai-Yong & Xu, Yahua, 2022. "National culture and corporate risk-taking around the world," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Duan, Yuejiao & Guedhami, Omrane & Li, Xinming & Zhao, Daxuan, 2024. "Individualism and bank financial structure similarity," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    16. Panagiota Papadimitri & Fotios Pasiouras & Menelaos Tasiou, 2019. "Culture and collateral requirements: Evidence from developing countries," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2019-04, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    17. Tran, Thanh & Nguyen, Harvey & Pham, Mia Hang, 2025. "Do financial markets value corporate culture?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    18. Fang, Yiwei & Fiordelisi, Franco & Hasan, Iftekhar & Leung, Woon Sau & Wong, Gabriel, 2023. "Corporate culture and firm value: Evidence from crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    19. Huong Dang, 2014. "How dimensions of national culture and institutional characteristics influence sovereign rating migration dynamics," ZenTra Working Papers in Transnational Studies 42 / 2014, ZenTra - Center for Transnational Studies.
    20. Liu, Haiming & Liang, Quanxi & Ling, Leng, 2022. "Underrepresentation of female CEOs in China: The role of culture, market forces, and foreign experience of directors," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:finana:v:103:y:2025:i:c:s1057521925002789. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    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.