IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v49y2022ics1544612322003105.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Managerial myopia and firm productivity: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Sheng, Xin
  • Guo, Songlin
  • Chang, Xiaochen

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of managerial myopia on firm productivity using a sample of Chinese public firms. Using a text-based measure of managerial myopia, we find that firms whose managers care more about the short term have lower total factor productivity due to a reduction in innovation activities. The finding is robust after using local gambling preference as an instrument variable for managerial myopia. Moreover, the impact of myopia on productivity is concentrated in firms with weaker monitoring, a higher need for external funds, and greater environmental uncertainty. The results indicate that managerial myopia adversely affects a firm's real performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheng, Xin & Guo, Songlin & Chang, Xiaochen, 2022. "Managerial myopia and firm productivity: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:49:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322003105
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.103083
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612322003105
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103083?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. Stein, Jeremy C, 1988. "Takeover Threats and Managerial Myopia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(1), pages 61-80, February.
    2. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    3. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    4. Jeremy C. Stein, 1989. "Efficient Capital Markets, Inefficient Firms: A Model of Myopic Corporate Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 655-669.
    5. Nick Bloom & Stephen Bond & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Uncertainty and Investment Dynamics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 74(2), pages 391-415.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & Aprajit Mahajan & David McKenzie & John Roberts, 2010. "Why Do Firms in Developing Countries Have Low Productivity?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 619-623, May.
    7. To, Thomas Y. & Navone, Marco & Wu, Eliza, 2018. "Analyst coverage and the quality of corporate investment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 164-181.
    8. Hall, B.H., 2011. "Innovation and productivity," MERIT Working Papers 2011-028, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Kuang, Chun & Liu, Zijie & Zhu, Wenyu, 2021. "Need for speed: High-speed rail and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Narayanan, M P, 1985. "Managerial Incentives for Short-term Results," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(5), pages 1469-1484, December.
    11. Alexandre Garel, 2017. "Myopic market pricing and managerial myopia," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(9-10), pages 1194-1213, October.
    12. 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.
    13. Yaoqin Li & Xixiong Xu & Yushu Zhu & Mamiza Haq, 2021. "CEO decision horizon and corporate R&D investments: an explanation based on managerial myopia and risk aversion," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5141-5175, December.
    14. Tian, Gloria Y. & Twite, Garry, 2011. "Corporate governance, external market discipline and firm productivity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 403-417, June.
    15. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    16. Kong, Dongmin & Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Yanan, 2020. "China's anti-corruption campaign and firm productivity: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    17. Ghosh, Dipankar & Olsen, Lori, 2009. "Environmental uncertainty and managers' use of discretionary accruals," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 188-205, February.
    18. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    19. Vikas Agarwal & Rahul Vashishtha & Mohan Venkatachalam, 2018. "Mutual Fund Transparency and Corporate Myopia," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(5), pages 1966-2003.
    20. Dane M. Christensen & Keith L. Jones & David G. Kenchington, 2018. "Gambling Attitudes and Financial Misreporting," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(3), pages 1229-1261, September.
    21. Ulrich Doraszelski & Jordi Jaumandreu, 2013. "R&D and Productivity: Estimating Endogenous Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(4), pages 1338-1383.
    22. Meulbroek, Lisa K & Mitchell, Mark L & Mulherin, J Harold & Netter, Jeffry M & Poulsen, Annette B, 1990. "Shark Repellents and Managerial Myopia: An Empirical Test," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 1108-1117, October.
    23. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    24. Ji, Qiong & Quan, Xiaofeng & Yin, Hongying & Yuan, Qingbo, 2021. "Gambling preferences and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    25. Barth, Erling & Gulbrandsen, Trygve & Schonea, Pal, 2005. "Family ownership and productivity: the role of owner-management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-2), pages 107-127, March.
    26. Palia, Darius & Lichtenberg, Frank, 1999. "Managerial ownership and firm performance: A re-examination using productivity measurement," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 323-339, December.
    27. Alex Edmans & Vivian W. Fang & Katharina A. Lewellen, 2013. "Equity Vesting and Managerial Myopia," NBER Working Papers 19407, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2002. "Patents, Real Options and Firm Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(478), pages 97-116, March.
    29. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2014. "Local Gambling Preferences and Corporate Innovative Success," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 77-106, February.
    30. Huseyin Gulen & Mihai Ion, 2016. "Editor's Choice Policy Uncertainty and Corporate Investment," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 523-564.
    31. Miaojie Yu, 2015. "Processing Trade, Tariff Reductions and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(585), pages 943-988, June.
    32. 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.
    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. Guo, Xiaochuan & Li, Mengmeng & Wang, Yanlin & Mardani, Abbas, 2023. "Does digital transformation improve the firm’s performance? From the perspective of digitalization paradox and managerial myopia," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Qilong Cao & Meng Ju & Jinglei Li & Changbao Zhong, 2022. "Managerial Myopia and Long-Term Investment: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Xu, Shengxiang & Chen, Hsinghung & Dong, Shuli & Guo, Zizheng, 2023. "Can upgrading information infrastructure improve the innovation ability of companies? Empirical evidence from China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    4. Ming, Yaxin & Li, Yubo & Liu, Nian & Li, Jing, 2023. "Retail investor attention and corporate environmental performance: Evidence from china," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. Zhang, Teng & Xu, Zhiwei, 2023. "The informational feedback effect of stock prices on corporate investments: A comparison of new energy firms and traditional energy firms in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    6. Shiliang Hu & Wenhao Dong & Yongchun Huang, 2023. "Analysts’ Green Coverage and Corporate Green Innovation in China: The Moderating Effect of Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, March.

    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. Qilong Cao & Meng Ju & Jinglei Li & Changbao Zhong, 2022. "Managerial Myopia and Long-Term Investment: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Yizhong Wang & Linying Lv & Shanqiao Xia, 2022. "Initial public offering, corporate innovation and total factor productivity: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(5), pages 4695-4726, December.
    3. Taylan Mavruk & Evert Carlsson, 2015. "How long is a long-term-firm investment in the presence of governance mechanisms?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(1), pages 117-149, June.
    4. Roychowdhury, Sugata & Shroff, Nemit & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2019. "The effects of financial reporting and disclosure on corporate investment: A review," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2).
    5. Nguyen, Lily & Vu, Le & Yin, Xiangkang, 2020. "The undesirable effect of audit quality: Evidence from firm innovation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    6. Holden, Craig W. & Lundstrum, Leonard L., 2009. "Costly trade, managerial myopia, and long-term investment," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 126-135, January.
    7. Guo, Xiaochuan & Li, Mengmeng & Wang, Yanlin & Mardani, Abbas, 2023. "Does digital transformation improve the firm’s performance? From the perspective of digitalization paradox and managerial myopia," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    8. Liu, Xiaohan & Liu, Jianmin & Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu, 2022. "Do tax reductions stimulate firm productivity? A quasi-natural experiment from China," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    9. Blanco, Iván & Wehrheim, David, 2017. "The bright side of financial derivatives: Options trading and firm innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 99-119.
    10. Im, Hyun Joong & Liu, Jia & Park, Young Joon, 2021. "Policy uncertainty and peer effects: Evidence from corporate investment in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Fei Wu & Jing Yu & Yujie Zhao & Donghua Zhou, 2022. "Interim CEO and corporate long‐term investment: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 369-415, March.
    12. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Li, Xiaogang, 2020. "Innovation, market valuations, policy uncertainty and trade: Theory and evidence," ISU General Staff Papers 202001010800009179, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    14. Chen, I-Ju & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Wang, Yanzhi, 2022. "Staggered boards and product innovations: Evidence from Massachusetts State Bill HB 5640," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).
    15. Ding, Sai & Kim, Minjoo & Zhang, Xiao, 2018. "Do firms care about investment opportunities? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 214-237.
    16. Mahfuz Chy & Ole-Kristian Hope, 2021. "Real effects of auditor conservatism," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 730-771, June.
    17. Lili Dai & Rui Shen & Bohui Zhang, 2021. "Does the media spotlight burn or spur innovation?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 343-390, March.
    18. Xin Qu & Majella Percy & Fang Hu & Jenny Stewart, 2022. "Can CEO equity‐based compensation limit investment‐related agency problems?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2579-2614, June.
    19. Jaan Masso & Amaresh K Tiwari, 2021. "Productivity Implications Of R&D, Innovation And Capital Accumulation For Incumbents And Entrants: The Case Of Estonia," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 130, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Managerial myopia; Firm productivity;

    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:eee:finlet:v:49:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322003105. 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/frl .

    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.