IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v71y2025ics1544612324014673.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Capital market liberalization, internal control and corporate diversification: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Zhongze
  • Chen, Qinyuan
  • Zhang, Yi

Abstract

Using a sample of Chinese listed firms, we examine the effect of capital market liberalization on corporate diversification in the host country. Our findings show that after the opening of the capital market, corporate diversification significantly reduces. Moreover, we show that improving the quality of internal control is an important mechanism for capital market liberalization to reduce corporate diversification. Heterogeneity tests show that the effect of capital market liberalization on corporate diversification is more significant in firms with dual CEOs and low board diligence. Overall, capital market liberalization enhances the corporate governance of firms in a host country.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Zhongze & Chen, Qinyuan & Zhang, Yi, 2025. "Capital market liberalization, internal control and corporate diversification: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:71:y:2025:i:c:s1544612324014673
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.106438
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612324014673
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2024.106438?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. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli, 1996. "Bustup Takeovers of Value-Destroying Diversified Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1175-1200, September.
    2. Raghuram Rajan & Henri Servaes & Luigi Zingales, 2000. "The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 35-80, February.
    3. Yuming Zhang & Juanjuan Zhang & Zhang Cheng, 2021. "Stock Market Liberalization and Corporate Green Innovation: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-22, March.
    4. Ke Xu & Xinwei Zheng & Deng Pan & Li Xing & Xuekui Zhang, 2020. "Stock Market Openness And Market Quality: Evidence From The Shanghai–Hong Kong Stock Connect Program," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 373-406, May.
    5. Moshirian, Fariborz & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Wenrui, 2021. "Stock market liberalization and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 985-1014.
    6. 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.
    7. Liu, Clark & Wang, Shujing & Wei, K.C. John, 2021. "Demand shock, speculative beta, and asset prices: Evidence from the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Lang, Larry H P & Stulz, Rene M, 1994. "Tobin's q, Corporate Diversification, and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1248-1280, December.
    9. Chen, Guang & Wang, Min, 2023. "Stock market liberalization and earnings management: Evidence from the China–Hong Kong Stock Connects," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    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. Liu, Xiaojun & Wang, Li & Dai, Yunhao, 2023. "Capital market liberalization and opportunistic insider sales: Evidence from China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Jandik, Tomas & Makjija, Anil K., 2004. "Can Diversification Create Value? Evidence from the Electric Utility Industry," Working Paper Series 2005-7, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    3. Yasser Alhenawi & Martha Stilwell, 2017. "Value creation and the probability of success in merger and acquisition transactions," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1041-1085, November.
    4. Andreou, Panayiotis C. & Doukas, John A. & Koursaros, Demetris & Louca, Christodoulos, 2019. "Valuation effects of overconfident CEOs on corporate diversification and refocusing decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 182-204.
    5. Chen, Yunsen & Huang, Jianqiao & Li, Xiao & Ni, Xiaoran, 2023. "Financial market opening and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from staggered quasi-natural experiments," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    6. Saoussen Ben Gamra & Dominique Plihon, 2011. "Revenue diversification in emerging market banks: implications for financial performance," Papers 1107.0170, arXiv.org.
    7. van Lelyveld, Iman & Knot, Klaas, 2009. "Do financial conglomerates create or destroy value? Evidence for the EU," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2312-2321, December.
    8. Nguyen, Justin Hung & Qiu, Buhui, 2022. "Right-to-Work laws and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Farooqi, Javeria & Huerta, Daniel & Ngo, Thanh, 2015. "Should you globally diversify or let the globally diversified firm do it for you?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 75-85.
    10. Sawada, Michiru, 2013. "How does the stock market value bank diversification? Empirical evidence from Japanese banks," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 40-61.
    11. Campa, Jose M. & Chang, P. H. Kevin & Refalo, James F., 2002. "An options-based analysis of emerging market exchange rate expectations: Brazil's Real Plan, 1994-1999," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 227-253, October.
    12. Cline, Brandon N. & Garner, Jacqueline L. & Yore, Adam S., 2014. "Exploitation of the internal capital market and the avoidance of outside monitoring," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 234-250.
    13. Patrick Bolton & David S. Scharfstein, 1998. "Corporate Finance, the Theory of the Firm, and Organizations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 95-114, Fall.
    14. Hovakimian, Gayané, 2016. "Excess value and restructurings by diversified firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 1-19.
    15. Kolasinski, Adam C., 2009. "Subsidiary debt, capital structure and internal capital markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 327-343, November.
    16. Tran, Dung Viet & Hassan, M. Kabir & Houston, Reza, 2019. "Activity strategies, information asymmetry, and bank opacity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 160-172.
    17. Yan Meng & Lingyun Xiong & Lijuan Xiao & Min Bai, 2023. "The effect of overseas investors on local market efficiency: evidence from the Shanghai/Shenzhen–Hong Kong Stock Connect," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-32, December.
    18. Ducassy, Isabelle & Prevot, Frédéric, 2010. "The effects of family dynamics on diversification strategy: Empirical evidence from French companies," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 224-235, December.
    19. Martin, John D. & Sayrak, Akin, 2003. "Corporate diversification and shareholder value: a survey of recent literature," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 37-57, January.
    20. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2007. "Is there a diversification discount in financial conglomerates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 331-367, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital market liberalization; Internal control; Corporate diversification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration

    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:71:y:2025:i:c:s1544612324014673. 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.