IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v82y2025ics1544612325008578.html

Unpacking the black box: Board co-option and equity pledging by controlling shareholders

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Ziqi
  • Cai, Zhihao
  • Huang, Ho-Chuan

Abstract

This study examines the impact of board co-option on controlling shareholders’ equity pledging using data from Chinese A-share listed firms (2003–2023). Results show that board co-option significantly reduces equity pledging, with male directors having a stronger inhibitory effect. Mechanism tests confirm that this effect operates through reduced financing constraints, while heterogeneity analyses reveal stronger impacts in non-state firms, high-investment firms, and large-scale firms. These findings contribute to corporate governance literature and offer regulatory insights for mitigating equity pledging risks in emerging markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Ziqi & Cai, Zhihao & Huang, Ho-Chuan, 2025. "Unpacking the black box: Board co-option and equity pledging by controlling shareholders," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325008578
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107598
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325008578
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107598?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. Arthur Lewbel, 2012. "Using Heteroscedasticity to Identify and Estimate Mismeasured and Endogenous Regressor Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 67-80.
    2. Christopher F Baum & Arthur Lewbel, 2019. "Advice on using heteroskedasticity-based identification," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 19(4), pages 757-767, December.
    3. Kirill Borusyak & Peter Hull & Xavier Jaravel, 2025. "A Practical Guide to Shift-Share Instruments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 181-204, Winter.
    4. Qiu, Yong & Guo, Ziyang & Li, Junlong & Li, Biao & Qiao, Dan, 2024. "Impact of controlling shareholders’ equity pledges on firms’ labour investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Ren, Haibo & Xu, Yueping & Wu, Jiangning, 2024. "Controlling shareholders' stock pledges and stock price crash risks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Huang, Zhi-xiong & Li, Xiaozhong & Zhao, Yuheng, 2022. "Stock pledge restrictions and investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    7. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    8. Xin Hong & Yang Hu & Wanting Zhang, 2022. "Share pledge risk and government bailout fund," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(5), pages 4831-4848, December.
    9. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    10. Ghafoor, Abdul & Gull, Ammar Ali, 2024. "Do co-opted boards protect CEOs from ESG controversies?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Hu, Jing & Zhong, Lejia & Qiao, Jingyuan, 2024. "Equity pledge and debt financing of listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    12. Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Isaac Sorkin & Henry Swift, 2020. "Bartik Instruments: What, When, Why, and How," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(8), pages 2586-2624, August.
    13. Wang, Muyun & Zhang, Ying, 2024. "Controlling shareholders' equity pledge, litigation risk and corporate ESG performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    14. Ji, Tuo & Cai, Dong, 2024. "Major shareholder equity pledge and litigation risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Zhang, Hao & Jin, Tian & Chen, Hanbin, 2023. "Do controlling shareholders collude with their related large shareholders? Evidence of equity pledges and shareholding increases from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    16. Luca Flabbi & Mario Macis & Andrea Moro & Fabiano Schivardi, 2019. "Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(622), pages 2390-2423.
    17. Ruth V. Aguilera & Igor Filatotchev & Howard Gospel & Gregory Jackson, 2008. "An Organizational Approach to Comparative Corporate Governance: Costs, Contingencies, and Complementarities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 475-492, June.
    18. Pang, Caiji & Wang, Ying, 2020. "Stock pledge, risk of losing control and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    19. Guangqian Ren & Yifan Mo & Li Liu & Minna Zheng & Liying Shen, 2022. "Equity pledge of controlling shareholders, property right structure and enterprise innovation efficiency: evidence from Chinese firms," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 6558-6578, December.
    20. Crisóstomo, Vicente Lima & López-Iturriaga, Félix Javier & Vallelado González, Eleuterio, 2014. "Nonfinancial companies as large shareholders alleviate financial constraints of Brazilian firm," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 62-77.
    21. Baghdadi, Ghasan A. & Nguyen, Lily H.G. & Podolski, Edward J., 2020. "Board co-option and default risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    22. Kirill Borusyak & Peter Hull & Xavier Jaravel, 2022. "Quasi-Experimental Shift-Share Research Designs," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(1), pages 181-213.
    23. Ronald Anderson & Michael Puleo, 2020. "Insider Share-Pledging and Equity Risk," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 58(1), pages 1-25, August.
    24. Wenjing Yin & Weiping Li & Yumiao Yu, 2025. "Being Friendly Directors: Board Co-option and Labor Investment Efficiency," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(2), pages 427-452, January.
    25. Liu, Wenqiong & Li, Ziqi & Huang, Ho-Chuan, 2025. "Navigating cash management: The role of board co-option," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    26. Liang Wang & Junjie He & Qian Liu, 2025. "A Study of Controlling Shareholders’ Equity Pledge Rate Based on Dividend Policy and Barrier Option," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 65(1), pages 543-578, January.
    27. Yuan Chang & Kun-Tsung Wu & Shu-Hui Lin & Chia-Jung Lin, 2024. "Board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-29, December.
    28. Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin & Sangchan, Pinprapa & Costa, Mabel D', 2022. "Do Co-opted boards affect the cost of equity capital?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(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, Wenqiong & Li, Ziqi & Huang, Ho-Chuan, 2025. "Navigating cash management: The role of board co-option," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna & Homburg, Ines & Vujic, Suncica, 2025. "Refugee Exposure and Political Backlash: Poland during the Russia-Ukraine War," IZA Discussion Papers 18157, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Jiang, Fuxiu & Xia, Xiaoxue & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2021. "Does controlling shareholders' share pledging raise suppliers' eyebrows?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Luo, Danglun & Piao, Zhirong & Wu, Cen & Zhang, Frank Feida, 2024. "Collateral damage: Evidence from share pledging in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. Exbrayat, Nelly & Stephane, Victor, 2025. "Does urbanization cause crime? Evidence from rural–urban migration in South Africa," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Sébastien Mary, 2026. "Revisiting US food aid and civil conflict," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 1-31, March.
    7. Ambrose, Brent W. & Valentin, Maxence, 2025. "Federal tax policy and the capitalization of local public goods," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    8. Gozde Corekcioglu & Marco Francesconi & Astrid Kunze, 2025. "Parental Leave from the Firm’s Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 11868, CESifo.
    9. Xavier Gabaix & Ralph S. J. Koijen, 2024. "Granular Instrumental Variables," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(7), pages 2274-2303.
    10. Zhu, Bing & Xia, Xiaoxue & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2021. "One way out of the share pledging quagmire: Evidence from mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Yan, Guan & Liu, Zhidong, 2023. "Interconnectedness of financial institutions based on pledged shares in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    12. Johannes Matzat & Axel Dreher & Sarah Langlotz & Christopher Parsons, 2026. "From Moderates to Extremes: How Immigration Polarizes American Politics," CESifo Working Paper Series 12377, CESifo.
    13. Koller, Julian & Stefanova, Stefani, 2025. "Spatial Spillovers of Local Trade Shocks: Estimation and Distributional Consequences," MPRA Paper 128159, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Bang, Nupur Pavan & Bhatia, Nandil & Ray, Sougata & Ramachandran, Kavil, 2025. "Pledging of shares by controlling shareholders and implications for foreign institutional investors," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 95-108.
    15. Chengcheng Li & Xiaoqiong Wang & Feifei Zhu, 2024. "Does share pledging impair stakeholder welfare? Evidence based on corporate social responsibility," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1155-1192, November.
    16. Chen, Yinghui & Chen, Miao & Huang, Yong, 2025. "Multiple large shareholders and cash holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    17. Karim Bekhtiar, 2025. "Robotization, internal migration and rural decline," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 1-31, September.
    18. Grover, Arti & Viollaz, Mariana, 2025. "The Gendered Impact of Social Norms on Financial Access and Capital Misallocation," IZA Discussion Papers 17630, IZA Network @ LISER.
    19. Hou, Xiaohui & Lu, Xiaonan, 2024. "Debtholder responses to controlling shareholders’ share pledging," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    20. Wang, Linhui & Chen, Qi & Dong, Zhiqing & Cheng, Lu, 2024. "The role of industrial intelligence in peaking carbon emissions in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other

    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:82:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325008578. 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.