IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v93y2026ics1544612326001698.html

Managerial digital background and corporate investment efficiency

Author

Listed:
  • Hou, Jingyuan
  • Chen, Luogang

Abstract

Using data from Chinese listed firms spanning 2009–2023, this study examines whether and how executives with digital experience enhance corporate investment efficiency. Results show that digitally experienced executives significantly improve investment efficiency by easing financing constraints, reducing information asymmetry, and curbing managerial short-termism. This effect is stronger in firms with greater female representation and higher managerial ownership, but it weakens as executive age increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Hou, Jingyuan & Chen, Luogang, 2026. "Managerial digital background and corporate investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:93:y:2026:i:c:s1544612326001698
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2026.109638
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612326001698
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2026.109638?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. Serfling, Matthew A., 2014. "CEO age and the riskiness of corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 251-273.
    2. Xu, Yao & Zhao, Feng & Zhang, Qi, 2025. "How does the cybersecurity law affect corporate investment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    4. Grey, Colette & Flynn, Antoinette & Adu, Douglas A., 2024. "An examination of how executive remuneration and firm performance are influenced by Chair-CEO diversity attributes," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    5. Kong, Dongmin & Liu, Boyang & Zhu, Ling, 2023. "Stem CEOs and firm digitalization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    6. Xu, Chongchong & Lin, Boqiang, 2025. "The AI-sustainability Nexus: How does intelligent transformation affect corporate green innovation?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Scott Richardson, 2006. "Over-investment of free cash flow," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 159-189, September.
    8. Bole Zhou & Jing Ge, 2024. "Does corporate digitization affect investment efficiency? Evidence from China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(20), pages 2144-2149, November.
    9. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    10. Jia, Junyi & Chen, Jingwei & Yang, Yao, 2025. "Bond default of super-large real estate company and government debt risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Li, Minghui & Song, Yiran, 2025. "Bank executive incentives and liquidity creation: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. 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.
    13. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    14. Jia, Shaoqing & An, Yunbi & Yang, Liuyong & Zhou, Fangzhao, 2024. "Price limit relaxation and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    15. Yaghoubi, Mona, 2024. "Executive characteristics as moderators: Exploring the impact of geopolitical risk on capital structure decisions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    16. Pauline Weritz & Jessica Braojos & Jorge Matute & Jose Benitez, 2025. "Impact of strategic capabilities on digital transformation success and firm performance: theory and empirical evidence," European Journal of Information Systems, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(3), pages 415-435, May.
    17. Cai, Xiangshang & Gao, Yang & Wu, Zhiting & Yuan, Jiayi, 2024. "Chief executive officer marital status and corporate credit ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    18. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 2008. "Theory of the firm: managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 48(2), April.
    19. Chen, Muying & Zhang, Xinyu & Wei, Yunjie & Wang, Shouyang, 2025. "What determines Bitcoin's price over the past decade?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Liu, Meihan & Zhao, Jingjie & Liu, Hongtao, 2025. "Digital transformation, employee and executive compensation, and sustained green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    21. Liu, Fang-Ju, 2025. "ESG performance, managerial ability and corporate investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    22. 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.
    23. Gao, Xiaoxue, 2023. "Digital transformation in finance and its role in promoting financial transparency," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    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. 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.
    2. Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He, 2017. "Do state and foreign ownership affect investment efficiency? Evidence from privatizations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 408-421.
    3. Wang, Yolanda Yulong, 2023. "Corporate diversification, investment efficiency and the business cycle11This work is supported by Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Malcolm Baker & Richard S. Ruback & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2004. "Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey," NBER Working Papers 10863, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. McGuinness, Paul B., 2021. "Board member age, stock seasoning and the evolution of capital structure in Chinese firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    6. 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.
    7. Yolanda Yulong Wang, 2023. "Corporate diversification, investment efficiency and the business cycle," Post-Print hal-04005692, HAL.
    8. Wu, Shan & Zou, Mengqi & Jin, Tongen, 2025. "Data element marketization and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    9. Xiao, Gang, 2013. "Legal shareholder protection and corporate R&D investment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 240-266.
    10. Hsin-han Shen, Carl & Zhang, Hao, 2025. "Share pledging of insiders and corporate debt contracting," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    11. Mariem Khalifa & Ali Sheikhbahaei & Mohammed Aminu Sualihu, 2024. "The power of the business media: Evidence from firm‐level productivity," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 5-44, January.
    12. Li, Wanli & Luo, Dan & Cheng, Teng-Yuan, 2025. "Strategy choices in strategic risk-taking: Does climate risk matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    13. Li, Tianpei (Constance) & Walton, Stephanie, 2023. "Is there a dark side of competition? Product market competition and auditor-client contracting," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Min Zhang & Wen Zhang & Sheng Zhang, 2016. "National culture and firm investment efficiency: international evidence," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 1-21, March.
    15. Liu, Shasha & Ji, Mianmian & Wang, Huijuan, 2021. "Decentralization and firm innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 501-512.
    16. Çolak, Gönül & Korkeamäki, Timo, 2021. "CEO mobility and corporate policy risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    17. da Silva, Paulo Pereira & Vieira, Isabel, 2025. "ESG disclosure and labour investment efficiency," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3).
    18. 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).
    19. Fu, Xudong & Huang, Minjie & Tang, Tian, 2022. "Duration of executive compensation and maturity structure of corporate debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    20. Naeem, Kashif & Li, Matthew C., 2019. "Corporate investment efficiency: The role of financial development in firms with financing constraints and agency issues in OECD non-financial firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 53-68.

    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:finlet:v:93:y:2026:i:c:s1544612326001698. 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.