IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v81y2023ics0927538x23001993.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CEO's poverty imprints and corporate financial fraud: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Yang
  • Zhang, Han
  • Zhang, Fukang

Abstract

Our research examines the potential influence of CEOs' childhood poverty experiences on corporate financial fraud. We employ upper echelon theory and imprinting theory to investigate how CEOs' childhood poverty imprint affects corporate financial fraud. Using data for Chinese publicly traded firms from 2011 to 2020, we discover that corporations with CEOs who experienced childhood poverty had a higher likelihood of engaging in financial fraud. Following the fraud triangle theory, we investigate moderating mechanisms affecting decay and the strength of poverty imprinting. Our findings suggest that CEOs' companies with poor performance reflect a weaker imprint, but CEO age and board independence diminish the positive impact of poverty imprinting on corporate financial fraud. The contributions of imprinting, the fraud triangle theory, and the literature on corporate financial fraud are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Yang & Zhang, Han & Zhang, Fukang, 2023. "CEO's poverty imprints and corporate financial fraud: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23001993
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102128
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X23001993
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102128?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. Chi-Nien Chung & Xiaowei Luo, 2008. "Human Agents, Contexts, and Institutional Change: The Decline of Family in the Leadership of Business Groups," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(1), pages 124-142, February.
    2. Martin J. Conyon & Lerong He, 2016. "Executive Compensation and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 669-691, April.
    3. Hao, Ying & Huang, Yuxiu & Cui, Xuegang & Liu, Qiang & Zhang, Yuwen, 2021. "CEO experience and corporate financing decisions: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Simone Ghislandi, 2015. "Poverty Profiles and Well-Being: Panel Evidence from Germany," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Measurement of Poverty, Deprivation, and Economic Mobility, volume 23, pages 1-22, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Stefano Bonini & Justin Deng & Mascia Ferrari & Kose John & David Gaddis Ross, 2022. "Long‐tenured independent directors and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1602-1634, August.
    6. Eckel, Catherine C. & El-Gamal, Mahmoud A. & Wilson, Rick K., 2009. "Risk loving after the storm: A Bayesian-Network study of Hurricane Katrina evacuees," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 110-124, February.
    7. Kose John & Lubomir Litov & Bernard Yeung, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Risk‐Taking," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1679-1728, August.
    8. Wei Shi & Brian L. Connelly & Wm. Gerard Sanders, 2016. "Buying bad behavior: Tournament incentives and securities class action lawsuits," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1354-1378, July.
    9. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2011. "Multivariate Matching Methods That Are Monotonic Imbalance Bounding," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 106(493), pages 345-361.
    10. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2018. "Living through the Great Chinese Famine: Early-life experiences and managerial decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 638-657.
    11. Serfling, Matthew A., 2014. "CEO age and the riskiness of corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 251-273.
    12. Cuili Qian & Xinzi Gao & Albert Tsang, 2015. "Corporate Philanthropy, Ownership Type, and Financial Transparency," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(4), pages 851-867, September.
    13. Emily C. Bianchi & Aharon Mohliver, 2016. "Do Good Times Breed Cheats? Prosperous Times Have Immediate and Lasting Implications for CEO Misconduct," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(6), pages 1488-1503, December.
    14. Zhou, Fangzhao & Zhang, Zenan & Yang, Jun & Su, Yunpeng & An, Yunbi, 2018. "Delisting pressure, executive compensation, and corporate fraud: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-34.
    15. Eunice S. Khoo & Youngdeok Lim & Louise Y. Lu & Gary S. Monroe, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility performance and the reputational incentives of independent directors," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 841-881, May.
    16. Wang Dong & Hongling Han & Yun Ke & Kam C. Chan, 2018. "Social Trust and Corporate Misconduct: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 539-562, August.
    17. Kong, Dongmin & Zhao, Ying & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Trust and innovation: Evidence from CEOs' early-life experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Shouyu Yao & Zhuoqun Wang & Mengyue Sun & Jing Liao & Feiyang Cheng, 2020. "Top executives’ early‐life experience and financial disclosure quality: impact from the Great Chinese Famine," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4757-4793, December.
    19. Simon Ho & Annie Li & Kinsun Tam & Feida Zhang, 2015. "CEO Gender, Ethical Leadership, and Accounting Conservatism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 351-370, March.
    20. Lawal Babatunde Akeem, 2015. "The Impact of Auditing in Controlling Fraud and Other Financial Irregularities," International Journal of Empirical Finance, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 4(3), pages 147-164.
    21. Antoinette Rijsenbilt & Harry Commandeur, 2013. "Narcissus Enters the Courtroom: CEO Narcissism and Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 413-429, October.
    22. Wei, Li-Qun & Ling, Yan, 2015. "CEO characteristics and corporate entrepreneurship in transition economies: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1157-1165.
    23. Farrell, Kathleen A. & Whidbee, David A., 2003. "Impact of firm performance expectations on CEO turnover and replacement decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 165-196, December.
    24. Bansal, Shashank & Thenmozhi, M., 2020. "Does concentrated founder ownership affect board independence? Role of corporate life cycle and ownership identity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    25. Davidson, Robert & Dey, Aiyesha & Smith, Abbie, 2015. "Executives' “off-the-job” behavior, corporate culture, and financial reporting risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 5-28.
    26. Irmela F. Koch‐Bayram & Georg Wernicke, 2018. "Drilled to obey? Ex‐military CEOs and financial misconduct," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 2943-2964, November.
    27. James G. March & Zur Shapira, 1987. "Managerial Perspectives on Risk and Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(11), pages 1404-1418, November.
    28. Xingqiang Du & Jianying Weng & Quan Zeng & Hongmei Pei, 2017. "Culture, Marketization, and Owner-Manager Agency Costs: A Case of Merchant Guild Culture in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 353-386, June.
    29. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    30. Xu, Cheng & Gao, Jun & Liu, Xinghe & Sun, Yanqi & Koedijk, Kees G., 2023. "Great Chinese famine, corporate social responsibility and firm value," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    31. Jared Harris & Philip Bromiley, 2007. "Incentives to Cheat: The Influence of Executive Compensation and Firm Performance on Financial Misrepresentation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(3), pages 350-367, June.
    32. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Simone Ghislandi, 2015. "Poverty Profiles and Well-Being: Panel Evidence from Germany," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Thesia I. Garner & Kathleen S. Short (ed.), Measurement of Poverty, Deprivation, and Economic Mobility, volume 23, pages 1-22, Emerald Publishing Ltd.
    33. Yim, Soojin, 2013. "The acquisitiveness of youth: CEO age and acquisition behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 250-273.
    34. Jianjun Zhang & Christopher Marquis & Kunyuan Qiao, 2016. "Do Political Connections Buffer Firms from or Bind Firms to the Government? A Study of Corporate Charitable Donations of Chinese Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(5), pages 1307-1324, October.
    35. Liu, Xiaoding, 2016. "Corruption culture and corporate misconduct," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 307-327.
    36. Daphne W. Yiu & Yuehua Xu & William P. Wan, 2014. "The Deterrence Effects of Vicarious Punishments on Corporate Financial Fraud," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1549-1571, October.
    37. Gu, Junjian, 2022. "Do at home as Romans do? CEO overseas experience and financial misconduct risk of emerging market firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    38. Robert Libby & Kristina Rennekamp, 2012. "Self‐Serving Attribution Bias, Overconfidence, and the Issuance of Management Forecasts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 197-231, March.
    39. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    40. Pino G. Audia & Henrich R. Greve, 2006. "Less Likely to Fail: Low Performance, Firm Size, and Factory Expansion in the Shipbuilding Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 83-94, January.
    41. Liao, Jing & Smith, David & Liu, Xutang, 2019. "Female CFOs and accounting fraud: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 449-463.
    42. Vikramaditya Khanna & E. Han Kim & Yao Lu, 2015. "CEO Connectedness and Corporate Fraud," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(3), pages 1203-1252, June.
    43. Jeong-Bon Kim & Mikhail Pevzner & Xiangang Xin, 2019. "Foreign institutional ownership and auditor choice: Evidence from worldwide institutional ownership," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 83-110, February.
    44. Hutchinson, Marion & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2004. "Investment opportunity set, corporate governance practices and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 595-614, September.
    45. Gennaro Bernile & Vineet Bhagwat & P. Raghavendra Rau, 2017. "What Doesn't Kill You Will Only Make You More Risk-Loving: Early-Life Disasters and CEO Behavior," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(1), pages 167-206, February.
    46. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate & Jon Yan, 2011. "Overconfidence and Early‐Life Experiences: The Effect of Managerial Traits on Corporate Financial Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1687-1733, October.
    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. Shouyu Yao & Zhuoqun Wang & Mengyue Sun & Jing Liao & Feiyang Cheng, 2020. "Top executives’ early‐life experience and financial disclosure quality: impact from the Great Chinese Famine," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4757-4793, December.
    2. Patrick Velte, 2023. "The link between corporate governance and corporate financial misconduct. A review of archival studies and implications for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 353-411, February.
    3. Wang, Ziwei & Yao, Shouyu & Sensoy, Ahmet & Goodell, John W. & Cheng, Feiyang, 2022. "Learning from failures: Director interlocks and corporate misconduct," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Liuyang Ren & Xi Zhong & Liangyong Wan, 2022. "Missing Analyst Forecasts and Corporate Fraud: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 171-194, November.
    5. Han, Yu & Chi, Wei & Zhou, Jinyi, 2022. "Prosocial imprint: CEO childhood famine experience and corporate philanthropic donation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1604-1618.
    6. Qing Wan & Xiaoke Cheng & Kam C. Chan & Shenghao Gao, 2021. "Born to innovate? The birth‐order effect of CEOs on corporate innovation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1846-1888, October.
    7. Cui, Xin & Sun, Mengyue & Sensoy, Ahmet & Wang, Panpan & Wang, Yaqi, 2022. "Top executives’ great famine experience and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    8. Sun, Zixiong & Anderson, Hamish & Chi, Jing, 2023. "Managerial foreign experience and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Xi Zhong & Liuyang Ren & Tiebo Song, 2023. "To cheat when continuously missing aspirations: Does CEO experience matter?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 815-845, June.
    10. Liuyang Ren & Xi Zhong & Liangyong Wan, 2022. "Defending the shell: differential effects of delisting pressure on R&D intensity and bribery expenditure," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1437-1470, July.
    11. Xue, Fei & Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Does CEO's early life experience affect corporate bond yield spread? Evidence from China's great famine," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1012-1024.
    12. Neyland, Jordan, 2020. "Love or money: The effect of CEO divorce on firm risk and compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Gao, Yongqiang & Yang, Haibin & Zhang, Miaohan, 2021. "Too bad to fear, too good to dare? Performance feedback and corporate misconduct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1-11.
    14. Fan, Yaoyao & Jiang, Yuxiang & John, Kose & Liu, Frank Hong, 2021. "From watchdog to watchman: Do independent directors monitor a CEO of their own age?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 206-229.
    15. Zhong, Xi & Ren, Liuyang & Song, Tiebo, 2021. "Different effects of internal and external tournament incentives on corporate financial misconduct: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 329-341.
    16. Hideaki Sakawa & Naoki Watanabel, 2022. "Accounting Frauds and Main-Bank Monitoring in Japanese Corporations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 605-621, October.
    17. Yao, Shouyu & Zhao, Weijia & Sensoy, Ahmet & Cheng, Feiyang & Goodell, John W., 2021. "The dark side of marital leadership: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. Zhang, Zhihong & Wang, Pin & Xu, Huichao, 2020. "Executives’ preference for integrity and product quality: Evidence from the Chinese food industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 374-385.
    19. Çolak, Gönül & Korkeamäki, Timo, 2021. "CEO mobility and corporate policy risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Kebin Deng & Zhong Ding & Yalu Wang, 2020. "Peasant youth experiences of CEOs, risk aversion and corporate performance," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(3), pages 278-312, August.

    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:pacfin:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23001993. 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/pacfin .

    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.