IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v73y2025ipas0275531924004124.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of fund cliques on corporate cash dividends: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Feng, Yumei
  • Pei, Hongxin
  • Pan, Yuying
  • Ho, Kung-Cheng

Abstract

Utilizing 2007–2021 data on Chinese A-share listed companies, this study explores how fund cliques affect corporate cash dividends. The results reveal that fund cliques can significantly reduce corporate cash dividends. This conclusion is verified after addressing possible endogeneity concerns and conducting a series of robustness tests. Mechanism tests indicate that ownership concentration and agency cost are the primary channels. The results further show that the negative effect of fund cliques on cash dividends is more significant in larger firms, as well as in firms that have lower regional investor protection and greater media attention. Furthermore, we find that fund cliques can significantly increase corporate stock dividends, and the reduction of cash dividends promotes fund cliques’ share lessening, from which funds can obtain higher share returns. This study has some implications for protecting shareholder rights and maintaining capital market stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Yumei & Pei, Hongxin & Pan, Yuying & Ho, Kung-Cheng, 2025. "Impact of fund cliques on corporate cash dividends: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924004124
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102619
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924004124
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102619?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. Adhikari, Binay K. & Agrawal, Anup, 2018. "Peer influence on payout policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 615-637.
    2. He, Jie (Jack) & Huang, Jiekun & Zhao, Shan, 2019. "Internalizing governance externalities: The role of institutional cross-ownership," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 400-418.
    3. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    4. Fan, Yaoyao & Ly, Kim Cuong & Jiang, Yuxiang, 2023. "Institutional investor networks and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Crane, Alan D. & Koch, Andrew & Michenaud, Sébastien, 2019. "Institutional investor cliques and governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 175-197.
    6. Xu, Nianhang & Li, Xiaorong & Yuan, Qingbo & Chan, Kam C., 2014. "Excess perks and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 419-434.
    7. Tong Qi & Jian Li & Wenjing Xie & Haoyuan Ding, 2020. "Alumni Networks and Investment Strategy: Evidence from Chinese Mutual Funds," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(11), pages 2639-2655, September.
    8. Chen, Jie & Leung, Woon Sau & Goergen, Marc, 2017. "The impact of board gender composition on dividend payouts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 86-105.
    9. Yael V. Hochberg & Alexander Ljungqvist & Yang Lu, 2007. "Whom You Know Matters: Venture Capital Networks and Investment Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(1), pages 251-301, February.
    10. Brian J. Bushee, 2001. "Do Institutional Investors Prefer Near†Term Earnings over Long†Run Value?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), pages 207-246, June.
    11. Jian Wang & Shangkun Yi & Xiaoting Wang & Jun Yang & Zhongzhong Jiang, 2021. "How Do Mutual Funds in China Exploit Investor Sentiment?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(14), pages 4020-4035, November.
    12. Yao, Wenyun & Zhang, Lei & Hu, Jianxiong, 2020. "Does having a semimandatory dividend policy enhance investor confidence? Research on dividend-financing behavior," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(4).
    13. Jingjing Xu & Yan Zhang & Yizhe Xie, 2020. "Controlling Shareholder’s Share Pledging and Firm’s Auditor Choice," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(4), pages 750-770, March.
    14. Shah, Muhammad Hashim & Xiao, Zuoping & Abdullah, & Quresh, Shakir & Ahmad, Mushtaq, 2020. "Internal pyramid structure, contract enforcement, minority investor protection, and firms’ performance: Evidence from emerging economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Bradley, Michael & Brav, Alon & Goldstein, Itay & Jiang, Wei, 2010. "Activist arbitrage: A study of open-ending attempts of closed-end funds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Zhigang Zheng & Li-An Zhou & Yanmei Sun & Chao Chen, 2016. "Executive Compensation and Legal Investor Protection: Evidence from China's Listed Firms," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 39-47, February.
    17. Song, Xiaobao & Yao, Mingan & Su, Wunhong & Lin, Danming, 2021. "The impact of ultimate controller’s ownership on cash dividend policy based on a comparative analysis between owner-management and professional-management modes," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    18. Itzhak Ben‐David & Francesco Franzoni & Augustin Landier & Rabih Moussawi, 2013. "Do Hedge Funds Manipulate Stock Prices?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(6), pages 2383-2434, December.
    19. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Shi, Beibei, 2017. "Stock liquidity and dividend payouts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 295-314.
    20. Lin, Huiting & Wang, Maolin & Ding, Ning, 2024. "The role of institutional investor cliques in managers' earnings forecasts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    21. Li, Fangzhou & Jiang, Yuxiang, 2022. "Institutional investor networks and crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    22. Gu, Xin & Ying, Shan & Wang, Liangliang & Yu, Zhen & Sharma, Susan Sunila, 2021. "A new estimation of institutional informed trading and firm transparency: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    23. Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1990. "Herd Behavior and Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 465-479, June.
    24. Khalfan, Twahir M. & Wendt, Stefan, 2020. "The impact of ownership concentration on payout across Nordic firms," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    25. Rulu Pan & Xiangxi Tang & Yanyan Tan & Qiaoqiao Zhu, 2014. "The Chinese Stock Dividend Puzzle," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 178-195, May.
    26. Cesare Fracassi & Geoffrey Tate, 2012. "External Networking and Internal Firm Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 153-194, February.
    27. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    28. 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.
    29. Ullah, Farid & Jiang, Ping & Ali, Farman & Wang, Xinyi, 2024. "Rookie directors and dividend payouts: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    30. Justin Tan & Mike W. Peng, 2003. "Organizational slack and firm performance during economic transitions: two studies from an emerging economy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(13), pages 1249-1263, December.
    31. Mark M. Carhart & Ron Kaniel & David K. Musto & Adam V. Reed, 2002. "Leaning for the Tape: Evidence of Gaming Behavior in Equity Mutual Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 661-693, April.
    32. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    33. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2022. "CEO power and the likelihood of paying dividends: Effect of profitability and cash flow volatility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    34. Kang, Jun-Koo & Luo, Juan & Na, Hyun Seung, 2018. "Are institutional investors with multiple blockholdings effective monitors?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(3), pages 576-602.
    35. Veronika K. Pool & Noah Stoffman & Scott E. Yonker, 2015. "The People in Your Neighborhood: Social Interactions and Mutual Fund Portfolios," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(6), pages 2679-2732, December.
    36. Jie (Jack) He & Jiekun Huang, 2017. "Product Market Competition in a World of Cross-Ownership: Evidence from Institutional Blockholdings," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(8), pages 2674-2718.
    37. David L. Ikenberry & Sundaresh Ramnath, 2002. "Underreaction to Self-Selected News Events: The Case of Stock Splits," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(2), pages 489-526, March.
    38. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2008. "All That Glitters: The Effect of Attention and News on the Buying Behavior of Individual and Institutional Investors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 785-818, April.
    39. Seasholes, Mark S. & Wu, Guojun, 2007. "Predictable behavior, profits, and attention," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 590-610, December.
    40. Feng, Yumei & Pan, Yuying & Wang, Lu & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2021. "The voice of minority shareholders: Online voting and corporate social responsibility," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    41. Jeong†Bon Kim & Liandong Zhang, 2014. "Financial Reporting Opacity and Expected Crash Risk: Evidence from Implied Volatility Smirks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 851-875, September.
    42. Wang, Hua & Wang, Wei & Alhaleh, Shadi Emad Areef, 2021. "Mixed ownership and financial investment: Evidence from Chinese state-owned enterprises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 159-171.
    43. Guojun Wang & Yuetang Wang & Dan Yang & Lu Zhang & Qingjing Zhu, 2021. "Enhanced disclosure environment and stock dividend/split in China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 324-328, February.
    44. Li, Wanli & Zhou, Jingting & Yan, Ziqiao & Zhang, He, 2020. "Controlling shareholder share pledging and firm cash dividends," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    45. Brown, Keith C & Harlow, W V & Starks, Laura T, 1996. "Of Tournaments and Temptations: An Analysis of Managerial Incentives in the Mutual Fund Industry," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 85-110, March.
    46. Yang, Xingquan & Yang, Zheng & Ren, Xiaoyi, 2022. "Deregulation of short selling and corporate cash dividend policy: A quasi-natural experiment from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    47. Yu, Fang (Frank), 2008. "Analyst coverage and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 245-271, May.
    48. Tang, Xudong & Jia, Yang & Li, Rui, 2024. "Common institutional ownership types and corporate innovation: A taxonomy based on whether the investees are in the same industry," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    49. Gur Huberman & Tomer Regev, 2001. "Contagious Speculation and a Cure for Cancer: A Nonevent that Made Stock Prices Soar," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 387-396, February.
    50. Xiaofang Chen & Qin Li & Wei Cui & Yu Hu, 2023. "Institutional Investor Network Embedding and Firms’ Total Factor Productivity," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(6), pages 1896-1918, May.
    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. Cédric van Appelghem & Pascal Nguyen, 2020. "Do CEO-Board ties affect the firm's cost of equity? [La proximité entre le dirigeant et les administrateurs a-t-elle un impact sur le coût des fonds propres ?]," Working Papers hal-02880367, HAL.
    2. Chen, Shenglan & Ma, Hui & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2023. "Does common ownership constrain managerial rent extraction? Evidence from insider trading profitability," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Fan, Yaoyao & Ly, Kim Cuong & Jiang, Yuxiang, 2023. "Institutional investor networks and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Ping Jiang & Yunbiao Ma & Beibei Shi, 2022. "Common ownership and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 876-912, December.
    5. Dasgupta, Amil & Fos, Vyacheslav & Sautner, Zacharias, 2021. "Institutional investors and corporate governance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112114, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Wen, Fenghua & Xu, Longhao & Ouyang, Guangda & Kou, Gang, 2019. "Retail investor attention and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Hamza Nizar & Taher Hamza & Faten Lakhal, 2024. "How does institutional cross‐ownership affect firm productivity? The importance of the corporate social responsibility channel," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 1988-2010, April.
    8. Pan Xu & Jun He & Daojuan Wang & Sofia A. Johan & Siwei Lin, 2024. "Could the simultaneous persistence of greater cash holdings and interest‐bearing debts affect stock price crash risk?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3226-3262, July.
    9. Fu, Fanjie & Fang, Jing & Yang, Mei & Yao, Shujie, 2024. "Institutional investor horizons and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(PA).
    10. Khalil Jebran & Shihua Chen & Wanying Cai, 2022. "Excess of everything is bad: CEO greed and corporate policies," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 1577-1607, November.
    11. Guo, Xiaoping & Fan, Ningyuan & Liu, Zhenchun & Wang, Jianwei, 2024. "Macro topology structure and evolution of Chinese Public Funds’ Co-holding Network," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Michał Kałdoński & Tomasz Jewartowski, 2024. "Governance through exit: Pension fund reform impact on real earnings management of portfolio companies," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 1349-1389, November.
    13. Trinh, Quoc Dat & Haddad, Christian & Salameh, Elie, 2023. "Financial institutional blockholders and earnings quality: Do blockholders contestability and countries' institutions matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Liu, Huan & Hou, Canran, 2023. "The external effect of institutional cross-ownership on excessive managerial perks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 483-501.
    15. Hou, Canran & Liu, Huan, 2023. "Institutional cross-ownership and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Renjie, Rex Wang & Verwijmeren, Patrick & Xia, Shuo, 2022. "Corporate governance benefits of mutual fund cooperation," IWH Discussion Papers 21/2022, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    17. Fang, Yiwei & Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wang, Haizhi, 2012. "Product market relationships and cost of bank loans: Evidence from strategic alliances," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 653-674.
    18. Chen, Yangyang & Li, Qingyuan & Ng, Jeffrey & Wang, Chong, 2021. "Corporate financing of investment opportunities in a world of institutional cross-ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    19. Zhu, Siyuan & Lu, Rong & Xu, Tianli & Wu, Wenbin & Chen, Yang, 2024. "Can common institutional owners inhibit bad mergers and acquisitions? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 246-266.
    20. Zhang, Han & Li, Minghui & Yang, Yujie, 2024. "Does common institutional ownership constrain related party transactions? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 1015-1042.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fund cliques; cash dividends; collusion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

    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:riibaf:v:73:y:2025:i:pa:s0275531924004124. 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/ribaf .

    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.