IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v183y2023i1d10.1007_s10551-021-05020-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutions and Corporate Reputation: Evidence from Public Debt Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Xian Gu

    (Durham University)

  • Iftekhar Hasan

    (Fordham University, Bank of Finland, and University of Sydney)

  • Haitian Lu

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Abstract

Using data from China’s public debt markets, we study the value of corporate reputation and how it interacts with legal and cultural forces to assure accountability. Exploring lawsuits that change corporate reputation, we find that firms involved in lawsuits experience a decrease in bond values and a tightening of borrowing terms. Using the heterogeneities in legal and social capital environments across Chinese provinces, we find the effects are more pronounced for private firms, firms headquartered in provinces with low legal protections, and firms headquartered in provinces with high social capital. The results show that lawsuits that allege misconduct are associated with reputational penalties and that such penalties serve as substitutes for legal protections and as complements to cultural forces to provide ex post accountability and motivate ex ante trust.

Suggested Citation

  • Xian Gu & Iftekhar Hasan & Haitian Lu, 2023. "Institutions and Corporate Reputation: Evidence from Public Debt Markets," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 165-189, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:183:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-021-05020-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-05020-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-021-05020-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-021-05020-x?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. Kee‐Hong Bae & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Creditor Rights, Enforcement, and Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(2), pages 823-860, April.
    2. Graham, John R. & Li, Si & Qiu, Jiaping, 2008. "Corporate misreporting and bank loan contracting," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 44-61, July.
    3. Laura Bottazzi & Marco Da Rin & Thomas Hellmann, 2016. "Editor's Choice The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(9), pages 2283-2318.
    4. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "Trusting the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2557-2600, December.
    5. Pevzner, Mikhail & Xie, Fei & Xin, Xiangang, 2015. "When firms talk, do investors listen? The role of trust in stock market reactions to corporate earnings announcements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 190-223.
    6. Ang, James S. & Cheng, Yingmei & Wu, Chaopeng, 2015. "Trust, Investment, and Business Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 569-595, June.
    7. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2017_021 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. 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.
    9. Kessler, Daniel & Meites, Thomas & Miller, Geoffrey P, 1996. "Explaining Deviations from the Fifty-Percent Rule: A Multimodal Approach to the Selection of Cases for Litigation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 233-259, January.
    10. Paul A. Griffin & Joseph A. Grundfest & Michael A. Perino, 2004. "Stock Price Response to News of Securities Fraud Litigation: An Analysis of Sequential and Conditional Information," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 40(1), pages 21-48, February.
    11. Gow, Ian D. & Wahid, Aida Sijamic & Yu, Gwen, 2018. "Managing reputation: Evidence from biographies of corporate directors," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 448-469.
    12. Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Lee, D. Scott & Martin, Gerald S., 2008. "The Cost to Firms of Cooking the Books," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 581-611, September.
    13. Roberts, Michael R. & Sufi, Amir, 2009. "Renegotiation of financial contracts: Evidence from private credit agreements," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 159-184, August.
    14. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    15. Michael Firth & Oliver M. Rui & Wenfeng Wu, 2011. "The Effects of Political Connections and State Ownership on Corporate Litigation in China," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 573-607.
    16. T. S. Raghu & Wonseok Woo & S. B. Mohan & H. Raghav Rao, 2008. "Market reaction to patent infringement litigations in the information technology industry," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 61-75, March.
    17. Denis, David J. & Wang, Jing, 2014. "Debt covenant renegotiations and creditor control rights," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 348-367.
    18. Karpoff, Jonathan M & Lott, John R, Jr & Wehrly, Eric W, 2005. "The Reputational Penalties for Environmental Violations: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 653-675, October.
    19. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June.
    20. Edward M. Iacobucci, 2014. "On the Interaction between Legal and Reputational Sanctions," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(1), pages 189-207.
    21. Bruce Haslem & Irena Hutton & Aimee Hoffmann Smith, 2017. "How Much Do Corporate Defendants Really Lose? A New Verdict on the Reputation Loss Induced by Corporate Litigation," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 46(2), pages 323-358, June.
    22. Joseph P. H. Fan & T. J. Wong & Tianyu Zhang, 2013. "Institutions and Organizational Structure: The Case of State-Owned Corporate Pyramids," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(6), pages 1217-1252, December.
    23. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    24. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    25. Klein, Benjamin & Leffler, Keith B, 1981. "The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 615-641, August.
    26. Rajan, Raghuram G, 1992. "Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1367-1400, September.
    27. Nelson, Karen K. & Price, Richard A. & Rountree, Brian R., 2008. "The market reaction to Arthur Andersen's role in the Enron scandal: Loss of reputation or confounding effects?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2-3), pages 279-293, December.
    28. Craig Carroll & Rowena Olegario, 2020. "Pathways to Corporate Accountability: Corporate Reputation and Its Alternatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 173-181, May.
    29. Diamond, Douglas W, 1991. "Monitoring and Reputation: The Choice between Bank Loans and Directly Placed Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 689-721, August.
    30. Greif, Avner, 1993. "Contract Enforceability and Economic Institutions in Early Trade: the Maghribi Traders' Coalition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 525-548, June.
    31. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    32. Armour, John & Mayer, Colin & Polo, Andrea, 2017. "Regulatory Sanctions and Reputational Damage in Financial Markets," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 1429-1448, August.
    33. Brady, Jacob & Evans, Mary F. & Wehrly, Eric W., 2019. "Reputational penalties for environmental violations: A pure and scientific replication study," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 60-72.
    34. Sanjai Bhagat & John Bizjak & Jeffrey L. Coles, 1998. "The Shareholder Wealth Implications of Corporate Lawsuits," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 27(4), Winter.
    35. April Klein & Emanuel Zur, 2011. "The Impact of Hedge Fund Activism on the Target Firm's Existing Bondholders," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(5), pages 1735-1771.
    36. Murphy, Deborah L. & Shrieves, Ronald E. & Tibbs, Samuel L., 2009. "Understanding the Penalties Associated with Corporate Misconduct: An Empirical Examination of Earnings and Risk," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(1), pages 55-83, February.
    37. Karpoff, Jonathan M & Lott, John R, Jr, 1993. "The Reputational Penalty Firms Bear from Committing Criminal Fraud," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 757-802, October.
    38. William F. Maxwell & Clifford P. Stephens, 2003. "The Wealth Effects of Repurchases on Bondholders," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 895-920, April.
    39. Marlene Amstad & Zhiguo He, 2019. "Chinese Bond Market and Interbank Market," NBER Working Papers 25549, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    40. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    41. Jonathan M. Karpoff & D. Scott Lee & Valaria P. Vendrzyk, 1999. "Defense Procurement Fraud, Penalties, and Contractor Influence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(4), pages 809-842, August.
    42. William F. Maxwell & Clifford P. Stephens, 2003. "The Wealth Effects of Repurchases on Bondholders," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 895-919, April.
    43. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    44. Bhagat, Sanjai & Brickley, James A. & Coles, Jeffrey L., 1994. "The costs of inefficient bargaining and financial distress *1: Evidence from corporate lawsuits," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 221-247, April.
    45. Elster, Jon, 1989. "Social Norms and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 99-117, Fall.
    46. Wang, Qian & Wong, T.J. & Xia, Lijun, 2008. "State ownership, the institutional environment, and auditor choice: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 112-134, September.
    47. Iftekhar Hasan & Chun‐Keung (Stan) Hoi & Qiang Wu & Hao Zhang, 2017. "Does Social Capital Matter in Corporate Decisions? Evidence from Corporate Tax Avoidance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 629-668, June.
    48. Hasan, Iftekhar & Hoi, Chun-Keung (Stan) & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2017. "Does social capital matter in corporate decisions? Evidence from corporate tax avoidance," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 21/2017, Bank of Finland.
    49. Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff, 2020. "The Trust Triangle: Laws, Reputation, and Culture in Empirical Finance Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 217-238, May.
    50. Dahiya, Sandeep & John, Kose & Puri, Manju & Ramirez, Gabriel, 2003. "Debtor-in-possession financing and bankruptcy resolution: Empirical evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 259-280, July.
    51. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    52. Deng, Saiying & Willis, Richard H. & Xu, Li, 2014. "Shareholder Litigation, Reputational Loss, and Bank Loan Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(4), pages 1101-1132, August.
    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. Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff, 2020. "The Trust Triangle: Laws, Reputation, and Culture in Empirical Finance Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 217-238, May.
    2. Dan Amiram & Zahn Bozanic & James D. Cox & Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff & Richard Sloan, 2018. "Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 732-783, June.
    3. Xian Gu & Iftekhar Hasan & Haitian Lu, 2019. "Corporate Misconduct and the Cost of Private Debt: Evidence from China," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 61(3), pages 443-463, September.
    4. Qin, Wei & Liang, Quanxi & Jiao, Yan & Lu, Meiting & Shan, Yaowen, 2022. "Social trust and dividend payouts: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Li, Xiaorong & Wang, Steven Shuye & Wang, Xue, 2019. "Trust and IPO underpricing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 224-248.
    6. Hongling Guo & Zuoping Xiao, 2021. "Effect of severe litigation and bank connection on bank financing in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 3883-3914, September.
    7. Deqiu Chen & Xuejiao Liu & Cong Wang, 2016. "Social Trust and Bank Loan Financing: Evidence from China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(3), pages 374-403, September.
    8. Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng & Gull, Ammar Ali & Chen, Yugang & Ntim, Collins G., 2023. "Social trust and environmental performance in China: Does state ownership matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    9. Paul Brockman & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Ying Zheng, 2022. "Does social trust affect international contracting? Evidence from foreign bond covenants," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1011-1044, August.
    10. Laure, de Batz, 2020. "Financial crime spillovers. Does one gain to be avenged?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 196-215.
    11. Massa, Massimo & li, zhe & xu, niahang & Zhang, Hong, 2016. "The Impact of Sin Culture: Evidence from Earning Management and Alcohol Consumption in China," CEPR Discussion Papers 11475, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. repec:zbw:bofitp:2016_019 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Flore, Christian & Degryse, Hans & Kolaric, Sascha & Schiereck, Dirk, 2021. "Forgive me all my sins: How penalties imposed on banks travel through markets," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. He, Qing & Huang, Jiyuan & Li, Dongxu & Lu, Liping, 2016. "Banks as corporate monitors: Evidence from CEO turnovers in China," BOFIT Discussion Papers 19/2016, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    15. Paul Brockman & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Ying Zheng, 0. "Does social trust affect international contracting? Evidence from foreign bond covenants," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 0, pages 1-34.
    16. Su, Kun & Wu, Ji & Lu, Yue, 2022. "With trust we innovate: Evidence from corporate R&D expenditure," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    17. Fonseka, Mohan & Samarakoon, Lalith P. & Tian, Gao-Liang & Seng, Ratney, 2021. "The impact of social trust and state ownership on investment efficiency of Chinese firms," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    18. Abdelsalam, Omneya & Chantziaras, Antonios & Batten, Jonathan A. & Aysan, Ahmet Faruk, 2021. "Major shareholders’ trust and market risk: Substituting weak institutions with trust," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    19. Laure de Batz & Evžen Kočenda & Evžen Kocenda, 2023. "Financial Crime and Punishment: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 10528, CESifo.
    20. Liu, Chelsea & Aharony, Joseph & Richardson, Grant & Yawson, Alfred, 2016. "Corporate litigation and changes in CEO reputation: Guidance from U.S. Federal Court lawsuits," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 15-34.
    21. Shi, Lisi & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Liu, Ming-Yu, 2023. "Does societal trust make managers more trustworthy?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate reputation; Trust; Legal environment; Social capital; Litigation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

    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:kap:jbuset:v:183:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-021-05020-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.