IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/snbeco/v1y2021i11d10.1007_s43546-021-00160-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of firm performance on CEO compensation: the moderation role of SOE reform

Author

Listed:
  • Ngonadi Josiah Chukwuma

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Takuriramunashe Famba

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Huaping Sun

    (Jiangsu University
    Jiaxing University)

  • Isaac Adjei Mensah

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Ophias Kurauone

    (Jiangsu University)

  • Liang Li

    (Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology)

  • Grace Chituku-Dzimiro

    (Zimbabwe Open University)

Abstract

As corporations expand, the owners (principals) delegate managers (agents) to manage their wealth on their behalf. Ceding the management authority to others means shareholders must institute mechanisms that keep their interests aligned with those of managers. One of such corporate governance mechanism that helps with the interest alignment goal is the compensation of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Although there are some previous studies on CEOs’ compensation, results from these studies are mixed. Most corporate governance studies suffer from endogeneity problems. Resultantly, the current study uses the dynamic panel system generalized methods of moments (SGMM) estimator to examine the moderation effect of SOE reforms on the nexus between firm performance and CEO compensation using a sample of 1265 non-financial public limited companies on the China Stock Market from 2010 to 2016. The result from the study shows that both current and past firm performances positively influence executive compensation contracts. Although the Renewed Mixed-Ownership Reform was launched at the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, its influence on executive compensation began to have material effect after issuing the operational guidelines in 2015. State ownership continued to decrease but remaining high only in strategic sectors. Finally, the extensive reforms positively influenced state ownership as an important governance mechanism in CEO compensation contracts after 2015.

Suggested Citation

  • Ngonadi Josiah Chukwuma & Takuriramunashe Famba & Huaping Sun & Isaac Adjei Mensah & Ophias Kurauone & Liang Li & Grace Chituku-Dzimiro, 2021. "The effect of firm performance on CEO compensation: the moderation role of SOE reform," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(11), pages 1-32, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:snbeco:v:1:y:2021:i:11:d:10.1007_s43546-021-00160-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s43546-021-00160-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43546-021-00160-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s43546-021-00160-8?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. Geoffrey C. Kiel & Gavin J. Nicholson, 2003. "Board Composition and Corporate Performance: how the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 189-205, July.
    2. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Watts, Ross L., 1992. "The investment opportunity set and corporate financing, dividend, and compensation policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 263-292, December.
    3. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman & Alex Tong & Ruoyun Zhao, 2016. "Board size and firm value: evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 851-873, December.
    4. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    5. Becht, Marco & Bolton, Patrick & Roell, Ailsa, 2003. "Corporate governance and control," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 1-109, Elsevier.
    6. Lozano, M. Belén & Martínez, Beatriz & Pindado, Julio, 2016. "Corporate governance, ownership and firm value: Drivers of ownership as a good corporate governance mechanism," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 1333-1343.
    7. Roberts, Michael R. & Whited, Toni M., 2013. "Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance1," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 493-572, Elsevier.
    8. Kato, Takao & Long, Cheryl, 2006. "Executive Compensation, Firm Performance, and Corporate Governance in China: Evidence from Firms Listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(4), pages 945-983, July.
    9. Conyon, Martin J. & He, Lerong, 2011. "Executive compensation and corporate governance in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1158-1175, September.
    10. Liu, Qiao & Lu, Zhou (Joe), 2007. "Corporate governance and earnings management in the Chinese listed companies: A tunneling perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 881-906, December.
    11. Muhammad Fayyaz Sheikh & Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah & Saeed Akbar, 2018. "Firm performance, corporate governance and executive compensation in Pakistan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(18), pages 2012-2027, April.
    12. El’fred Boo & Divesh Sharma, 2008. "Effect of regulatory oversight on the association between internal governance characteristics and audit fees," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 48(1), pages 51-71, March.
    13. Zhou, Qing & Faff, Robert & Alpert, Karen, 2014. "Bias correction in the estimation of dynamic panel models in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 494-513.
    14. 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.
    15. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    16. Brickley, James A. & Coles, Jeffrey L. & Jarrell, Gregg, 1997. "Leadership structure: Separating the CEO and Chairman of the Board," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 189-220, June.
    17. Hongbin Cai & Hanming Fang & Lixin Colin Xu, 2011. "Eat, Drink, Firms, Government: An Investigation of Corruption from the Entertainment and Travel Costs of Chinese Firms," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 55-78.
    18. Bai, Chong-En & Li, David D. & Tao, Zhigang & Wang, Yijiang, 2000. "A Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 716-738, December.
    19. Yusheng Kong & Takuriramunashe Famba & Grace Chituku-Dzimiro & Huaping Sun & Ophias Kurauone, 2020. "Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Ownership and Firm Value: Evidence from Listed Chinese Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, April.
    20. Jiang, Fuxiu & Huang, Jicheng & Kim, Kenneth A., 2013. "Appointments of outsiders as CEOs, state-owned enterprises, and firm performance: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 49-64.
    21. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    22. 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.
    23. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Xu, Liping, 2009. "Does the type of ownership control matter? Evidence from China's listed companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 171-181, January.
    24. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    25. Wang, Boya, 2018. "Ownership, institutions and firm value: Cross-provincial evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 547-565.
    26. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    27. Michael Firth & Peter M. Y. Fung & Oliver M. Rui, 2006. "Firm Performance, Governance Structure, and Top Management Turnover in a Transitional Economy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1289-1330, September.
    28. Alvaro Cuervo, 2002. "Corporate Governance Mechanisms: a plea for less code of good governance and more market control," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 84-93, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Clement Olalekan Olaniyi & Ademola Obafemi Young & Xuan Vinh Vo & Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al‐Faryan, 2022. "Do institutional framework and its threshold matter in the sensitivity of CEO pay to firm performance? Fresh insights from an emerging market economy," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3386-3403, December.

    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. Yusheng Kong & Takuriramunashe Famba & Grace Chituku-Dzimiro & Huaping Sun & Ophias Kurauone, 2020. "Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Ownership and Firm Value: Evidence from Listed Chinese Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Takuriramunashe Famba & Lloyd Chiriseri & Grace Chituku-Dzimiro & Ophias Kurauone, 2024. "Two-tier corporate board structure, corporate governance reforms and financial performance of firms listed on the China stock market," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(11), pages 1-32, November.
    3. Ji, Jiao & Talavera, Oleksandr & Yin, Shuxing, 2016. "CEO Dismissal, Compensation and Topics of Board Meetings: The Case of China," MPRA Paper 70232, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, June.
    5. Muhammad Imran Nazir & Muhammad Zulfiqar & Muhammad Bilal Saeed & Yasir Habib, 2016. "The Influence of Board Characteristics on Shareholders Assessment of Risk for Small and Large Firms: Evidence from Pakistan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 596-606.
    6. J. Mulherin, 2005. "Corporations, collective action and corporate governance: One size does not fit all," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 179-204, July.
    7. Ratnam Vijayakumaran, 2019. "Agency Costs, Ownership, and Internal Governance Mechanisms: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(1), pages 133-154, January.
    8. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    9. Mukhopadhyay, Jhuma & Chakraborty, Indrani, 2017. "Foreign institutional investment, business groups and firm performance: Evidence from India," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 454-465.
    10. Qian, Meifen & Sun, Ping-Wen & Yu, Bin, 2018. "Top managerial power and stock price efficiency: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 20-38.
    11. Gregorio Sánchez‐Marín & María Encarnación Lucas‐Pérez & Samuel Baixauli‐Soler & Brian G.M. Main & Antonio Mínguez‐Vera, 2022. "Excess executive compensation and corporate governance in the United Kingdom and Spain: A comparative analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 2817-2837, October.
    12. James, Hui Liang & Borah, Nilakshi & Lirely, Roger, 2022. "The effectiveness of board independence in high-discretion firms," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 103-117.
    13. Lai Trung Hoang & Cuong Cao Nguyen & Baiding Hu, 2017. "Ownership Structure and Firm Performance Improvement: Does it Matter in the Vietnamese Stock Market?," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(4), pages 416-428, December.
    14. Akbar, Muhammad & Hussain, Shahzad & Ahmad, Tanveer & Hassan, Shoib, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Pakistan: Dynamic Panel Estimation," CAFE Working Papers 6, Centre for Accountancy, Finance and Economics (CAFE), Birmingham City Business School, Birmingham City University.
    15. Muniandy, Balachandran & Hillier, John, 2015. "Board independence, investment opportunity set and performance of South African firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 108-124.
    16. Nebert Mandala & E. Kaijage & J. Aduda & C. Iraya, 2018. "An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between Board Structure and Performance of Financial Institutions in Kenya," Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 1-3.
    17. Mak, Y. T. & Li, Yuan, 2001. "Determinants of corporate ownership and board structure: evidence from Singapore," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 235-256, September.
    18. Gibson Hosea Munisi & Roy Mersland, 2016. "Ownership, Board Compensation and Company Performance in Sub-Saharan African Countries," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(2), pages 191-224, August.
    19. Fidanoski, Filip & Mateska, Vesna & Simeonovski, Kiril, 2013. "Corporate Governance and Bank Performance: Evidence from Macedonia," MPRA Paper 46773, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2013.
    20. Chenglong Zheng & Roy Kouwenberg, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Global Research on Corporate Governance and Board Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-25, June.

    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:spr:snbeco:v:1:y:2021:i:11:d:10.1007_s43546-021-00160-8. 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.