IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v45y2024i2p734-747.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multiple large shareholders, agency problem, and firm innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Chen Li
  • Caiyu Yan
  • Juan Li
  • Chuanwen Xia
  • Yigui Xiao
  • Ling Zheng

Abstract

This paper, in the context of agency problem, examines the impacts of multiple large shareholders on firm innovation. A dataset of non‐financial listed firms in China was established from 2007 to 2019. Innovation is divided into innovative quantity and innovative quality. The results demonstrate that multiple large shareholders can trigger innovative quantity and improve innovative quality. Multiple large shareholders restrict excessive earnings management and optimize pay gap by top manager to support innovation. It also finds that multiple large shareholders have a positive impact on firm's innovation through reducing share pledge and tunneling action of controlling shareholders. Moreover, it is also confirmed that better information environment and legal framework contribute to the positive effect of multiple large shareholders in corporate governance, along with firm innovation superior.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen Li & Caiyu Yan & Juan Li & Chuanwen Xia & Yigui Xiao & Ling Zheng, 2024. "Multiple large shareholders, agency problem, and firm innovation," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(2), pages 734-747, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:734-747
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.4032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4032
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.4032?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Higham, Kyle & de Rassenfosse, Gaétan & Jaffe, Adam B., 2021. "Patent Quality: Towards a Systematic Framework for Analysis and Measurement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    2. Denicolai, Stefano & Previtali, Pietro, 2023. "Innovation strategy and digital transformation execution in healthcare: The role of the general manager," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    3. Eleonora Bartoloni, 2013. "Capital structure and innovation: causality and determinants," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 111-151, February.
    4. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Boubaker, Sabri & Rouatbi, Wael, 2015. "Ownership structure, control contestability, and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 265-285.
    5. Xu, Mingli & Kong, Gaowen & Kong, Dongmin, 2017. "Does wage justice hamper creativity? Pay gap and firm innovation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 186-202.
    6. Mark H. Lang & Karl V. Lins & Darius P. Miller, 2003. "ADRs, Analysts, and Accuracy: Does Cross Listing in the United States Improve a Firm's Information Environment and Increase Market Value?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 317-345, May.
    7. Ying Dou & Ronald W Masulis & Jason Zein, 2019. "Shareholder Wealth Consequences of Insider Pledging of Company Stock as Collateral for Personal Loans," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(12), pages 4810-4854.
    8. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Elena Loutskina & Xuan Tian, 2014. "Corporate Venture Capital, Value Creation, and Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(8), pages 2434-2473.
    9. Beatriz Garcia Osma & Steven Young, 2009. "R&D Expenditure and Earnings Targets," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 7-32.
    10. Wang, Kun & Xiao, Xing, 2011. "Controlling shareholders' tunneling and executive compensation: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 89-100, January.
    11. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Lingxiang Li, 2016. "Abnormal real operations, real earnings management, and subsequent crashes in stock prices," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 217-260, February.
    12. Chen, Fengqin & Huyghebaert, Nancy & Lin, Sen & Wang, Lihong, 2019. "Do multiple large shareholders reduce agency problems in state-controlled listed firms? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    13. Robert M. Bowen & Xia Chen & Qiang Cheng, 2008. "Analyst Coverage and the Cost of Raising Equity Capital: Evidence from Underpricing of Seasoned Equity Offerings," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(3), pages 657-700, September.
    14. Maury, Benjamin & Pajuste, Anete, 2005. "Multiple large shareholders and firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1813-1834, July.
    15. Sloan, Richard G., 1993. "Accounting earnings and top executive compensation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1-3), pages 55-100, April.
    16. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    17. Florian Ederer & Gustavo Manso, 2013. "Is Pay for Performance Detrimental to Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(7), pages 1496-1513, July.
    18. Choi, Suk Bong & Lee, Soo Hee & Williams, Christopher, 2011. "Ownership and firm innovation in a transition economy: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 441-452, April.
    19. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    20. Tzioumis, Konstantinos, 2008. "Why do firms adopt CEO stock options? Evidence from the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 100-111, October.
    21. Laux, Volker, 2012. "Stock option vesting conditions, CEO turnover, and myopic investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(3), pages 513-526.
    22. Attig, Najah & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev, 2008. "Multiple large shareholders, control contests, and implied cost of equity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 721-737, December.
    23. Li, Guoping, 2010. "The pervasiveness and severity of tunneling by controlling shareholders in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 310-323, June.
    24. 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.
    25. Hanson, Robert C. & Song, Moon H., 2000. "Managerial ownership, board structure, and the division of gains in divestitures," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 55-70, March.
    26. Dai, Yunhao & Kong, Dongmin & Xu, Jin, 2017. "Does fairness breed efficiency? Pay gap and firm productivity in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 406-422.
    27. Chan, Konan & Chen, Hung-Kun & Hu, Shing-yang & Liu, Yu-Jane, 2018. "Share pledges and margin call pressure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 96-117.
    28. Alfredo M. Bobillo & J.A. Rodríguez‐Sanz & F. Tejerina‐Gaite, 2018. "Corporate governance drivers of firm innovation capacity," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 721-741, August.
    29. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Lingxiang Li, 2016. "Abnormal real operations, real earnings management, and subsequent crashes in stock prices," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 217-260, February.
    30. 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.
    31. Luong, Hoang & Moshirian, Fariborz & Nguyen, Lily & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui, 2017. "How Do Foreign Institutional Investors Enhance Firm Innovation?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 1449-1490, August.
    32. Li, Yukun & Zhu, Danfeng, 2022. "Share pledging and corporate environmental investment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    33. 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.
    34. Katherine A. Gunny, 2010. "The Relation Between Earnings Management Using Real Activities Manipulation and Future Performance: Evidence from Meeting Earnings Benchmarks," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 855-888, September.
    35. Ren, Shenggang & Yang, Xuanyu & Hu, Yucai & Chevallier, Julien, 2022. "Emission trading, induced innovation and firm performance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    36. Lu, Qiaoshan & Xiang, Cheng & Li, Bingxiang & Feng, Lixuan, 2023. "Non-controlling shareholders' governance participation and corporate misconduct: Evidence from voting in general meetings," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    37. Peng, Winnie Qian & Wei, K.C. John & Yang, Zhishu, 2011. "Tunneling or propping: Evidence from connected transactions in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 306-325, April.
    38. Wang, Qiong & Qiu, Muqing & Tan, Wenhao, 2020. "Does insiders share pledging stifle innovation? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    39. Charlie X Cai & David Hillier & Jun Wang, 2016. "The Cost of Multiple Large Shareholders," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 401-430, May.
    40. Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Song, Di & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Do multiple large shareholders affect corporate bond yield spreads? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    41. Ren, Shenggang & He, Duojun & Yan, Ji & Zeng, Huixiang & Tan, Justin, 2022. "Environmental labeling certification and corporate environmental innovation: The moderating role of corporate ownership and local government intervention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 556-571.
    42. Liu, Wei & Tian, Gary Gang, 2022. "Controlling shareholder share pledging and the cost of equity capital: Evidence from China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(6).
    43. McKnight, Phillip J. & Weir, Charlie, 2009. "Agency costs, corporate governance mechanisms and ownership structure in large UK publicly quoted companies: A panel data analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 139-158, May.
    44. Shenggang Ren & Xuanyu Yang & Yucai Hu & Julien Chevallier, 2022. "Emission trading, induced innovation and firm performance," Post-Print halshs-04250301, HAL.
    45. Henry, Darren, 2010. "Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance compliance: A private contracting perspective," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 24-46, January.
    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. Junping Zhang & Ping Li, 2024. "Share pledging: Measuring margin call pressure and its influence on liquidity commonality," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(6), pages 3897-3914, September.

    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. Luo, Danglun & Piao, Zhirong & Wu, Cen & Zhang, Frank Feida, 2024. "Collateral damage: Evidence from share pledging in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Cao, Zhangfan & Rees, William & Zhang, Zhifang, 2023. "The effect of real earnings smoothing on corporate labour investment," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    3. Jiang, Fuxiu & Ma, Yunbiao & Wang, Xue, 2020. "Multiple blockholders and earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. 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.
    5. Rongli Yuan & Yadong Han & Zhanliao Chen, 2023. "Multiple Large Shareholders and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 59(1), pages 197-229, March.
    6. Chen, Fengqin & Huyghebaert, Nancy & Lin, Sen & Wang, Lihong, 2019. "Do multiple large shareholders reduce agency problems in state-controlled listed firms? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Jiang, Fuxiu & Cai, Wenjing & Wang, Xue & Zhu, Bing, 2018. "Multiple large shareholders and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 66-83.
    8. Al-Shattarat, Basiem & Hussainey, Khaled & Al-Shattarat, Wasim, 2022. "The impact of abnormal real earnings management to meet earnings benchmarks on future operating performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Rui Wang & Sheng Ma & Xinxin Xu & Pan Song, 2021. "Heterogeneous Shareholders’ Participation, COVID-19 Impact, and Innovation Decisions of State-Owned Firms: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-22, April.
    10. Phuong Nguyen Trang Doan, 2024. "The Effects of Governance-Related Regulatory Reform: Ownership Structure and Earnings Management in Vietnamese Listed Firms," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 17(2), pages 272-299, December.
    11. Sabri Boubaker & Riadh Manita & Wael Rouatbi, 2021. "Large shareholders, control contestability and firm productive efficiency," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 296(1), pages 591-614, January.
    12. Ahmad Almashaqbeh & Hasnah Shaari & Hijattulah Abdul-Jabbar, 2019. "The Effect of Board Diversity on Real Earnings Management: Empirical Evidence From Jordan," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 11(5), pages 495-508, August.
    13. Cao, Ning & McGuinness, Paul B. & Xi, Chao, 2024. "Majority-of-the-minority shareholder votes and investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    14. Min Liu, 2020. "Real and accrual-based earnings management in the pre- and post- engagement partner signature requirement periods in the United Kingdom," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 1133-1161, April.
    15. Weidong Zhang & Pengbo Hu & Jenny J. Wang & Zeyu Li & Hongrui Zheng & Xue Gao, 2022. "Equity incentive plans and R&D investment manipulation: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 4157-4183, September.
    16. Sun, Sophia Li & Habib, Ahsan & Huang, Hedy Jiaying, 2019. "Tournament incentives and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 93-117.
    17. Bang, Nupur Pavan & Bhatia, Nandil & Ray, Sougata & Ramachandran, Kavil, 2025. "Pledging of shares by controlling shareholders and implications for foreign institutional investors," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 95-108.
    18. Eiler, Lisa A. & Filzen, Joshua J. & Jackson, Mark & Tama-Sweet, Isho, 2021. "Real earnings management and the properties of analysts' forecasts," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    19. Attig, Najah & Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Kwok, Chuck & Pittman, Jeffrey, 2020. "Are insiders equal? Evidence from earnings management in closely held East Asian firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    20. Karan Gandhi, 2024. "Real earnings management’s effects on performance in firms reaching the loss avoidance threshold: indian evidence after controlling for variations in firm’s competitive strategy," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 51(3), pages 369-395, September.

    More about this item

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:45:y:2024:i:2:p:734-747. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.