IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v82y2023ics0927538x23002160.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Star CEOs and investment efficiency: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Lida
  • Cai, Wenwu

Abstract

This study investigates whether star chief executive officers (CEOs) make more efficient investment decisions after winning a prestigious media award. Using data from Chinese A-share listed firms, we find that CEO awards significantly reduce the probability of corporate overinvestment and mitigate the magnitude of investment inefficiency; this effect is more pronounced for CEOs with high monetary compensation and in firms with weak internal governance and loose external monitoring. Additional evidence shows that star CEOs attract more media coverage than matched CEOs after winning awards, and CEO awards improve investment efficiency by reducing information asymmetry and enhancing reputation incentives. Collectively, our findings suggest that media-granted CEO awards encourage winning CEOs to boost their investment efficiency by reducing overinvestment.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Lida & Cai, Wenwu, 2023. "Star CEOs and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23002160
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102145
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X23002160
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102145?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. Irfan Ullah & Muhammad Ansar Majeed & Hong-Xing Fang & Muhammad Arif Khan, 2020. "Female CEOs and investment efficiency: evidence from an emerging economy," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4), pages 443-474, November.
    2. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    3. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate, 2005. "CEO Overconfidence and Corporate Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2661-2700, December.
    4. Ferris, Stephen P. & Jayaraman, Narayanan & Sabherwal, Sanjiv, 2013. "CEO Overconfidence and International Merger and Acquisition Activity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(1), pages 137-164, February.
    5. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1990. "Do Managerial Objectives Drive Bad Acquisitions?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(1), pages 31-48, March.
    6. Rajkovic, Tijana, 2020. "Lead independent directors and investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Yang, Xiaoping & Cao, Dongmei & Andrikopoulos, Panagiotis & Yang, Zonghan & Bass, Tina, 2020. "Online social networks, media supervision and investment efficiency: An empirical examination of Chinese listed firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    9. Xie, Jun, 2015. "CEO career concerns and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 149-159.
    10. Duan, Tinghua & Ding, Rong & Hou, Wenxuan & Zhang, John Ziyang, 2018. "The burden of attention: CEO publicity and tax avoidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 90-101.
    11. Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He, 2017. "Do state and foreign ownership affect investment efficiency? Evidence from privatizations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 408-421.
    12. Brian J. Bushee & John E. Core & Wayne Guay & Sophia J.W. Hamm, 2010. "The Role of the Business Press as an Information Intermediary," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 1-19, March.
    13. Liu, Baixiao & McConnell, John J., 2013. "The role of the media in corporate governance: Do the media influence managers' capital allocation decisions?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 1-17.
    14. Joshua Shemesh, 2017. "CEO Social Status and Risk-Taking," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(02), pages 1-35, June.
    15. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    16. Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 20-43, July.
    17. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    18. Hutton, Amy P. & Marcus, Alan J. & Tehranian, Hassan, 2009. "Opaque financial reports, R2, and crash risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 67-86, October.
    19. Steven M. Fazzari & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1988. "Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(1), pages 141-206.
    20. Jin Kyung Choi & Rebecca N. Hann & Musa Subasi & Yue Zheng, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis of Analysts' Capital Expenditure Forecasts: Evidence from Corporate Investment Efficiency," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(4), pages 2615-2648, December.
    21. Lily Fang & Joel Peress, 2009. "Media Coverage and the Cross‐section of Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 2023-2052, October.
    22. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2021. "Media coverage and investment efficiency," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 270-293.
    23. Thomas R. Kubick & G. Brandon Lockhart, 2017. "Overconfidence, CEO Awards, and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5-6), pages 728-754, May.
    24. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. 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.
    26. Yue Cao & Yizhe Dong & Yu Lu & Diandian Ma, 2020. "Does Institutional Ownership Improve Firm Investment Efficiency?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2772-2792, September.
    27. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    28. Joseph D. Piotroski & T. J. Wong & Tianyu Zhang, 2015. "Political Incentives to Suppress Negative Information: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 405-459, May.
    29. Chen, Tao & Xie, Lingmin & Zhang, Yuanyuan, 2017. "How does analysts' forecast quality relate to corporate investment efficiency?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 217-240.
    30. Keith Weigelt & Colin Camerer, 1988. "Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and applications," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 443-454, September.
    31. Kevin Koh, 2011. "Value or Glamour? An empirical investigation of the effect of celebrity CEOs on financial reporting practices and firm performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 51(2), pages 517-547, June.
    32. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    33. Jennifer Francis & Allen H. Huang & Shivaram Rajgopal & Amy Y. Zang, 2008. "CEO Reputation and Earnings Quality," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 109-147, March.
    34. Khedmati, Mehdi & Sualihu, Mohammed Aminu & Yawson, Alfred, 2020. "CEO-director ties and labor investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    35. Denis, David J & Denis, Diane K & Sarin, Atulya, 1997. "Agency Problems, Equity Ownership, and Corporate Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 135-160, March.
    36. An, Zhe & Chen, Chen & Naiker, Vic & Wang, Jun, 2020. "Does media coverage deter firms from withholding bad news? Evidence from stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    37. Aiyesha Dey, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Agency Conflicts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1143-1181, December.
    38. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    39. Yu, Fang (Frank), 2008. "Analyst coverage and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 245-271, 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. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2021. "Media coverage and investment efficiency," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 270-293.
    2. Ahmed, Mohamed Shaker & Kumar, Satish & Gupta, Prashant & Bamel, Nisha, 2024. "CEO media coverage and cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Huiqi Gan, 2019. "Does CEO managerial ability matter? Evidence from corporate investment efficiency," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1085-1118, May.
    4. An, Suwei, 2023. "Essays on incentive contracts, M&As, and firm risk," Other publications TiSEM dd97d2f5-1c9d-47c5-ba62-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Xu, Weidong & Luo, Zijun & Li, Donghui, 2024. "Investor–firm interactions and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Chowdhury, Md Raihan Uddin & Xie, Feixue & Hasan, Md Mahmudul, 2023. "Powerful CEOs and investment efficiency," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    7. He Xiao, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate investment efficiency," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 359-392, June.
    8. Hui-Fun Yu & Tsui-Jung Lin & Hai-Yen Chang & Yu-Huai Wang, 2020. "The Impact of Political Connection and Information Asymmetry on Investment Efficiency: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-15, July.
    9. Sabahat Riaz & Mohamed Hisham Hanifa & Fauzi Zainir, 2021. "Does Foreign Institutional Equity Participation Instigate Sustainable Corporate Investment Efficiency? Evidence from Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
    10. Habib, Ahsan & Hasan, Mostafa Monzur, 2017. "Managerial ability, investment efficiency and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 262-274.
    11. Liu, Yin & Neely, Pamela & Karim, Khondkar, 2022. "The impact of CFO gender on corporate overinvestment," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    12. Baloria, Vishal P. & Heese, Jonas, 2018. "The effects of media slant on firm behavior," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(1), pages 184-202.
    13. Heidi Quah & Janto Haman & Dharmendra Naidu, 2021. "The effect of stock liquidity on investment efficiency under financing constraints and asymmetric information: Evidence from the United States," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 2109-2150, April.
    14. Sultan Sikandar Mirza & Muhammad Ansar Majeed & Tanveer Ahsan, 2020. "Board gender diversity, competitive pressure and investment efficiency in Chinese private firms," Post-Print hal-02956320, HAL.
    15. Liu, Qigui & Tang, Jinghua & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2023. "The role of bad-news coverage and media environments in crash risk around the world," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 488-509.
    16. Tran Phuong, Thao & Le, Anh-Tuan & Ouyang, Puman, 2022. "Board tenure diversity and investment efficiency: A global analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Xie, Linlin & Liu, Guangqiang & Liu, Boyang, 2023. "Patent pledge policy and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Danso, Albert & Lartey, Theophilus & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Adomako, Samuel & Lu, Qinye & Uddin, Moshfique, 2019. "Market sentiment and firm investment decision-making," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    19. Xie, Lingmin & Chen, Zhian & Li, Donghui & Tan, Hongping, 2022. "Foreign analysts and managerial investment learning from stock markets," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    20. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui, 2022. "Media coverage and corporate risk-taking: International evidence," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Star CEOs; Overinvestment; Investment inefficiency; Media coverage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

    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:pacfin:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23002160. 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.