IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v86y2023ics1057521923000273.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does goodwill pressure drive business restructuring based on subsidiary disposal?

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Jingjing
  • Huang, Haijie
  • Lee, Edward
  • Petaibanlue, Jirada

Abstract

This study investigates whether the existence of goodwill influences firms to remove subsidiaries from consolidation to reduce the pressure from potential impairment loss. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies between 2007 and 2018, we find that the magnitude of goodwill is associated with firms' decisions to dispose of their merged subsidiaries. Also, the likelihood of disposing of subsidiaries is higher among firms with greater impairment probability due to a larger amount of goodwill and lower profitability. Additionally, we observe that firms may simultaneously employ both disposal strategies and impairment write-offs to reduce goodwill pressure. In the cross-sectional analyses, we find that the effect varies between SOEs and non-SOEs. Our findings present the real effect of goodwill impairment on companies' decision-making and provide insights into the impact of accounting practices on firms' investment strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Jingjing & Huang, Haijie & Lee, Edward & Petaibanlue, Jirada, 2023. "Does goodwill pressure drive business restructuring based on subsidiary disposal?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:86:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923000273
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102511
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521923000273
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102511?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. George Emmanuel Iatridis & Daniel Senftlechner, 2014. "An Empirical Investigation of Goodwill in Austria: Evidence on Management Change and Cost of Capital," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 24(2), pages 171-181, June.
    2. Iatridis, George Emmanuel & Pappas, Kostas & Walker, Martin, 2022. "Narrative disclosure quality and the timeliness of goodwill impairments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    3. 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.
    4. Alain Schatt & Leonidas Doukakis & Corinne Bessieux-Ollier & Elisabeth Walliser, 2016. "Do Goodwill Impairments by European Firms Provide Useful Information to Investors?," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 307-327, September.
    5. Paul André & Andrei Filip & Luc Paugam, 2016. "Examining the Patterns of Goodwill Impairments in Europe and the US," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 329-352, September.
    6. Thorsten Knauer & Arnt Wöhrmann, 2016. "Market Reaction to Goodwill Impairments," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 421-449, September.
    7. Hongwen Han & Jiali Jenna Tang & Qingquan Tang, 2021. "Goodwill Impairment, Securities Analysts, and Information Transparency," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 767-799, August.
    8. Anne Beatty & Joseph Weber, 2006. "Accounting Discretion in Fair Value Estimates: An Examination of SFAS 142 Goodwill Impairments," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 257-288, May.
    9. Jianfeng Wu & Dean Xu & Phillip Phan, 2011. "The effects of ownership concentration and corporate debt on corporate divestitures in Chinese listed firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 95-114, March.
    10. Lapointe-Antunes, Pascale & Cormier, Denis & Magnan, Michel, 2009. "Value relevance and timeliness of transitional goodwill-impairment losses: Evidence from Canada," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 56-78, March.
    11. 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.
    12. Feng, Xunan & Hu, Na & Johansson, Anders C., 2016. "Ownership, analyst coverage, and stock synchronicity in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 79-96.
    13. Alain Schatt & Leonidas Doukakis & Corinne Bessieux-Ollier & Elisabeth Walliser, 2016. "Do Goodwill Impairments by European Firms Provide Useful Information to Investors?," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 307-327, September.
    14. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    15. Schmid, David & Morschett, Dirk, 2020. "Decades of research on foreign subsidiary divestment: What do we really know about its antecedents?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(4).
    16. Yanxi Li & Shanshan Ouyang, 2021. "Do controlling shareholders share pledging affect goodwill impairment? Evidence from China," International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 793-822, October.
    17. Huang, Wei & Goodell, John W. & Zhang, Hong, 2019. "Pre-merger management in developing markets: The role of earnings glamor," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Yan Wang & Tao Li & Deli Wang & Kun Liu, 2021. "Has damage from goodwill impairment grown in China? Analysis and response," China Journal of Accounting Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 168-194, April.
    19. Li, Xue & Anwar, Sajid & Peng, Fei, 2022. "Cross-border acquisitions and the performance of Chinese publicly listed companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 575-588.
    20. Andrei Filip & Gerald J. Lobo & Luc Paugam, 2021. "Managerial discretion to delay the recognition of goodwill impairment: The role of enforcement," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 36-69, January.
    21. Qigui Liu & Tianpei Luo & Gary Gang Tian, 2019. "How do political connections cause SOEs and non‐SOEs to make different M&A decisions/performance? Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(4), pages 2579-2619, December.
    22. Zhou, Jingting & Li, Wanli & Yan, Ziqiao & Lyu, Huaili, 2021. "Controlling shareholder share pledging and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    23. Begoña Giner & Francisca Pardo, 2015. "How Ethical are Managers’ Goodwill Impairment Decisions in Spanish-Listed Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 21-40, November.
    24. Kevin K. Li & Richard G. Sloan, 2017. "Has goodwill accounting gone bad?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 964-1003, June.
    25. Fuxiu Jiang & Kenneth A Kim, 2020. "Corporate Governance in China: A Survey [The role of boards of directors in corporate governance: a conceptual framework and survey]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(4), pages 733-772.
    26. Coudounaris, Dafnis N. & Orero-Blat, María & Rodríguez-García, María, 2020. "Three decades of subsidiary exits: Parent firm financial performance and moderators," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 408-422.
    27. E. Geoffrey Love & Nitin Nohria, 2005. "Reducing slack: the performance consequences of downsizing by large industrial firms, 1977–93," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(12), pages 1087-1108, December.
    28. Li, Ying & Lu, Miao & Lo, Y. Ling, 2019. "The impact of analyst coverage on partial acquisitions: Evidence from M&A premium and firm performance in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 37-60.
    29. Min Du & Agyenim Boateng & David Newton, 2016. "The impact of state ownership, formal institutions and resource seeking on acquirers’ returns of Chinese M&A," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 159-178, July.
    30. Liu, Qigui & Pan, Xiaofei & Tian, Gary Gang, 2018. "To what extent did the economic stimulus package influence bank lending and corporate investment decisions? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 177-193.
    31. Nguyen, Pascal & Rahman, Nahid & Zhao, Ruoyun, 2013. "Ownership structure and divestiture decisions: Evidence from Australian firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 170-181.
    32. Lee, Gilsoo & Cho, Sam Yul & Arthurs, Jonathan & Lee, Eun Kyung, 2019. "CEO pay inequity, CEO-TMT pay gap, and acquisition premiums," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 105-116.
    33. Yingmei Cheng & David Peterson & Karen Sherrill, 2017. "Admitting mistakes pays: the long term impact of goodwill impairment write-offs on stock prices," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 41(2), pages 311-329, April.
    34. Andrei Filip & Thomas Jeanjean & Luc Paugam, 2015. "Using Real Activities to Avoid Goodwill Impairment Losses: Evidence and Effect on Future Performance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3-4), pages 515-554, April.
    35. Yang, Junhong & Guariglia, Alessandra & Guo, Jie (Michael), 2019. "To what extent does corporate liquidity affect M&A decisions, method of payment and performance? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 128-152.
    36. Douglas R. Ayres & John L. Campbell & James A. Chyz & Jonathan E. Shipman, 2019. "Do financial analysts compel firms to make accounting decisions? Evidence from goodwill impairments," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1214-1251, December.
    37. Zhang, Min & Tong, Lijing & Su, Jun & Cui, Zhipeng, 2015. "Analyst coverage and corporate social performance: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 76-94.
    38. Hussain, Tanveer & Tunyi, Abongeh A. & Sufyan, Muhammad & Shahab, Yasir, 2022. "Powerful bidders and value creation in M&As," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    39. Cao, Viet Nga & Gray, Philip & Zhong, Angel, 2019. "Investment-related anomalies in Australia: Evidence and explanations," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 97-109.
    40. Katharina Hombach & Thorsten Sellhorn, 2022. "Does every accounting issue need a solution?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 540-561, July.
    41. Katherine Schipper, 2022. "Why do accounting issues end up in the ‘too difficult’ box?," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(5), pages 482-506, July.
    42. Ruoran Xu & Yuen Leng Chow & Joseph T.L. Ooi, 2017. "A Relook into the Impact of Divestitures in the Presence of Agency Conflicts: Evidence from Property Subsidiary Sell-Offs in China," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 313-344, October.
    43. Hong Zhu & Qi Zhu, 2016. "Mergers and acquisitions by Chinese firms: A review and comparison with other mergers and acquisitions research in the leading journals," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 1107-1149, December.
    44. Aktas, Nihat & de Bodt, Eric & Bollaert, Helen & Roll, Richard, 2016. "CEO Narcissism and the Takeover Process: From Private Initiation to Deal Completion," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 113-137, February.
    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. Killins, Robert & Ngo, Thanh & Wang, Hongxia, 2021. "Goodwill impairment and CEO overconfidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    2. Iatridis, George Emmanuel & Pappas, Kostas & Walker, Martin, 2022. "Narrative disclosure quality and the timeliness of goodwill impairments," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    3. Han, Hongwen & Tang, Jiali Jenna & Tang, Qingquan, 2024. "The role of large shareholders in goodwill impairment decisions – Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    4. Alshehabi, Ahmad & Georgiou, George & Ala, Alessandro S., 2021. "Country-specific drivers of the value relevance of goodwill impairment losses," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Wolfgang Ballwieser, 2020. "International Valuation Standards (IVS) – Bedarf, Reichweite, Würdigung, diskutiert anhand der Bewertung von Unternehmen und Goodwill [International Valuation Standards (IVS)—Demand, Range, Critica," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 71-94, March.
    6. Andrei Filip & Gerald J. Lobo & Luc Paugam, 2021. "Managerial discretion to delay the recognition of goodwill impairment: The role of enforcement," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1-2), pages 36-69, January.
    7. d'Arcy, Anne & Tarca, Ann, 2018. "Reviewing IFRS Goodwill Accounting Research: Implementation Effects and Cross-Country Differences," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 203-226.
    8. Benjamin T. Albersmann & Reiner Quick, 2020. "The Impact of Audit Quality Indicators on the Timeliness of Goodwill Impairments: Evidence from the German Setting," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 56(1), pages 66-103, March.
    9. Huang, Qiongyu & Zhang, Ruiyao & Li, Siyao & Li, Jingjing & Yao, Qiong, 2024. "The role of financial advisorʼs industry expertise in M&A quality: Evidence from goodwill impairment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 216-231.
    10. Durocher, Sylvain & Georgiou, Omiros, 2022. "Framing accounting for goodwill: Intractable controversies between users and standard setters," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    11. Roncagliolo, Elisa & Avallone, Francesco, 2022. "Recognition of provisional goodwill: Real need or communication strategy?," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    12. Najlaa Kallousa & Youngki Jang & Boochun Jung & Hussein Warsame, 2023. "Labor unions and post‐acquisition integration capability: Evidence from goodwill impairment," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 764-794, March.
    13. Atanasov, Atanas, 2019. "Репутацията Като Обект На Счетоводството: Признаване, Оценяване, Оповестяване [Goodwill as an accounting object: initial recognition, measurement, disclosure]," MPRA Paper 97938, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Hongwen Han & Jiali Jenna Tang & Qingquan Tang, 2021. "Goodwill Impairment, Securities Analysts, and Information Transparency," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 767-799, August.
    15. Yi Zhang, 2022. "Analyst coverage and corporate social responsibility decoupling: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 620-634, May.
    16. Paul André & Andrei Filip & Luc Paugam, 2016. "Examining the Patterns of Goodwill Impairments in Europe and the US," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 329-352, September.
    17. de Oliveira Leite, Rodrigo & dos Santos Mendes, Layla & de Lacerda Moreira, Rafael, 2020. "Profit status of microfinance institutions and incentives for earnings management," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    18. Xu, Yan & Xu, Nianhang & Chan, Kam C. & Li, Zhe, 2021. "Generalists vs. specialists: Who are better acquirers?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    19. Hunt, Richard A., 2021. "Entrepreneurial orientation and the fate of corporate acquisitions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 241-255.
    20. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2019. "Failure and success in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 650-699.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Goodwill; Goodwill impairment; Disposal of subsidiaries; IAS 36; M&A;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:finana:v:86:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923000273. 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/inca/620166 .

    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.