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Managerial power, compensation gap and firm performance -- Evidence from Chinese public listed companies

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  • Lin, Bing-Xuan
  • Lu, Rui

Abstract

We study the relationship between compensation gap and firm performance in the Chinese market. Extant studies have shown that, for the publicly traded companies in China, compensation gap between senior executives plays a tournament role and motivates managers to achieve higher level of performance. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results confirm the above result. However, simultaneous regression results indicate that the tournament effect is more significant in firms with high managerial powers. Our finding suggests that previous findings using OLS might be incomplete. We also show that firms with better performance and greater managerial power tend to have greater compensation gap. Meanwhile, the relationship between managerial power and firm performance is, on average, negative.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Bing-Xuan & Lu, Rui, 2009. "Managerial power, compensation gap and firm performance -- Evidence from Chinese public listed companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 153-164.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:glofin:v:20:y:2009:i:2:p:153-164
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    5. Sang Hyuck Kim & Woo Gon Kim, 2011. "Re-Examining the Determinants of Executive Compensation in the Restaurant Industry: A Quantile Regression Approach," Tourism Economics, , vol. 17(5), pages 1035-1054, October.
    6. 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.
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    9. Fang Fang & Tingbo Duan & Kun Li, 2022. "Political Connections, Ownership and Within-Firm Pay Gap," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Sun, Sophia Li & Habib, Ahsan, 2020. "Determinants and consequences of tournament incentives: A survey of the literature in accounting and finance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. Jason W. Ridge & Federico Aime & Margaret A. White, 2015. "When much more of a difference makes a difference: Social comparison and tournaments in the CEO's top team," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 618-636, April.
    12. Chen, Jing & Ezzamel, Mahmoud & Cai, Ziming, 2011. "Managerial power theory, tournament theory, and executive pay in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1176-1199, September.
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    14. Zhu, Jiajun & Gao, Jing & Tan, Hongping, 2021. "How the CEO power and age dissimilarity shape the chair-CEO pay gap: Empirical evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Lee, Hyoungjin & Park, Junmin & Chung, Chris Changwha, 2022. "CEO compensation, governance structure, and foreign direct investment in conflict-prone countries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    16. Shahid Ali & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Muhammad Kaleem Khan & Farman Ullah Khan & Muhammad Abubakkar Siddique, 2020. "Do tournament incentives motivate chief executive officers to be socially responsible?," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(5), pages 597-619, February.
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