IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/glofin/v57y2023ics1044028323000315.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of dialect connectedness between chairperson and CEO on corporate innovation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Song, Chen
  • Chen, Leqin

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of dialect connectedness between the chairperson and CEO (DCCC) on corporate innovation activities. We find a negative association between DCCC and corporate innovation for China's listed firms. This negative relationship is more pronounced when the chairperson and CEO work in a different dialect-spoken city. Regarding corporate nature, we observe clear restrictions of DCCC on the innovation activities of non-state-owned enterprises, whereas the innovation of state-owned enterprises is less affected. We further investigate three mechanisms through which DCCC reduces corporate innovation. Our results suggest that DCCC restrains innovation by strengthening perceptions and trust between the chairperson and CEO and weakening the supervisory role of the chairperson. Further analysis indicates that emotional closeness between the chairperson and CEO cannot restrain corporate innovation in the short term if the CEO is pressured to be fired. In other words, DCCC cannot mitigate CEO career concerns within a short period.

Suggested Citation

  • Song, Chen & Chen, Leqin, 2023. "Effects of dialect connectedness between chairperson and CEO on corporate innovation in China," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:glofin:v:57:y:2023:i:c:s1044028323000315
    DOI: 10.1016/j.gfj.2023.100836
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044028323000315
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.gfj.2023.100836?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. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    2. Pfeifer, Christian & Wagner, Joachim, 2014. "Is innovative firm behavior correlated with age and gender composition of the workforce? : evidence from a new type of data for German enterprises," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 47(3), pages 223-231.
    3. Claudia Nadler & Wolfgang Breuer, 2019. "Cultural Finance as a research field: an evaluative survey," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 191-220, March.
    4. Coluccia, Daniela & Dabić, Marina & Del Giudice, Manlio & Fontana, Stefano & Solimene, Silvia, 2020. "R&D innovation indicator and its effects on the market. An empirical assessment from a financial perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 259-271.
    5. Stelios Michalopoulos, 2012. "The Origins of Ethnolinguistic Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1508-1539, June.
    6. Max Nathan & Neil Lee, 2013. "Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 89(4), pages 367-394, October.
    7. Vincent L. Barker , III & George C. Mueller, 2002. "CEO Characteristics and Firm R&D Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 782-801, June.
    8. Alarcón, José Carlos & Aguilar, Rocio & Galán, Jose Luis, 2019. "Determinants of innovation output in Spanish knowledge-intensive service firms: Stability analysis throughout the economic crisis of 2008," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 228-244.
    9. Fassio, Claudio & Montobbio, Fabio & Venturini, Alessandra, 2019. "Skilled migration and innovation in European industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 706-718.
    10. Philippe Aghion & John Van Reenen & Luigi Zingales, 2013. "Innovation and Institutional Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 277-304, February.
    11. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Monika Schnitzer, 2013. "Financial Constraints And Innovation: Why Poor Countries Don'T Catch Up," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(5), pages 1115-1152, October.
    12. Hong, Lu & Page, Scott E., 2001. "Problem Solving by Heterogeneous Agents," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 123-163, March.
    13. Raymond Fisman & Daniel Paravisini & Vikrant Vig, 2017. "Cultural Proximity and Loan Outcomes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 457-492, February.
    14. Weisbach, Michael S., 1988. "Outside directors and CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 431-460, January.
    15. Chen, Ting & Chen, Xianmeng & Wang, Cong & Xiang, Xunyong, 2018. "Export behavior and firm innovation: New method and evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 76-78.
    16. He, Feng & Ma, Yaming & Zhang, Xiaojie, 2020. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate Innovation?–Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 225-239.
    17. Ozgen, Ceren & Nijkamp, Peter & Poot, Jacques, 2013. "Measuring Cultural Diversity and its Impact on Innovation: Longitudinal Evidence from Dutch Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 7129, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Ceren Ozgen & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2013. "The impact of cultural diversity on firm innovation: evidence from Dutch micro-data," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-24, December.
    19. Shen, Huayu & Hou, Fei, 2021. "Trade policy uncertainty and corporate innovation evidence from Chinese listed firms in new energy vehicle industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    20. Fu, Yishu, 2019. "Independent directors, CEO career concerns, and firm innovation: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    21. Hwang, Byoung-Hyoun & Kim, Seoyoung, 2009. "It pays to have friends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 138-158, July.
    22. Guoqiang Hu & Jason Zezhong Xiao & Yuhan Zhen, 2022. "The Effect of Dialect Sharing on Corporate Cash Holdings in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 58(3), pages 393-431, September.
    23. Filipe Silva & Carlos Carreira, 2012. "Do financial constraints threat the innovation process? Evidence from Portuguese firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(8), pages 701-736, November.
    24. Yuan, Rongli & Wen, Wen, 2018. "Managerial foreign experience and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 752-770.
    25. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    26. Xingqiang Du, 2019. "Does CEO-Auditor Dialect Sharing Impair Pre-IPO Audit Quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 699-735, May.
    27. He, Jie (Jack) & Tian, Xuan, 2013. "The dark side of analyst coverage: The case of innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 856-878.
    28. Li, Kai & Griffin, Dale & Yue, Heng & Zhao, Longkai, 2013. "How does culture influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-22.
    29. Zhang, JingJing & Guan, Jiancheng, 2018. "The time-varying impacts of government incentives on innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 132-144.
    30. Bian, Wenlong & Ji, Yang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does dialect similarity add value to banks? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-241.
    31. Fu, Lili & Pan, Liyuan & Wu, Fengyun, 2021. "Does passive investment have a positive governance effect? Evidence from index funds ownership and corporate innovation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 524-545.
    32. Kim, Jaehyeon & Kim, Yongtae & Zhou, Jian, 2017. "Languages and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 288-306.
    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. Guoqiang Hu & Jason Zezhong Xiao & Yuhan Zhen, 2022. "The Effect of Dialect Sharing on Corporate Cash Holdings in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 58(3), pages 393-431, September.
    2. He, Feng & Ma, Yaming & Zhang, Xiaojie, 2020. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate Innovation?–Evidence from China listed companies," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 225-239.
    3. Ceren Ozgen, 2021. "The economics of diversity: Innovation, productivity and the labour market," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1168-1216, September.
    4. Bian, Wenlong & Ji, Yang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does dialect similarity add value to banks? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-241.
    5. Luo, Kun & Lim, Edwin KiaYang & Qu, Wen & Zhang, Xuan, 2021. "Board cultural diversity, government intervention and corporate innovation effectiveness: Evidence from China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    6. Xiaoran Huang & Zheng Qiao & Lei Zhang, 2021. "The real effects of institutional spatial concentration," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(4), pages 1113-1167, December.
    7. Hoang, Trung Xuan & Nguyen, Thang Chien & Nga, Van Thi Le, 2022. "Impact of Internal Migration Diversity on Child Welfare: Evidence from Vietnam," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 63(2), pages 149-168, December.
    8. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    9. Huang, Yi-Hou & Liang, Woan-lih & Truong, Quang-Thai & Wang, Yanzhi, 2022. "No new tricks for old dogs? Old directors and innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    10. Laursen, Keld & Leten, Bart & Nguyen, Ngoc Han & Vancauteren, Mark, 2020. "Mounting corporate innovation performance: The effects of high-skilled migrant hires and integration capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(9).
    11. Matthias Niggli, 2023. "‘Moving On’—investigating inventors’ ethnic origins using supervised learning," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 921-947.
    12. Mark Humphery‐Jenner & Emdad Islam & Lubna Rahman & Jo‐Ann Suchard, 2022. "Powerful CEOs and Corporate Governance," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), pages 135-188, March.
    13. Ullah, Farid & Jiang, Ping & Elamer, Ahmed A. & Owusu, Andrews, 2022. "Environmental performance and corporate innovation in China: The moderating impact of firm ownership," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    14. Fu, Yishu & Liu, Chunbo & Qin, Zhenjiang, 2021. "Does CEO-chairman dialect similarity affect stock price informativeness for Chinese listed firms?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Hu, Haiqing & Wei, Wei & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Examining the impact of extreme temperature on green innovation in China: Evidence from city-level data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    16. Wang, Jimin & Ho, Choy Yeing (Chloe) & Shan, Yuan George, 2024. "Does cybersecurity risk stifle corporate innovation activities?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Kang, Jun-Koo & Liu, Wei-Lin & Low, Angie & Zhang, Le, 2018. "Friendly boards and innovation," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-25.
    18. Matthias Niggli, 2023. "‘Moving On’—investigating inventors’ ethnic origins using supervised learning," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 921-947.
    19. Ting, Hsiu-I & Wang, Ming-Chun & Yang, J. Jimmy & Tuan, Kai-Wen, 2021. "Technical expert CEOs and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Dongying Du & Xiaojian Tang & Huaiming Wang & Joseph H. Zhang & Stephanie Tsui & Dongjie Lin, 2022. "CEO organizational identification and corporate innovation investment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 4185-4217, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate innovation; Culture; Dialect connectedness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

    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:glofin:v:57:y:2023:i:c:s1044028323000315. 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/620162 .

    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.