IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v136y2021icp198-208.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does early-life war exposure of a CEO enhance corporate information transparency?

Author

Listed:
  • Choi, Sanghak
  • Jung, Hail

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between a CEO’s war experience and corporate information transparency. Using the Korean War as an exogenous shock, we find that firms managed by war-exposed CEOs have greater information transparency than firms managed by CEOs who are not war-exposed. Specifically, war-exposed CEOs tend to mitigate information in an asymmetrical fashion as they are more concerned about the potential downside risks. This observation is more pronounced during the global financial crisis. Additionally, war-exposed CEOs who have lived close to the regions where large-scale massacres have occurred seek more information transparency than the CEOs who have lived at a distance from such inhumane experiences. Lastly, we employ regression discontinuity design, propensity score matching, CEO change analysis, and alternative sample regressions to show that the results are not driven by endogeneity concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi, Sanghak & Jung, Hail, 2021. "Does early-life war exposure of a CEO enhance corporate information transparency?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 198-208.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:136:y:2021:i:c:p:198-208
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.07.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321005063
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.07.019?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. Glosten, Lawrence R. & Milgrom, Paul R., 1985. "Bid, ask and transaction prices in a specialist market with heterogeneously informed traders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 71-100, March.
    2. Mark Lang & Karl V. Lins & Mark Maffett, 2012. "Transparency, Liquidity, and Valuation: International Evidence on When Transparency Matters Most," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 729-774, June.
    3. Xue, Xiaolin & Zhang, Junrui & Yu, Yangxin, 2020. "Distracted passive institutional shareholders and firm transparency," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 347-359.
    4. Lee, Chulhee, 2014. "In utero exposure to the Korean War and its long-term effects on socioeconomic and health outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 76-93.
    5. Amihud, Yakov, 2002. "Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time-series effects," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 31-56, January.
    6. Kim, Young-Il & Lee, Jungmin, 2014. "The long-run impact of a traumatic experience on risk aversion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 174-186.
    7. Diamond, Douglas W & Verrecchia, Robert E, 1991. "Disclosure, Liquidity, and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1325-1359, September.
    8. Heitor V. Almeida & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2006. "A Theory of Pyramidal Ownership and Family Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2637-2680, December.
    9. Lawrence, Alastair, 2013. "Individual investors and financial disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 130-147.
    10. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Puri, Manju, 2013. "Managerial attitudes and corporate actions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 103-121.
    11. Hahn, Jinyong & Todd, Petra & Van der Klaauw, Wilbert, 2001. "Identification and Estimation of Treatment Effects with a Regression-Discontinuity Design," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(1), pages 201-209, January.
    12. Upadhyay, Arun & Zeng, Hongchao, 2014. "Gender and ethnic diversity on boards and corporate information environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2456-2463.
    13. Bushee, BJ & Noe, CF, 2000. "Corporate disclosure practices, institutional investors, and stock return volatility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 171-202.
    14. Guido Imbens & Karthik Kalyanaraman, 2012. "Optimal Bandwidth Choice for the Regression Discontinuity Estimator," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(3), pages 933-959.
    15. Kyle, Albert S, 1985. "Continuous Auctions and Insider Trading," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(6), pages 1315-1335, November.
    16. Pham, Mia Hang, 2020. "In law we trust: Lawyer CEOs and stock liquidity," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    17. Iris Kesternich & Bettina Siflinger & James P. Smith & Joachim K. Winter, 2014. "The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 103-118, March.
    18. Kwan, Amy & Masulis, Ronald & McInish, Thomas H., 2015. "Trading rules, competition for order flow and market fragmentation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 330-348.
    19. Richard Akresh & Philip Verwimp & Tom Bundervoet, 2011. "Civil War, Crop Failure, and Child Stunting in Rwanda," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages 777-810.
    20. 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.
    21. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1169-1208.
    22. Dessaint, Olivier & Matray, Adrien, 2017. "Do managers overreact to salient risks? Evidence from hurricane strikes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 97-121.
    23. Irmela F. Koch‐Bayram & Georg Wernicke, 2018. "Drilled to obey? Ex‐military CEOs and financial misconduct," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(11), pages 2943-2964, November.
    24. Shane A. Corwin & Paul Schultz, 2012. "A Simple Way to Estimate Bid‐Ask Spreads from Daily High and Low Prices," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(2), pages 719-760, April.
    25. Zhang, Le, 2017. "CEOs' early-life experiences and corporate policy: Evidence from China's great famine," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA), pages 57-77.
    26. Kelvin K. F. Law & Lillian F. Mills, 2017. "Military experience and corporate tax avoidance," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 141-184, March.
    27. Gollier, Christian & Pratt, John W, 1996. "Risk Vulnerability and the Tempering Effect of Background Risk," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1109-1123, September.
    28. Jeong†Bon Kim & Zheng Wang & Liandong Zhang, 2016. "CEO Overconfidence and Stock Price Crash Risk," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(4), pages 1720-1749, December.
    29. Gennaro Bernile & Vineet Bhagwat & P. Raghavendra Rau, 2017. "What Doesn't Kill You Will Only Make You More Risk-Loving: Early-Life Disasters and CEO Behavior," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(1), pages 167-206, February.
    30. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate & Jon Yan, 2011. "Overconfidence and Early‐Life Experiences: The Effect of Managerial Traits on Corporate Financial Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1687-1733, October.
    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. Liang, Shangkun & Niu, Yuhao & Xin, Fu & Jiang, Lixian, 2024. "CEO foreign experience and corporate financial investment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 929-946.
    2. Daewoung Choi & Hyunju Shin & Kyoungmi Kim, 2023. "CEO’s Childhood Experience of Natural Disaster and CSR Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(2), pages 281-306, November.

    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. Choi, Sanghak & Jung, Hail & Kim, Daejin, 2021. "War-experienced CEOs and corporate policies: Evidence from the Korean war," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    2. Pham, Mia Hang, 2020. "In law we trust: Lawyer CEOs and stock liquidity," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    3. Jung, Hail & Choi, Sanghak, 2021. "The effects of employee stock ownership on stock liquidity: Evidence from the Korean market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    4. Xue, Fei & Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Does CEO's early life experience affect corporate bond yield spread? Evidence from China's great famine," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1012-1024.
    5. Roy, Partha P. & Rao, Sandeep & Zhu, Min, 2022. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and stock market liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Nguyen, Hung T. & Pham, Mia Hang & Truong, Cameron, 2023. "Leadership in a pandemic: Do more able managers keep firms out of trouble?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    7. Qing Wan & Xiaoke Cheng & Kam C. Chan & Shenghao Gao, 2021. "Born to innovate? The birth‐order effect of CEOs on corporate innovation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1846-1888, October.
    8. Craig W. Holden & Stacey Jacobsen & Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, 2014. "The Empirical Analysis of Liquidity," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 8(4), pages 263-365, December.
    9. G. Andrew Karolyi & Dawoon Kim & Rose Liao, 2020. "The Theory and Practice of Investor Relations: A Global Perspective," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4746-4771, October.
    10. Itay Goldstein & Shijie Yang & Luo Zuo, 2020. "The Real Effects of Modern Information Technologies: Evidence from the EDGAR Implementation," NBER Working Papers 27529, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Ali, Searat & Liu, Benjamin & Su, Jen Je, 2017. "Corporate governance and stock liquidity dimensions: Panel evidence from pure order-driven Australian market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 275-304.
    12. Pham, Thu Phuong & Singh, Harminder & Vu, Van Hoang, 2023. "The impact of bank loan announcements on stock liquidity," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 848-864.
    13. Pham, Mia Hang & Merkoulova, Yulia & Veld, Chris, 2024. "Award-winning CEOs and corporate innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    14. Joachim Gassen & Hollis A. Skaife & David Veenman, 2020. "Illiquidity and the Measurement of Stock Price Synchronicity," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 419-456, March.
    15. Chia, Yee-Ee & Lim, Kian-Ping & Goh, Kim-Leng, 2020. "More shareholders, higher liquidity? Evidence from an emerging stock market," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    16. Cui, Xin & Sun, Mengyue & Sensoy, Ahmet & Wang, Panpan & Wang, Yaqi, 2022. "Top executives’ great famine experience and stock price crash risk," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Dayanandan, Ajit & Donker, Han & Karahan, Gökhan, 2017. "Do voluntary disclosures of bad news improve liquidity?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 16-29.
    18. Chen, Yangyang & Fan, Qingliang & Yang, Xin & Zolotoy, Leon, 2021. "CEO early-life disaster experience and stock price crash risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    19. Hao Li & Zhisheng Li, 2022. "The effect of daily price limits on stock liquidity: Evidence from the Chinese stock market," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(5), pages 4885-4917, December.
    20. Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar & Pensiero, Domenico & Velayutham, Eswaran, 2021. "Corruption risk and stock market effects: Evidence from the defence industry," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Childhood experience; CEO characteristics; Corporate information transparency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

    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:jbrese:v:136:y:2021:i:c:p:198-208. 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/jbusres .

    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.