IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v86y2024ics0927538x24002117.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of cybersecurity legislation on firm cost behavior: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Fangjun
  • Wang, Hao
  • Li, Jiyuan

Abstract

Cybersecurity risk has attracted the attention of legislators in various countries. This paper takes cybersecurity law (CSL) rollout in China as an exogenous event to study the impact of cybersecurity legislation on firm cost behavior. We find that cost stickiness decreases after the implementation of CSL. Our results also reveal that CSL reduces cost stickiness by mechanism of enhancing internal control, mitigating agency problem, and lowering managerial optimistic expectations. CSL's effect on cost stickiness exists in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and firms in regions with low privacy sensitivity. CSL reduces stickiness of cost of goods manufactured (COGM), not R&D. CSL's effect on reducing cost stickiness can ultimately enhance firm value. Our research sheds light on the effect of cybersecurity mandates and advances literature on the impact of digital regulations on cost behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Fangjun & Wang, Hao & Li, Jiyuan, 2024. "The effect of cybersecurity legislation on firm cost behavior: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:86:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x24002117
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X24002117
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102460?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. Jian Jia & Ginger Zhe Jin & Liad Wagman, 2021. "The Short-Run Effects of the General Data Protection Regulation on Technology Venture Investment," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(4), pages 661-684, July.
    2. Woo‐Jong Lee & Jeffrey Pittman & Walid Saffar, 2020. "Political Uncertainty and Cost Stickiness: Evidence from National Elections around the World," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(2), pages 1107-1139, June.
    3. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    4. Mark C. Anderson & Rajiv D. Banker & Surya N. Janakiraman, 2003. "Are Selling, General, and Administrative Costs “Sticky”?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 47-63, March.
    5. Crosignani, Matteo & Macchiavelli, Marco & Silva, André F., 2023. "Pirates without borders: The propagation of cyberattacks through firms’ supply chains," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 432-448.
    6. Miguel Godinho de Matos & Idris Adjerid, 2022. "Consumer Consent and Firm Targeting After GDPR: The Case of a Large Telecom Provider," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3330-3378, May.
    7. Pierangelo Rosati & Fabian Gogolin & Theo Lynn, 2022. "Cyber-Security Incidents and Audit Quality," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 701-728, May.
    8. Kamiya, Shinichi & Kang, Jun-Koo & Kim, Jungmin & Milidonis, Andreas & Stulz, René M., 2021. "Risk management, firm reputation, and the impact of successful cyberattacks on target firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 719-749.
    9. Gordon, Lawrence A. & Loeb, Martin P. & Lucyshyn, William & Sohail, Tashfeen, 2006. "The impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on the corporate disclosures of information security activities," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 503-530.
    10. Banker, Rajiv D. & Byzalov, Dmitri & Chen, Lei (Tony), 2013. "Employment protection legislation, adjustment costs and cross-country differences in cost behavior," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 111-127.
    11. Jason V. Chen & Itay Kama & Reuven Lehavy, 2019. "A contextual analysis of the impact of managerial expectations on asymmetric cost behavior," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 665-693, June.
    12. Zhaoyang Gu & Song Tang & Donghui Wu, 2020. "The Political Economy of Labor Employment Decisions: Evidence from China," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(10), pages 4703-4725, October.
    13. Christian Peukert & Stefan Bechtold & Michail Batikas & Tobias Kretschmer, 2022. "Regulatory Spillovers and Data Governance: Evidence from the GDPR," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(4), pages 746-768, July.
    14. Ronny Prabowo & Reggy Hooghiemstra & Paula Van Veen-Dirks, 2018. "State Ownership, Socio-political Factors, and Labor Cost Stickiness," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 771-796, August.
    15. Jane Andrew & Max Baker, 2021. "The General Data Protection Regulation in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 565-578, January.
    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. Fangjun Wang & Lizhu Ma & Baojun Gao & Yang S Liu, 2024. "Does high-speed railway affect the cost behavior of tourism firms? Evidence from China," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(1), pages 212-235, February.
    2. Yuwen Cai & Nijat Hajikhanov & Thomas Kaspereit & Anke Müßig, 2024. "Local party committee and labor cost asymmetry," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 371-403, September.
    3. Mabel D. Costa & Ahsan Habib & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan, 2021. "Financial constraints and asymmetric cost behavior," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 33-83, March.
    4. Naoum, Vasilios-Christos & Ntounis, Dimitrios & Papanastasopoulos, Georgios & Vlismas, Orestes, 2023. "Asymmetric cost behavior: Theory, meta-analysis, and implications," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    5. Xu, Hui & Chan, Kam C. & Na, Chaohong & Fang, Qiaoling, 2023. "The bright side of the internal labor market: Evidence from the labor cost stickiness of firms affiliated with privately owned business groups in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Li, Tongxia & Lu, Chun & Chen, Zhihua, 2023. "The unintended consequence of collateral-based financing: Evidence from corporate cost behavior," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1).
    7. Ibrahim, Awad Elsayed Awad & Ali, Hesham & Aboelkheir, Heba, 2022. "Cost stickiness: A systematic literature review of 27 years of research and a future research agenda," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    8. Long, Zhineng & Xuan, Wenshuang & Zhang, Yanyu, 2023. "The dilemma of hometown identity: Evidence from Chinese corporate cost behavior," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Mert Demirer & Diego Jimenez-Hernandez & Dean Li & Sida Peng, 2024. "Data, Privacy Laws and Firm Production: Evidence from the GDPR," Working Paper Series WP 2024-02, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    10. Chun Lu & James Routledge & Kam C. Chan & Tongxia Li, 2023. "Policy uncertainty and inventory behavior: Evidence from the US manufacturing sector," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 919-948, November.
    11. Mohammed Arkan Sahib Tileal & Farzaneh Nassirzadeh & Mohammad Javad Saei & Davood Askarany, 2023. "The Impact of Ownership Type on Labour Cost Stickiness," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, May.
    12. Xiaotao (Kelvin) Liu & Xiaoxia Liu & Colin D. Reid, 2019. "Stakeholder Orientations and Cost Management," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 486-512, March.
    13. Gu, Yuqi & Ouyang, Bo, 2024. "Debt covenant violations and corporate cost management," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    14. Iny Hwang & Taejin Jung & Woo‐Jong Lee & Daniel G. Yang, 2021. "Asymmetric Inventory Management and the Direction of Sales Changes†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 676-706, March.
    15. Carl Benedikt Frey & Giorgio Presidente, 2024. "Privacy regulation and firm performance: Estimating the GDPR effect globally," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(3), pages 1074-1089, July.
    16. Jeon, Heung-Jae, 2024. "CEO narcissism and asymmetric cost behavior," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Cristiana Cattaneo & Gaia Bassani, 2020. "Sticky costs: le determinanti e le sfide per manager e accademici," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(Suppl. 1), pages 103-126.
    18. Mabel D Costa & Ahsan Habib, 2023. "Cost stickiness and firm value," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 235-273, June.
    19. Wei Huang & Jaehyeon Kim, 2020. "Linguistically Induced Time Perception and Asymmetric Cost Behavior," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(5), pages 755-785, October.
    20. Peng Liang & Hasan Cavusoglu & Nan Hu, 2023. "Customers’ managerial expectations and suppliers’ asymmetric cost management," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(6), pages 1975-1993, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cybersecurity; Legislation; Cost stickiness; Difference-in-differences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K24 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Cyber Law
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • M15 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - IT Management
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    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:86:y:2024:i:c:s0927538x24002117. 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.