IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/rqfnac/v59y2022i1d10.1007_s11156-022-01038-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gaming governance: cosmetic or real corporate governance changes?

Author

Listed:
  • James S. Ang

    (Florida State University)

  • Wei Mike Chen

    (Fuzhou Institute of Technology)

  • Shan Li

    (Xiamen University)

  • Lihong Wang

    (Xiamen University)

Abstract

Using a large sample of firms with corporate governance ratings over the period 2004–2010, we propose that a firm’s governance level depends on the balance between private benefits and the career value of top managers. We find an apparent improvement in the corporate governance quotient (CGQ) when there is a shock to managers’ career value. However, a significant proportion of firms that initially improve their CGQ subsequently reverse these governance changes; a later reduction in external pressure is positively associated with CGQ reversal. Finally, stock market investors are fooled by temporary governance improvements.

Suggested Citation

  • James S. Ang & Wei Mike Chen & Shan Li & Lihong Wang, 2022. "Gaming governance: cosmetic or real corporate governance changes?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 91-121, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:rqfnac:v:59:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-022-01038-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11156-022-01038-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11156-022-01038-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11156-022-01038-y?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. Brick, Ivan E. & Palmon, Oded & Wald, John K., 2006. "CEO compensation, director compensation, and firm performance: Evidence of cronyism?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 403-423, June.
    2. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    3. Daryl Koehn & Joe Ueng, 2005. "Evaluating the Evaluators: Should Investors Trust Corporate Governance Metrics Ratings?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 9(2), pages 111-128, June.
    4. Core, John E. & Guay, Wayne & Larcker, David F., 2008. "The power of the pen and executive compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 1-25, April.
    5. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    6. Lucian Bebchuk & Alma Cohen & Allen Ferrell, 2009. "What Matters in Corporate Governance?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 783-827, February.
    7. Mine Ertugrul & Shantaram Hegde, 2009. "Corporate Governance Ratings and Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 139-160, March.
    8. Gul, Ferdinand A., 2001. "Free cash flow, debt-monitoring and managers' LIFO/FIFO policy choice," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 475-492, December.
    9. Kenneth Lehn & Annette Poulsen, 1989. "Free Cash Flow and Stockholder Gains in Going Private Transactions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 44(3), pages 771-787, July.
    10. Balafas, Nikolaos & Florackis, Chris, 2014. "CEO compensation and future shareholder returns: Evidence from the London Stock Exchange," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 97-115.
    11. Teoh, Siew Hong & Welch, Ivo & Wong, T. J., 1998. "Earnings management and the underperformance of seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 63-99, October.
    12. Allgood, Sam & Farrell, Kathleen A, 2000. "The Effect of CEO Tenure on the Relation between Firm Performance and Turnover," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 23(3), pages 373-390, Fall.
    13. Sam Allgood & Kathleen A. Farrell, 2000. "The Effect Of Ceo Tenure On The Relation Between Firm Performance And Turnover," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 23(3), pages 373-390, September.
    14. Ferreira, Miguel A. & Matos, Pedro, 2008. "The colors of investors' money: The role of institutional investors around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 499-533, June.
    15. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    16. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:2:p:831-868 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Koetter, M. & Bos, J.W.B. & Heid, F. & Kolari, J.W. & Kool, C.J.M. & Porath, D., 2007. "Accounting for distress in bank mergers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 3200-3217, October.
    18. 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.
    19. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    20. Evangelos C. Charalambakis & Ian Garrett, 2019. "On corporate financial distress prediction: What can we learn from private firms in a developing economy? Evidence from Greece," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 467-491, February.
    21. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "Financial Ratios, Discriminant Analysis And The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 589-609, September.
    22. Hermalin, Benjamin E & Weisbach, Michael S, 1998. "Endogenously Chosen Boards of Directors and Their Monitoring of the CEO," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 96-118, March.
    23. Jeongil Seo & Daniel L. Gamache & Cynthia E. Devers & Mason A. Carpenter, 2015. "The role of CEO relative standing in acquisition behavior and CEO pay," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(12), pages 1877-1894, December.
    24. Daines, Robert M. & Gow, Ian D. & Larcker, David F., 2010. "Rating the ratings: How good are commercial governance ratings?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 439-461, December.
    25. Gady Jacoby & Jialong Li & Mingzhi Liu, 2019. "Financial distress, political affiliation and earnings management: the case of politically affiliated private firms," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 508-523, April.
    26. Singh, Manohar & Davidson III, Wallace N., 2003. "Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance mechanisms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 793-816, May.
    27. Larry H. P. Lang & Mara Faccio & Leslie Young, 2001. "Dividends and Expropriation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 54-78, March.
    28. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    29. Edward I. Altman, 1968. "The Prediction Of Corporate Bankruptcy: A Discriminant Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(1), pages 193-194, March.
    30. Chung, Kee H. & Zhang, Hao, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Institutional Ownership," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 247-273, February.
    31. Ronald W. Masulis & Cong Wang & Fei Xie, 2009. "Agency Problems at Dual‐Class Companies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1697-1727, August.
    32. repec:bla:jfinan:v:44:y:1989:i:3:p:771-87 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    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. Purkayastha, Saptarshi & Veliyath, Rajaram & George, Rejie, 2022. "Type I and type II agency conflicts in family firms: An empirical investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 285-299.
    2. Ahsan Habib & Mabel D' Costa & Hedy Jiaying Huang & Md. Borhan Uddin Bhuiyan & Li Sun, 2020. "Determinants and consequences of financial distress: review of the empirical literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1023-1075, April.
    3. Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2014. "Does the independence of independent directors matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 116-134.
    4. Chaiyasit Anuchitworawong, 2010. "The Value of Principles-Based Governance Practices and the Attenuation of Information Asymmetry," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 17(2), pages 171-207, June.
    5. Frerich Buchholz & Kerstin Lopatta & Karen Maas, 2020. "The Deliberate Engagement of Narcissistic CEOs in Earnings Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 663-686, December.
    6. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Boubaker, Sabri & Rouatbi, Wael, 2015. "Ownership structure, control contestability, and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 265-285.
    7. Pavlopoulos, Athanasios & Magnis, Chris & Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2017. "Integrated reporting: Is it the last piece of the accounting disclosure puzzle?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-46.
    8. Xueyan Dong & Kam C. Chan & Yujia Cui & Jenny Xinjiao Guan, 2021. "Strategic deviance and cash holdings," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3-4), pages 742-782, March.
    9. Setia-Atmaja, Lukas & Haman, Janto & Tanewski, George, 2011. "The role of board independence in mitigating agency problem II in Australian family firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 230-246.
    10. Ahmed, Anwer S. & Iwasaki, Takuya, 2021. "Foreign ownership, appointment of independent directors, and firm value: Evidence from Japanese firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    11. Jesus Sáenz González & Emma García-Meca, 2014. "Does Corporate Governance Influence Earnings Management in Latin American Markets?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(3), pages 419-440, May.
    12. Pavol Durana & Lucia Michalkova & Andrej Privara & Josef Marousek & Milos Tumpach, 2021. "Does the life cycle affect earnings management and bankruptcy?," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 12(2), pages 425-461, June.
    13. Marc Berninger & Markus Klug & Dirk Schiereck, 2018. "Börsenrückzüge infolge steigender Corporate-Governance-Anforderungen – Empirische Evidenz von 13 europäischen Kapitalmärkten [Delistings due to Increased Corporate Governance Requirements – Empiric," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 70(4), pages 351-391, December.
    14. Campa, Domenico & Camacho-Miñano, María-del-Mar, 2015. "The impact of SME’s pre-bankruptcy financial distress on earnings management tools," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 222-234.
    15. Serrano-Cinca, Carlos & Gutiérrez-Nieto, Begoña & Bernate-Valbuena, Martha, 2019. "The use of accounting anomalies indicators to predict business failure," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 353-375.
    16. Shoukat Ali & Ramiz ur Rehman & Wang Yuan & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Rizwan Ali, 2022. "Does foreign institutional ownership mediate the nexus between board diversity and the risk of financial distress? A case of an emerging economy of China," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(3), pages 553-581, September.
    17. Timothy J. Quigley & Adam J. Wowak & Craig Crossland, 2020. "Board Predictive Accuracy in Executive Selection Decisions: How Do Initial Board Perceptions of CEO Quality Correspond with Subsequent CEO Career Performance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(3), pages 720-741, May.
    18. Souad Chaieb, 2021. "The Impact of Cash Holding on Debt Cost," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(6), pages 75-93.
    19. McKnight, Phillip J. & Weir, Charlie, 2009. "Agency costs, corporate governance mechanisms and ownership structure in large UK publicly quoted companies: A panel data analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 139-158, May.
    20. Jaspreet Kaur & Madhu Vij & Ajay Kumar Chauhan, 2023. "Signals influencing corporate credit ratings—a systematic literature review," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 50(1), pages 91-114, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Governance rating; External pressure; Agency cost; CEO tenure; Institutional shareholding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage

    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:kap:rqfnac:v:59:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11156-022-01038-y. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    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.