IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/fobric/v12y2018i1d10.1186_s11782-018-0038-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Non-family chair and corporate performance

Author

Listed:
  • Fuxiu Jiang

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Xiaojia Zheng

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Wei Tang

    (Renmin University of China)

Abstract

Using a sample of Chinese family firms listed from 1999 to 2014, we investigate the relationship between non-family leadership and firm performance. We find that firms with a non-family member as board chair perform significantly worse than firms whose chair belongs to the family. Moreover, we show that the underperformance of non-family-chair firms is more pronounced when firms are under weaker outside monitoring and when the controlling families care less about family business longevity. The negative effect of a non-family chair is robust to a variety of endogeneity tests. We also dismiss alternative explanations other than concern for reputation. Overall, our empirical results suggest that the social norms regarding family reputation are important in shaping the controlling shareholders’ expropriation incentives and firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Fuxiu Jiang & Xiaojia Zheng & Wei Tang, 2018. "Non-family chair and corporate performance," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-30, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:fobric:v:12:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s11782-018-0038-6
    DOI: 10.1186/s11782-018-0038-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s11782-018-0038-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s11782-018-0038-6?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. Kai Li & Tan Wang & Yan-Leung Cheung & Ping Jiang, 2011. "Privatization and Risk Sharing: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2499-2525.
    2. David Sraer & David Thesmar, 2007. "Performance and Behavior of Family Firms: Evidence from the French Stock Market," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(4), pages 709-751, June.
    3. David L. Deephouse & Peter Jaskiewicz, 2013. "Do Family Firms Have Better Reputations Than Non-Family Firms? An Integration of Socioemotional Wealth and Social Identity Theories," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 337-360, May.
    4. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    5. Amit, Raphael & Ding, Yuan & Villalonga, Belén & Zhang, Hua, 2015. "The role of institutional development in the prevalence and performance of entrepreneur and family-controlled firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 284-305.
    6. Qi Chen & Xiao Chen & Katherine Schipper & Yongxin Xu & Jian Xue, 2012. "The Sensitivity of Corporate Cash Holdings to Corporate Governance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(12), pages 3610-3644.
    7. Jameson, Melvin & Prevost, Andrew & Puthenpurackal, John, 2014. "Controlling shareholders, board structure, and firm performance: Evidence from India," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-20.
    8. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    9. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Lloyd P. Steier & Sabine B. Rau, 2012. "Sources of Heterogeneity in Family Firms: An Introduction," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(6), pages 1103-1113, November.
    10. 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.
    11. Seung Ho Park & Yadong Luo, 2001. "Guanxi and organizational dynamics: organizational networking in Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 455-477, May.
    12. Jeffrey Zwiebel, 1995. "Block Investment and Partial Benefits of Corporate Control," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(2), pages 161-185.
    13. Chahine, Salim & Goergen, Marc, 2013. "The effects of management-board ties on IPO performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 153-179.
    14. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    15. Michael C. Withers & Markus A. Fitza, 2017. "Do board chairs matter? The influence of board chairs on firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 1343-1355, June.
    16. Chen, Xin & Arnoldi, Jakob & Na, Chaohong, 2015. "Governance Structure and Related Party Loan Guarantees: The Case of Chinese Family Business Groups," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 599-619, December.
    17. Isakov, Dušan & Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, 2014. "Are founding families special blockholders? An investigation of controlling shareholder influence on firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-16.
    18. McConaughy, Daniel L. & Walker, Michael C. & Henderson, Glenn Jr. & Mishra, Chandra S., 1998. "Founding family controlled firms: Efficiency and value," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19.
    19. Randall Morck & David Stangeland & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Inherited Wealth, Corporate Control, and Economic Growth The Canadian Disease?," NBER Chapters, in: Concentrated Corporate Ownership, pages 319-372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Fan, Joseph P. H. & Wong, T. J., 2002. "Corporate ownership structure and the informativeness of accounting earnings in East Asia," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 401-425, August.
    21. Firth, Michael & He, Xianjie & Rui, Oliver M. & Xiao, Tusheng, 2014. "Paragon or pariah? The consequences of being conspicuously rich in China's new economy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 430-448.
    22. Bertrand, Marianne & Johnson, Simon & Samphantharak, Krislert & Schoar, Antoinette, 2008. "Mixing family with business: A study of Thai business groups and the families behind them," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 466-498, June.
    23. Luc Laeven & Ross Levine, 2008. "Complex Ownership Structures and Corporate Valuations," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 579-604, April.
    24. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    25. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    26. Jiang, Guohua & Rao, Pingui & Yue, Heng, 2015. "Tunneling through Non-Operational Fund Occupancy: An investigation based on officially identified activities," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 295-311.
    27. Smith, Brian F. & Amoako-Adu, Ben, 1999. "Management succession and financial performance of family controlled firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 341-368, December.
    28. Morck, Randall K. (ed.), 2000. "Concentrated Corporate Ownership," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226536781, August.
    29. Ma, Liangbo & Ma, Shiguang & Tian, Gary, 2013. "Political connections, founder-managers, and their impact on tunneling in China's listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 312-339.
    30. Morten Bennedsen & Kasper Meisner Nielsen & Francisco Perez-Gonzalez & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2007. "Inside the Family Firm: The Role of Families in Succession Decisions and Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 647-691.
    31. Cucculelli, Marco & Micucci, Giacinto, 2008. "Family succession and firm performance: Evidence from Italian family firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 17-31, February.
    32. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    33. Jonathan M. Karpoff & D. Scott Lee & Gerald S. Martin, 2014. "The Consequences to Managers for Financial Misrepresentation," Springer Books, in: Roberto Pietra & Stuart McLeay & Joshua Ronen (ed.), Accounting and Regulation, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 339-375, Springer.
    34. Fahlenbrach, Rüdiger, 2009. "Founder-CEOs, Investment Decisions, and Stock Market Performance," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(2), pages 439-466, April.
    35. Andres, Christian, 2008. "Large shareholders and firm performance--An empirical examination of founding-family ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 431-445, September.
    36. Di Cai & Jin-hui Luo & Di-fang Wan, 2012. "Family CEOs: Do they benefit firm performance in China?," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 923-947, December.
    37. repec:oup:rfinst:v:25:y::i:12:p:3610-3644 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. repec:bla:ijurrs:v:24:y:2000:i:2:p:379-396 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    40. Randall K. Morck, 2000. "Concentrated Corporate Ownership," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morc00-1.
    41. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    42. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    43. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    44. Bae, Kee-Hong & Kang, Jun-Koo & Wang, Jin, 2011. "Employee treatment and firm leverage: A test of the stakeholder theory of capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 130-153, April.
    45. Mullins, William & Schoar, Antoinette, 2016. "How do CEOs see their roles? Management philosophies and styles in family and non-family firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 24-43.
    46. Ayse Pamuk, 2000. "Informal Institutional Arrangements in Credit, Land Markets and Infrastructure Delivery in Trinidad," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 379-496, June.
    47. Michael N. Young & Mike W. Peng & David Ahlstrom & Garry D. Bruton & Yi Jiang, 2008. "Corporate Governance in Emerging Economies: A Review of the Principal–Principal Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 196-220, January.
    48. Xiaowei Rose Luo & Chi-Nien Chung, 2013. "Filling or Abusing the Institutional Void? Ownership and Management Control of Public Family Businesses in an Emerging Market," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 591-613, April.
    49. Elster, Jon, 1989. "Social Norms and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 99-117, Fall.
    50. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:1301-1327 is not listed on IDEAS
    51. Geoffrey Martin & Joanna Tochman Campbell & Luis Gomez-Mejia, 2016. "Family Control, Socioemotional Wealth and Earnings Management in Publicly Traded Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 453-469, February.
    52. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    53. Maury, Benjamin, 2006. "Family ownership and firm performance: Empirical evidence from Western European corporations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 321-341, January.
    54. Thomas M. Zellweger & Robert S. Nason & Mattias Nordqvist & Candida G. Brush, 2013. "Why Do Family Firms Strive for Nonfinancial Goals? An Organizational Identity Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 229-248, March.
    55. Liu, Qigui & Luo, Tianpei & Tian, Gary Gang, 2015. "Family control and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 220-245.
    56. Ryan Krause & Matthew Semadeni & Michael C. Withers, 2016. "That special someone: When the board views its chair as a resource," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9), pages 1990-2002, September.
    57. Miller, Danny & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Lester, Richard H. & Cannella Jr., Albert A., 2007. "Are family firms really superior performers?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 829-858, December.
    58. Cao, Jerry & Cumming, Douglas & Wang, Xiaoming, 2015. "One-child policy and family firms in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 317-329.
    59. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding‐Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1328, June.
    60. W. Gibb Dyer Jr. & David A. Whetten, 2006. "Family Firms and Social Responsibility: Preliminary Evidence from the S&P 500," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(6), pages 785-802, November.
    61. Xu, Nianhang & Yuan, Qingbo & Jiang, Xuanyu & Chan, Kam C., 2015. "Founder's political connections, second generation involvement, and family firm performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 243-259.
    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. Jiang, Fuxiu & Cai, Xinni & Nofsinger, John R. & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2020. "Can reputation concern restrain bad news hoarding in family firms?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Suveera Gill & Parmjit Kaur, 2015. "Family Involvement in Business and Financial Performance: A Panel Data Analysis," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 40(4), pages 395-420, December.
    3. González, Maximiliano & Guzmán, Alexander & Pombo, Carlos & Trujillo, María-Andrea, 2012. "Family firms and financial performance: The cost of growing," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 626-649.
    4. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He & Kwok, Chuck C.Y., 2016. "Family control and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 131-146.
    5. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Andros Gregoriou, 2010. "‘Family’ Ownership, Tunnelling And Earnings Management: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 705-730, September.
    6. Hamadi, Malika & Heinen, Andréas, 2015. "Firm performance when ownership is very concentrated: Evidence from a semiparametric panel," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 172-194.
    7. Saito, Takuji, 2008. "Family firms and firm performance: Evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 620-646, December.
    8. Jiang, Fuxiu & Jiang, Zhan & Kim, Kenneth A. & Zhang, Min, 2015. "Family-firm risk-taking: Does religion matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 260-278.
    9. Zhou, Haoyong & He, Fan & Wang, Yangbo, 2017. "Did family firms perform better during the financial crisis? New insights from the S&P 500 firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 88-103.
    10. Caprio, Lorenzo & Croci, Ettore & Del Giudice, Alfonso, 2011. "Ownership structure, family control, and acquisition decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1636-1657.
    11. Breuer, Wolfgang & Knetsch, Andreas, 2022. "Informal authority and economic outcomes of family firms: An issue of national power distance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    12. Pindado, Julio & Requejo, Ignacio & de la Torre, Chabela, 2014. "Family control, expropriation, and investor protection: A panel data analysis of Western European corporations," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 58-74.
    13. Bennedsen, Morten & Fan, Joseph P.H. & Jian, Ming & Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2015. "The family business map: Framework, selective survey, and evidence from Chinese family firm succession," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 212-226.
    14. Isakov, Dušan & Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, 2014. "Are founding families special blockholders? An investigation of controlling shareholder influence on firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-16.
    15. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5922 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2019. "Corporate governance and family succession: New evidence from Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    17. Jiang, Fuxiu & Wang, Weiyi & Zheng, Xiaojia, 2024. "Board chair and credit rating of family firms: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    18. Hegde, Shantaram & Seth, Rama & Vishwanatha, S.R., 2020. "Ownership concentration and stock returns: Evidence from family firms in India," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Jameson, Melvin & Prevost, Andrew & Puthenpurackal, John, 2014. "Controlling shareholders, board structure, and firm performance: Evidence from India," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-20.
    20. Markin, Erik T. & Skorodziyevskiy, Vitaliy & Zhu, Lina & Chrisman, James J. & Fang, Hanqing “Chevy”, 2022. "Lone-founder firms in China: Replicating Miller et al. (2007) in a different context," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    21. Weiping Liu & Haibin Yang & Guangxi Zhang, 2012. "Does family business excel in firm performance? An institution-based view," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 965-987, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Non-family chair; Non-family leadership; Corporate performance; Family firms; Family reputation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    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:spr:fobric:v:12:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s11782-018-0038-6. 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://www.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.