Daoguang Yang, Jiani Wang and Hanwen Chen
This study aims to investigate whether and how earnings guidance affects corporate innovation.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether and how earnings guidance affects corporate innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Exploiting the setting of China, where the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has required all public firms listed on its ChiNext board to issue earnings guidance since 2012, this study uses a difference-in-differences (DID) methodology to examine the effect of earnings guidance on corporate innovation and further conducts cross-sectional analyzes from the information risk and monitoring demand perspectives. Moreover, the authors conduct path analysis to verify the possible channels through which corporate innovation is impeded by market pressure or improved through increased corporate transparency.
Findings
This study documents a positive relationship between earnings guidance and corporate innovation, as measured by the number of invention patents, indicating that the “corporate governance” hypothesis dominates in China. Cross-sectional analyzes show that this positive effect is more pronounced for firms subject to greater information risk and monitoring demand. Finally, the path analysis further confirms that earnings guidance improves innovation by increasing corporate transparency.
Practical implications
First, this study captures the bright side of mandatory earnings guidance and suggests that increasing the disclosure frequency can yield benefits for firms. Second, the findings imply that regulations, regardless of what they refer to, should be based on a country’s specific context.
Originality/value
First, this study provides evidence supporting the “corporate governance” argument based on the context of China and, thus contributes to the debate on earnings guidance. Second, this study enriches the literature on the economic consequences of earnings guidance. Third, the study extends research on the determinants of corporate innovation.
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Hanwen Chen, Siyi Liu, Daoguang Yang and Di Zhang
This study aims to investigate the role of regional environmental transparency on corporate environmental disclosure.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of regional environmental transparency on corporate environmental disclosure.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the introduction of a nationwide automated air pollution monitoring network in China as a quasi-natural experiment and employs regression analysis. Robustness checks, including parallel trend test and placebo test, are performed to test the robustness of the results.
Findings
Sharing air pollution data with the public can improve corporate environmental disclosure. Firms with poorer environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance prefer to disclose less informative information after the automated network is implemented compared with firms with better ESG performance. The relationship between information sharing and corporate environmental transparency is more pronounced when local air pollution is severer, firms face stronger investor scrutiny and firms are from heavily polluting industries. The mechanism tests suggest the automated system can draw public environmental attention and improve governments’ aspiration for environmental governance. Finally, corporate environmental disclosure can reduce stock price crash risk and cost of equity.
Practical implications
Real-time pollution data reporting is an important solution to raising public environmental awareness and then enhancing the effectiveness of pollution control.
Social implications
This study has implications for policy-making regarding environmental governance and environmental disclosure.
Originality/value
This study confirms that pollution information transparency can motivate firms to increase environmental disclosure.
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In order to find a way to create the artistic conception of modern landscape space, the spatial analysis of Daguanyuan is carried out from the perspective of literature in order…
Abstract
In order to find a way to create the artistic conception of modern landscape space, the spatial analysis of Daguanyuan is carried out from the perspective of literature in order to find out the method of creating the artistic conception of modern landscape space. Adopting the method of general to special, from theory to practice, the argument with special significance is analyzed from the most common phenomena, and this argument is applied to the method of practical cases. The results show that Daguanyuan space in literature needs the audience's ability to understand words, the perception of space in film and television needs the audience's strong memory and imaginative thinking, while the perception of Daguanyuan space in garden art needs only basic discrimination ability. After analyzing the effect of Daguanyuan space construction from the literary perspective, it is believed that the writing techniques of starting point - development - climax - ending, wanting to carry forward first and restraining first, and reserving foreshadows in literature can be used for reference in modern landscape design.
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China is among one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The massive land mass of China also means that the Chinese people are subject to weather extremes as well as…
Abstract
China is among one of the oldest civilizations in the world. The massive land mass of China also means that the Chinese people are subject to weather extremes as well as topographical variety in a country which cuts across alpine heights, treacherous deserts, lush valleys, dusty plains and lengthy rivers. With these weather extremes as the backdrop, it is crucial for the Chinese people to develop appropriate environmental control techniques for their dwellings as well as to ensure the structural integrity of their buildings. This paper discusses the protection, heating, anti‐seismic and dampness techniques developed and implemented in ancient China. It also documents the measures taken by the ancient Chinese to ensure the structural integrity of their buildings. The examples highlighted in this paper suggest that the building science principles adopted in ancient China remain relevant in the construction industry today.
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This article investigates social history in Hong Kong and compares their community transformation with two Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, namely the Sai Kung Tin Hau and Hip Tin…
Abstract
Purpose
This article investigates social history in Hong Kong and compares their community transformation with two Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, namely the Sai Kung Tin Hau and Hip Tin Temple and Shaukiwan Tin Hau Old Temple.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conducts a historical comparison to evaluate the vitality of traditional regions in Hong Kong with particular attention to the extent and intensity of its religious practice.
Findings
The paper fills a gap in the literature by comprehensively investigating Chinese temple related societies and communities. Most previous studies of Chinese temples and their rituals have treated them in isolation from their political contexts, emphasizing topics such as iconography over details of temple communities and their relationships with other elements of the social structure.
Originality/value
The research works from the point of view how the religious situation reflects important social characteristics and transformation of Shaukiwan and Sai Kung which were contemporary urban communities.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cultural beliefs on governance in a business network without a legal institutional framework. Particular emphasis is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of cultural beliefs on governance in a business network without a legal institutional framework. Particular emphasis is placed on the cross-country remittance mail operating network in Chaoshan, China, during the period 1860-1949. This investigation builds on Greif’s business governance theory and develops an analytical framework that considers cultural beliefs, agency relationships and multilateral punishment mechanisms. Furthermore, it uses the institutional analysis method to identify the institutional factors that sustained the remittance mail operating networks and their underlying mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the qualitative research method. First, it investigates the history of the remittance mail operating network and agency relationships by searching through the contents of the relevant historical documents preserved in the official archives and information found in other records. Thereafter, it summarizes and demonstrates the cultural beliefs inferred from that research. The archival materials permit analysis of the interactions between cultural beliefs, agency relationships and multilateral punishment mechanisms by the institutional analysis method.
Findings
Due to the lack of legal institutions in China during the period under review, cultural beliefs played a central institutional role in cross-country business relations. Network governance was coupled with clan cultural beliefs in the remittance mail operating network. This relationship was the key to sustain the efficient operation of the remittance mail network.
Originality/value
In the West, corporate governance has been influenced by and has become an integral feature of Western culture and values. This is not necessarily so for the corporate governance in terms of Chinese culture and values. Thus, instead of mimicking the modes of developed countries, it is important for Chinese enterprises to seek a mode of corporate governance that is in accord with their local cultures. This may be an important focus for enterprise development.
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Vishnu K. Ramesh and A. Athira
This study examines the association between geopolitical risk (GPR) and corporate tax, which is a major source of revenue for the government and a significant explicit cost for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the association between geopolitical risk (GPR) and corporate tax, which is a major source of revenue for the government and a significant explicit cost for firms. The authors use a comprehensive measure of GPR to study its effects on corporate taxes by using an international sample.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt the geopolitical measure constructed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) as a proxy for GPR and cash-effective tax rate benchmarked with statutory tax rate to measure corporate tax avoidance. The authors employ panel regression with fixed effects (FEs) to investigate the impact of GPR on corporate tax avoidance. The authors also conduct a battery of robustness tests to ensure the strength of the study’s results.
Findings
This study’s empirical results indicate that sample firms increase their tax avoidance amid increasing GPR. Further analyses show that financial constraints incentivize firms to avoid taxes during rising geopolitical tensions. The authors also provide evidence on the role of firm-level and country-level governance in weakening the association between GPR and tax avoidance.
Practical implications
Policymakers and governments may strengthen the enforcement rule to limit aggressive tax practices of corporates during GPR to balance fiscal deficit. In addition, this study sheds light on the debate among administrators and politicians over the efficacy of current tax laws and governance structures in the presence of heightened GPR.
Originality/value
The authors extend the literature on GPR by analyzing its effect on corporate tax avoidance. Unlike existing single-country studies, the authors use a cross-country setup to investigate the impact of GPR on tax avoidance, making this study’s results more generalizable as the authors control for a host of country, industry, and time factors. Apart from political uncertainty, terrorism, and climatic issues, the authors document GPR as a strong macroeconomic driver of corporate tax avoidance. The authors make a new contribution to the literature on the moderating role of governance and institutional factors on the association between tax avoidance and GPR in an international context. The authors also contribute to the literature on macroeconomic determinants of tax avoidance.