Career concerns and earnings management in government‐owned banks

Abstract

We examine how government ownership in banks affects earnings management to determine whether competing political or agency interests prevail. Using bank ownership data for 171 Chinese commercial banks from 2006 to 2018, we find more accruals management in government-owned banks, especially to reduce earnings. This effect is stronger in banks with less influence from controlling shareholders, more concentrated ownership structures, and in more developed provinces. Overall, our results find support for the agency view, where managers in government-owned banks use accruals management to reduce social and political responsibilities, leading to increases in their promotion prospects.

I Want to Marry Rich: Why Cash Makes You a Desirable Partner

Abstract

Both academics and practitioners frequently argue that ‘excessive’ firm cash reserves are likely to be squandered and thus may actually be detrimental to firm performance. Contrary to this narrative, we show that large cash reserves can have strong benefits for firms. Specifically, being cash-rich helps firms form more strategic partnerships because cash helps assure potential partners that the focal firm will be able to adapt to unfolding contingencies. This assurance is particularly relevant in industry conditions that make disruptions either more likely or more costly. We explain how such disruptions arise due to uncertainty about partners' behaviours and thereby extend the literature in the area of transaction cost economics by shifting the focus from intentional opportunism to encompass unintentional factors that can impede a firm's ability to honour partnership agreements. This shift highlights a beneficial role of excess cash that is often overshadowed by the popular narrative on its wastefulness.

The fatter the tail, the shorter the sail

Abstract

Guided by the extreme value theory, this study empirically investigates the impact of tail risk measures on financial distress of publicly traded bank holding companies (BHCs) in the United States. Our results show that tail risk measures namely, value-at-risk and expected shortfall, are significantly and positively related to banks distress risk. Implying that BHCs with more frequent extreme negative daily equity returns induce higher tail risks, thereby increasing their likelihood of experiencing financial distress. Our results also show that tail risk measures enhance the explanatory power of traditional models explaining banks distress risk based on accounting information. These results indicate that market discipline is generally beneficial in managing and regulating banks, bolstering claims of the importance of macro-prudential supervision of financial institutions.

Entrepreneurial Intentions: What Is Known, Unknown, and Lacking? A Unifying Review and New Pathways for Potential Research

Business Perspectives and Research, Ahead of Print.
This research provides a bibliometric account of the research on Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) from the “Scopus” database. Based on 1,345 articles published during a period of 28 years (i.e., 1993–2021), the study analyzes the conceptual structure of the work on EI. The study finds prospective synergies and interactions, thereby classifying the scientific literature into various clusters that address similar problems and share common themes. The development of imminent research streams built on quantitative and qualitative content analyses of the clustered publications highlighting previously overlooked idiosyncrasies of EI and their role across multiple levels of analysis and varied contexts can be considered as an accomplishment of this review. The study furthermore proposes a framework for the conceptualization of novel models for future exploration of EI. However, the research suggests some pathways to develop and empirically test statistical models emerging from the flow of scientific inquiry. The study urges researchers to use the case study method to evaluate EI. This study will help both pioneer and veteran EI researchers and other stakeholders benefit, who also intend to explore new directions for future investigations offering integration and synchronization with other fields of research.

Period Power: Organizational Stigma, Multimodality, and Social Entrepreneurship in the Menstrual Products Industry

Abstract

In this article, we contribute to the recent direction in the organizational stigma literature that focuses on stigma as providing opportunities for organizations. Drawing on a qualitative abductive study of 90 social enterprises in the menstrual products industry, we extend the literature by showing how the organizational form of social enterprises allows them to put the societal issue of menstruation stigma at the core of their ventures. Specifically, we find that these social enterprises take a disruptive strategy, and we elaborate on the tactics of normalization and moralization on which they draw by highlighting the essential role of multimodality in the process of destigmatizing menstruation. In light of the tabooed nature of menstruation, this multimodal approach is key to challenging existing hidden, taken-for-granted norms around menstruation and supplanting them with alternative ones. Our study has important implications for the literatures on organizational stigma, social enterprises, and multimodality and points to their strong conceptual complementarity for understanding processes of societal change.