同籍高管身份认同与公司治理:来自中国上市公司的证据

Identity of Hometown-Connected Executives and Corporate Governance:Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

中国是典型的关系型市场,相同的籍贯为身份认同提供了天然的情感纽带。本文以2007-2019年沪深A股上市公司为样本,立足于中国人重视乡土情结的文化基础,深入考察同籍董事长和总经理的身份认同对公司治理的影响。结果发现,当董事长和总经理来自同一个城市时,股东和管理层之间的代理成本更小。相比于国有企业,同籍董事长和总经理对公司治理的积极影响在民营企业中更为明显;此外,当同籍董事长和总经理在家乡地经营企业,或者有海外工作和学习经历时,身份认同将不再发挥作用;而当企业面临经营困境时,同籍董事长和总经理对改善公司治理的积极作用更为凸显。最后发现,同籍董事长和总经理经营的企业具有更好的盈利能力。本文为理解中国正式制度不完善下的公司治理问题提供了经验证据。

China is a typical market established on relationship.Having the same hometown provides Chinese people a natural emotional bond to form identity.We use a sample of A-share companies listed on either the Shenzhen or the Shanghai stock exchanges from 2007 to 2019,and deeply investigate the impact of chairmen’s and managers’identities on corporate governance based on the cultural background that Chinese people attach great importance to hometown ties.The results indicate a smaller agency cost between shareholders and the management team when the chairman and the manager come from the same city.Further research shows that the impact of hometown connectedness is more pronounced in private companies than in state-owned companies.Moreover,when the chairman and the manager operate the company in their hometown,or have overseas work or educational experience,identity will no longer play a role.However,the hometown connectedness between the chairman and the manager exerts a greater positive influence on corporate governance when the company faces business difficulties.The final results suggest that the company with hometown-connected chairmen and managers earn more profits.This paper provides empirical evidence for understanding the corporate governance under the imperfect formal system in China.