Improve Investment Efficiency Research Articles

Brand capital and corporate investment efficiency

AbstractUsing a sample of US firms from 1975 to 2021, we show that brand capital improves investment efficiency, which is robust to various measures of brand capital and investment efficiency. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we exploit the passage of the Federal Trademark Dilution Act as an exogenous shock to brand capital and find that it strengthens the positive effect of brand capital. Our cross‐sectional analyses show that this positive relationship is more pronounced for firms with greater financial constraints and higher information asymmetry. These results suggest that brand capital reduces over‐ and under‐investment through alleviating financial constraints and information asymmetry.

Does climate policy uncertainty impair or improve corporate investment efficiency?

Climate policy uncertainty (CPU) has been a topical issue given its widespread impacts, but its effect on corporate investment efficiency is arguable. Based on a sample of Chinese listed firms, we find that higher CPU results in lower investment levels while higher investment sensitivity to investment opportunities. This suggests that CPU improves investment efficiency by pushing firms to reduce investment expenditures and align their investment decisions more in line with investment opportunities. We name this finding as the pushback effect of CPU and find that it is more pronounced for firms with overinvestment or tight financial conditions.

A Multi-Agent Financial Investment Decision Method Based on Evolutionary Game

Data-driven smart investment decisions are important for financial development, which has not received much attention from academia. As a result, this paper resorts to the evolutionary game theory, and proposes a novel multi-agent financial investment decision method. Specifically, an evolutionary game theory-based decision-making approach is formulated as the main model for the research purpose. By considering the strategic choices and adaptability among various entities, a comprehensive analysis of the behavior and decision-making process of entities in the financial market is achieved. This paper combines stock exchanges and financial data providers (Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters) to conduct case studies on this method, verifying its effectiveness and feasibility in practical applications. By comparing traditional financial investment decision-making methods, it can be seen that the proposal has significant advantages in improving investment efficiency, reducing risks, and responding to market volatility. This paper delves into the multi-agent financial investment decision-making method based on the evolutionary game, providing new ideas and methods for academic research and practical applications in the financial field.

Layers of Auditor Industry Specialization: Evidence from Client Firms’ Investment Efficiency

ABSTRACT We examine the influence of different layers of auditor industry specialization on client firms’ investment efficiency. We differentiate between industry specialization at the firm and partner levels, and joint specialization (i.e., at both firm and partner levels combined). Using observations from Taiwan between 1998 and 2017, we observe a positive association between joint specialization and client investment efficiency. Specialization at the firm or partner levels alone does not improve investment efficiency. In addition, client firm performance is positively associated with joint specialization. Auditors charge a premium for the firm- and joint-level specialization. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M40; M42.

Trends in corporate financial strategies: Analyzing investment efficiency among listed Indonesian companies

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of conservatism, debt maturity, and debt covenants on investment efficiency in Indonesian firms, with a focus on the food and staples retail and food and beverage sub-sectors. This study aims to address information asymmetry between agents and principals, using agency theory as the theoretical framework. A quantitative approach is used using secondary data sourced from financial reports available on the IDX website and company websites. This study took a sample of 329 companies using non-probability sampling technique. Data processing using linear regression method. The results show that conservatism significantly improves investment efficiency, while debt maturity and debt covenants do not show a significant effect. This study underscores the importance of conservative financial reporting practices in improving investment efficiency in the Indonesian corporate sector.

Political connections and investment efficiency of renewable energy enterprises: The role of marketization

Using data from 77 listed renewable energy enterprises in China and the threshold effect model, this study investigates the impact of political connections on the investment efficiencies of renewable energy enterprises at different degrees of marketization. A Richardson residual measurement model is applied to measure this efficiency. Further, this study constructs a cash flow sensitivity model to analyze how the political connections affect investment efficiency through financing factors and then analyzes the four external financing channels using a path analysis. The results show that when the degree of marketization is less than 9.280, political connections can improve investment efficiency. When the degree of marketization exceeds 9.280, the influence of political connections on investment efficiency is statistically insignificant. At a low marketization stage, political connections enhance the ability of enterprises to acquire resources through four kinds of external financing channels: bank credit, corporate bonds, commercial credit, and equity financing. This supports investment efficiency by reducing cash flow sensitivity. Due to the differences in the nature of the enterprises and personnel appointments, non-state-owned renewable energy enterprises with political connections experience more significant differences with respect to the impact on investment efficiency under different marketization levels.

The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on the Investment Efficiency of Publicly Listed Companies in China Based on Sustainable Development

The development and utilization of supply chain finance play a pivotal role in both enhancing financial structures and delivering substantial support for the sustainable progress of the real economy. This assistance is essential for promoting high-quality economic growth and ensuring stable, long-term development. This study empirically examines the effects of supply chain finance on investment efficiency, exploring the underlying mechanisms involved. Additionally, it assesses whether financing constraints and information asymmetry serve as mediating variables in the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency among enterprises. The analysis is based on data from publicly listed companies in China covering the period from 2013 to 2022. The results indicate that supply chain finance effectively addresses both overinvestment and underinvestment issues, leading to a notable improvement in overall investment efficiency. Utilizing a two-way fixed effects model to analyze the role of financing constraints and information asymmetry as mediating variables, the study demonstrates that both factors significantly mediate the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency within enterprises. Supply chain finance improves investment efficiency by mitigating financing constraints and lessening information asymmetry between enterprises and external stakeholders. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive impact of supply chain finance on investment efficiency is notably greater in non-state-owned enterprises and in regions with more advanced development.

Corporate financialization and overseas investment efficiency: Evidence from China

This study examines the relationship between corporate financialization and outbound investment effectiveness based on empirical data from Chinese companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2010 to 2022. The study finds that corporate financialization greatly improves investment efficiency by alleviating financial constraints and reducing operating costs. The study provides insight into the implications of financialization for firms’ investment efficiency in foreign markets and generates significant guidance for practitioners.

Does banking competition increase corporate labor income share? Evidence from China

This paper investigates the impact of banking competition on corporate labor income share in China. Utilizing hand-collected unique data on bank branches within a certain distance of firms and a large sample of Chinese A-share list firms spanning the period 2000–2022, we find that banking competition significantly boosts corporate labor income share. A 10 percent increase in banking competition, the corporate labor income share increases by 0.06 percent on average. The results remain robust after replacing proxies, changing estimation methods, controlling for other shocks, and addressing endogenous concerns. Easing financing constraints, improving investment efficiency, and enhancing human capital are three essential channels through which banking competition promotes corporate labor income share. We also find that the impact of banking competition on corporate labor income share is more pronounced for firms with higher external financing dependence, higher financing gaps, more investment opportunities, higher governance efficiency, and higher information asymmetry. Our findings highlight the significance of enhancing banking competition to promote income distribution, foster common prosperity, and drive high-quality economic development.

Debt maturity, governance and investment efficiency: new evidence from emerging market

PurposeThis study investigates the combined influence of corporate governance (CG) and debt maturity (DM) on the investment inefficiency among non-financial 506 NSE-listed firms in India between 2009 and 2022. Additionally, this study also investigates the moderating effect of short-term debt (STD) maturity concerning the relationship between CG and investment inefficiency.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing the residuals extracted from the Biddle et al. (2009) investment model, three different forms of investment inefficiency (investment inefficiency, overinvestment and underinvestment) were measured. To measure the internal governance of firms, a new corporate governance index (CGI) was developed using 65 new governance stipulations, whereas STD was measured as short-term debt divided by total debt. Interaction effects between CG and DM were also estimated. Employing CGI and STD along with firm-specific control variables, many pooled regression models were estimated. Endogeneity issues were addressed through two-stage least squares. Robustness checks were also conducted using the two-step system GMM, alternative measures of dependent and independent variables.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that higher CG and shortened DM increase investment efficiency. This evidence implies that firm-level governance and short-term debt reduce information asymmetry and increase management oversight. Additionally, the evidence suggested that shortened DM and CG complement one another to increase investment efficiency, suggesting companies that utilize STD to a greater (lesser) extent demonstrate a greater (lesser) impact of CG in reducing investment inefficiency.Practical implicationsThis work first advocates the establishment and implementation of robust corporate governance mechanisms to control agency conflicts, moral hazard, adverse selection and limit opportunistic behavior of managers for improving investment efficiency. Second, since interaction effects suggest a complementarity between CG and DM, it is advocated that STDs can be used to achieve optimal investment choices to control moral hazards and adverse selection and discourage suboptimal investment levels.Originality/valueThis work provides new evidence concerning the effects of CG and DM on various forms of corporate investment efficiency (investment inefficiency, overinvestment and underinvestment, using alternate measures) in an emerging economy like India having a unique institutional framework and macroeconomic environment using a newly developed firm-specific CG index for a large sample of companies using recent data.

Carbon risk and investment efficiency: A merger and acquisition perspective

With the increasingly stringent global restrictions on carbon emissions, firms are facing growing carbon risks, which may not only drive up firms' pollution control costs but also force them to improve investment efficiency by optimizing investment and saving costs. Taking the Paris Agreement event as the background and using the data of listed companies in China from 2007 to 2020 and a difference-in-differences model, this paper reveals that the increase in carbon risk can significantly improve the investment efficiency of China's carbon-intensive firms. In addition, we find that the increase in carbon risk can encourage firms to carry out mergers and acquisitions to improve investment efficiency. Our findings provide Chinese evidence for the effective link between carbon risk and firm investment efficiency and may serve as a decision-making reference for carbon-intensive enterprises to improve investment efficiency through merger and acquisition activities in the context of increasing carbon risk.

POLITICAL CONNECTIONS, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND INVESTMENT EFFICIENCY: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIAN FIRMS

This study investigates the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between political connections and investment efficiency. Using a sample of Malaysian publicly listed firms from 2001- 2017, we find that political connections are negatively correlated with firm investment efficiency. Moreover, the relationship is robust with the inclusion of corporate governance mechanisms, which moderated the potential consequences of agency problems in politically connected firms. The evidence suggests that corporate governance appears to be an effective mechanism to improve investment efficiency in politically connected firms. Consistent with the agency costs of free cash flow theory, we also discover that political connections have a more significant detrimental impact on overinvestment compared to their positive influence on underinvestment. Nevertheless, the interaction results in corporate governance hold regardless of overinvestment or underinvestment. Further analysis reveals that domestic institutional ownership, Big Four auditors, and audit committees are effective governance mechanisms, whereas similar observations do not hold for foreign institutional ownership, board size, board independence, and director ownership. Resultantly, high direct policy relevance is provided for governance practitioners and policymakers in monitoring the investment activities of PCFs.

Impact of financial reporting quality on investment efficiency and role of investor protection in frontier markets

PurposeThis study aims to examine the link between financial reporting quality and investment efficiency in publicly listed firms in frontier markets, taking into account country-level investor protection. By comparing real and accrual earnings management, this paper demonstrates the context-dependent nature of the impact of financial reporting quality. It emphasises the importance of improving investor protection and reducing agency conflicts in promoting investment efficiency in frontier markets.Design/methodology/approachAccounting data from 1998 to 2020 are collected for all listed firms in six frontier market countries across 21 industries. Fixed-effect regression analysis is used to test causal relationships; several robustness checks are performed; and two-stage least squares is used to address endogeneity concerns.FindingsHigher financial reporting quality improves investment efficiency in frontier markets. Furthermore, the positive effect is amplified when country-level investor protection in frontier markets is strong.Originality/valueThese findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that financial reporting quality improves investment efficiency, even in frontier markets. Furthermore, the level of investor protection within a country strengthens this relationship, particularly in firms that are prone to underinvestment.

Deciphering the difference puzzle of risk-sharing: A comparative analysis of infrastructure PPP development within China and US

Appropriate risk sharing is crucial for the successful implementation of Public-Private Partnership projects. However, under different social systems, the international community lacks a clear risk-sharing framework in Public-Private Partnership research. This study employs a multi-case study method to examine the practice of risk sharing in infrastructure Public-Private Partnership projects within China and the US, aiming to provide a clear risk management framework for Public-Private Partnership projects. The research findings reveal common elements and similar characteristics in risk-sharing practices. Contrary to the goal of transferring all risks to the private sector, both countries actually allocate risks to the party with stronger risk control capabilities or share risks between the government and the private sector. The US benefits from more mature policies and has a comprehensive Public-Private Partnership model implementation framework; in contrast, as an emerging market for Public-Private Partnership models, China's current laws and regulations need further improvement. The results of this study not only contribute to optimizing risk-sharing arrangements and improving investment efficiency of the project, but also promote the development of cross-border infrastructure projects, and provide valuable experience and insights for the sustainable development of global infrastructure.

Site Suitability Evaluation of a Large Commercial Complex Using an Improved Projection Pursuit Model

In developing countries, especially China, large-scale commercial complexes are the current trend in commercial real estate. Compared with other similar buildings, scientific site selection is very important for the smooth construction and efficient operation of these complexes. However, there is still a lack of a targeted evaluation index system and quantitative evaluation methods. Therefore, this paper put forward the evaluation index system and method of large-scale commercial-complex location based on a projection pursuit model. First, this paper comprehensively considered the environmental, social, and economic factors, and used secondary and tertiary indicators to systematically establish an evaluation index system. This index system effectively dealt with the complex problem of its site selection. Compared with the traditional multi-attribute evaluation method based on expert advice, the evaluation method of the improved projection pursuit model based on a sparrow search algorithm constructed in this paper was to mine key information from the evaluation data, which could evaluate the site suitability of large commercial complexes more scientifically and objectively. In addition, this paper made a detailed empirical study of the Joy City project in Nanchang, China. The research results found the key factors affecting the site selection of the project and determined that the site-selection evaluation result of the project was medium. The research results of this paper provide the scientific and objective decision-making basis for the development enterprises of large commercial complexes to reduce site-selection risk and improve investment efficiency.

Labor Mobility Networks and Green Total Factor Productivity

Population migration continues to reshape the spatial pattern of China’s population and regional economic development. During this internal migration process, production and consumption patterns often change, ultimately leading to changes in green total factor productivity. This paper, based on the Chinese population census data and 1% sampling survey data from 2005 to 2015, utilizes social network analysis methods to measure the labor mobility network indicators of 284 prefecture-level cities. Further, this paper analyzes the impact and mechanisms of regional network status on green total factor productivity using a panel fixed effects model. We find that as network density increases, the interpersonal connections between regions become closer, and the network exhibits a clear pattern of “concentrated inflows” and “dispersed outflows”, with the trend of forming strong alliances becoming increasingly apparent. Regions positioned centrally either in terms of network in-degree or out-degree exhibit higher green total factor productivity. Among these, the labor mobility network plays a crucial role in enhancing green total factor productivity through the channel of technology diffusion effects, which improve investment efficiency via knowledge exchange and material capital accumulation. The promotive effect of labor network status on green total factor productivity is more pronounced in the eastern regions, where talent quality is higher, and in areas with fewer restrictions from the household registration system.

Comprehensive intellectual property ability and firm productivity: A quasi-natural experiment based on national intellectual property demonstration advantage firm policy in China.

Intellectual property is crucial for the development of firms. At the micro level, firm comprehensive intellectual property ability involves abilities about intellectual property creation, utilization, protection, and management. In order to develop the comprehensive intellectual property ability of firms, the China National Intellectual Property Administration began to implement the national intellectual property demonstration advantage firm (NIPDAF) policy in 2013. Based on this exogenous policy shock, using data from listed companies from 2011 to 2020 as the research sample, the time-varying DID method is used to test the impact of the NIPDAF policy intended to cultivate comprehensive intellectual property ability on firm productivity. The results show that after policy implementation, the total factor productivity of NIPDAFs increased by about 3.3% compared to the control group. This finding is robust after a series of tests. Furthermore, the NIPDAF policy promotes firm productivity through stimulating technology innovation, improving investment efficiency, and enhancing competitive advantage. In addition, the NIPDAF policy has a more significant incentive effect on the total factor productivity of non-state-owned enterprises, firms in the eastern region, and firms in patent intensive industries.

Does corporate governance affect investment efficiency of Indian firms? Panel evidence from new governance indices

AbstractThis study examines the effects of corporate governance (CG) on investment inefficiency for 506 Indian listed firms. Using new stipulations of CG and globally recognized governance practices, an overall corporate governance index (CGI) and five sub‐indices such as board index (BINDEX), audit index (AINDEX), ownership index (OINDEX), nomination and remuneration index (NRINDEX), and disclosure index (DINDEX) were constructed. Employing newly developed governance indices along with firm‐specific control variables, several pooled regression models were estimated. Robustness checks were conducted using two‐step system GMM and an alternate measure of managerial investment efficiency. The pooled estimated coefficient of CGI and sub‐indices (except OINDEX) on investment inefficiency, overinvestment and underinvest is found to be negative and significant suggesting that effective/robust governance at firm level reduces investment inefficiencies (improves investment efficiency) through effective supervision and monitoring thereby reducing the opportunistic behavior of managers.

Methods and Applications of Investment Decisions in the Catering Industry

With economic globalization and consumption upgrading, investment activities in the catering industry have become more frequent and complex. This study aims to explore effective methods for investment decision-making in the catering industry and empirically analyze their application with a view to improving investment efficiency and accuracy. Through the method of financial analysis difference calculation, we comprehensively analyze the investment payback period, risk assessment and expected returns. Model analysis reveals the performance and applicability of different investment methods in actual operations. The results show that combining the unique industry characteristics of catering and adopting a customized comprehensive decision-making model can significantly improve the success rate of investment decisions. Therefore, good risk assessment and decision-making methods can bring clearer investment directions and higher economic benefits to investors in the catering industry.

Can private enterprises improve their investment efficiency by participating in the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Optimizing investment structure and improving investment efficiency are vital for the development of private enterprises. Using data on China’s A-share private listed companies between 2003 and 2020, we empirically test the impact of participating in the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises on private enterprises’ investment efficiency. We find that such participation improves private enterprises’ investment efficiency. Mechanism analysis reveals that reducing information asymmetry and easing financing constraints are the main channels for this improvement, showing an ‘information effect’ and a ‘resource effect’. This article provides empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies for the relationship between the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises’ investment efficiency.