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In recent years, the financial investment level of enterprises particularly family firms has increased rapidly. This phenomenon has drawn intense attention from both government regulators and academia. In this study, we argue that the second-generation succession is an important reason for family firms' preference for financial investment. Using 9,701 firm-year observations of Chinese family listed firms from 2007 to 2018, we find that the second-generation succession has a positive effect on financial investment in family firms, while successors with professional background have less preference for financial investment. Further, the positive effect exists mainly in both preparation and epistasis stages of second-generation succession. The number of family founders' children will enhance successors' preference for financial investment. Finally, financial investment especially long-term one reduces real investment, and damages future performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of high-speed rails on analyst earnings forecasts in Chinese context. The results based on a difference-in-difference design show that the introduction of high-speed rail improves analyst earnings forecast accuracy. The positive association is stronger for firms located in regions with less developed institutional environments, firms with fewer intangible assets, and firms located farther away from information centers. In addition, high-speed rails increase analysts' likelihood and frequency of site visits. Overall, we extend the literature on economic geography and financial analysts, and shed lights on how transportation infrastructure facilitates information exchange in capital markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family background has a significant impact on family firms' strategies such as innovation investments. Going beyond prior studies that exclusively focus on how family governance and management factors determine research and development (R&D) investment decisions, this study investigates a family science factor: family firm owner's birth order, defined as the relative rank of the owner in terms of the age hierarchy among siblings in the family. Joining the family niche model of birth order and socioemotional wealth perspective, we propose that later‐born family firm owners tend to be risk‐takers and invest more in R&D projects compared with their earlier‐born counterparts. We further examine how the two other powerful decision‐makers within family firms (i.e., chairperson of the board and CEO) enable or constrain the owner's birth order–R&D investment relationship. We contend that the positive birth order impact on R&D investment is weaker when a family member is the chairperson of the board, while such a relationship is stronger in the presence of owner–CEO duality. We confirm our hypotheses using a sample of 605 firm‐year observations from Chinese‐listed family firms between 2006 and 2014. This study demonstrates the important impact of family science factors on innovation heterogeneities, which is understudied in the family firm innovation literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate sustainable agriculture in the acidic soil in the southern region of China, reducing inorganic fertiliser in combination with an alkaline humic acid fertiliser amendment (HAFA) was investigated on key physicochemical properties of acid growth media and cherry tomato growth. Five treatments were established: 100% rate of the local conventional inorganic fertiliser, reduced application of inorganic fertiliser (30, 50, and 70% inorganic fertiliser application, w/w) combined with HAFA, and an unfertilised treatment as the control. HAFA increased medium pH by 0.39–0.75 compared with the 100% inorganic fertiliser treatment. In addition, medium organic matter and acid phosphatase, invertase, and polyphenol oxidase activity increased significantly following amendment. In addition, increased plant height, stem diameter, root length, leaf Soil and Plant Analysis Development values, plant biomass accumulation, and nutrient uptake were observed under 30–50% inorganic fertiliser treatment in combination with 1.0–1.4 mL of HAFA. Greater transfer factor ratios of N, P, and K were observed following amendment. Reducing inorganic fertiliser proportions did not significantly alter fruit shape index, single-fruit weight, or fruit quantity per plant. The benefits of HAFA were obvious, significantly increasing fruit ascorbic acid and lycopene concentrations, sugar-acid ratio, and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the role of religion in shaping corporate behaviour has drawn much attention. Unlike the more common focus on the effect of religion on corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards external stakeholders, this study investigates whether religion affects focal firms' CSR towards internal stakeholders – that is, employees. Using a unique data set from a 2008 national survey of Chinese private firms, this study finds strong evidence that firms whose CEOs have some religious affiliation engage in more labour-friendly practices than their non-religious counterparts, as measured by employees' social insurance coverage. This finding indicates that religion may motivate executives to take more responsibility for their employees. Further, the positive association between religious affiliation and labour-friendly practices is more pronounced in firms with CEO duality (one person serves as both CEO and board chair) and in firms that depend more on human than physical capital. These findings survived several robustness checks and a test for endogeneity. Overall, our findings enrich the literature on the corporate consequences of a leader's religion and the determinants of internal CSR. These findings also have important implications for policymakers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is still an ongoing debate regarding the firm performance implications of pay gaps between top executives and subordinate employees. This study integrates relative deprivation theory and tournament theory to investigate the potential nonlinear effects of pay gaps. We expect that at low levels of pay inequality, increased inequality hurts firm productivity, while at higher levels of pay inequality, increased inequality helps firm productivity. Our study of Chinese firms confirms that pay gaps have an approximately U-shaped relationship with firm performance. This nonlinear relationship is weaker in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than in non-SOEs, suggesting that state ownership is an important moderator in the association. Overall, this study explains previous mixed findings regarding consequences of pay gaps with meaningful implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs in China and other economies with similar cultural and institutional backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether reputation mechanism works for celebrity independent directors in China. We find that firms with celebrity independent directors experience higher multiple agency costs and worse performance, indicating that managers and/or large shareholders take celebrityindependent directors as a shield for facilitating grabbing private benefits. In addition, this effect varies between state-owned enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws on the resource dependence theory and institution-based view to examine political connections in the home market and home formal institutions for their impact on the internationalization of emerging market firms in the context of China. The results suggest that political connections at home may prevent emerging market firms from implementing internationalization strategies by reducing the dependence constraints imposed by local governments and foreign firms, whereas home formal institutional development may promote the strategy transition of emerging market firms from building political connections to international expansion and also reduce the negative impact of political connections. Overall, our findings indicate that political connections and formal institutions at home play an important role in shaping emerging market firms’ strategies of outward internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] ln order to investigate the organophosphonis pestieide residues in Hainan representative vegetables, such as Chinese flowering cabbage, bitter gourd and cowpea, the study was carried out to ascertain the dietary intake risk of organophosphonis pesticide(OPs) residues. [Method] According to 2012-2013 monitoring data of organophos-phours pestieide residues in Hainan markets and the intake information of citizens, the probabilistic exposure risk was assessed by software @risk based on Monte Carlo's theory to characterize the chronic risk quotient of dietary intake of Chinese flowering cabbage, bitter gourd and cowpea. [Result]Through pesticide residues analysis, organophosphonis residues were found in 52.82% Chinese flowering cabbage, 14.27% bitter gourd and 30.52% cowpea. The Monte Carlo simulation showed that on 99.5th level, the average risk quotient of estimated exposure for Chinese residents by Chinese flowering cabbage, bitter gourd, cowpea in Hainan was lower than 1, for which 2-3, 4-6 and 7-10 age groups were higher than other groups. [Conclusion]The exposure risk of organophosphonis residues in Chinese flowering cabbage, bitter gourd and cowpea in Hainan is shown to be low and the potential exposure risk is acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal-principal ( PP) perspective of corporate governance shows that multiple large shareholder ( MLS) structure has competing monitoring and entrenchment governance effects. We argue that the dominant effect depends on contest for control among large shareholders and the number of large shareholders involved. Using data from Chinese family listed companies from 2004 to 2007, this study shows inverse U-shaped relationships between contest for control and corporate market value, as measured by Tobin's Q, and between the number of large shareholders and corporate market value. Findings indicate that at low to medium levels of contest for control or number of large shareholders, formal institutions can strengthen MLS structure's monitoring effect and can help this effect last longer. As a whole, the findings extend the institution-based view in the context of family corporate governance by showing that formal institutions can shape the ability of MLS structure to exert governance. 摘要 公司治理领域的双委托人视角指出，多个大股东结构具有监督与堑壕两种竞争的治理效应。本文分析认为，多个大股东结构的占优治理效应取决于大股东间的控制权竞争程度以及大股东的个数。基于中国家族控股上市公司2004-2007年的样本数据，本文发现控制权竞争程度与以Tobin's Q度量的公司市场价值间存在一种倒U型关系，而且这种关系也存在于大股东个数与公司市场价值间。进一步的研究发现当控制权竞争程度或大股东个数处于低至中等水平时，正式的制度环境能够增强并延长多个大股东结构的监督效应。简言之，本文通过阐明正式的制度环境能够塑造多个大股东结构发挥治理作用的能力，扩展了家族企业治理领域的制度基础观研究。 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete-filled L-shaped steel tube columns can be used to save architectural space at room corners, and may have many advantages of structural behavior of common concrete-filled steel tubes as columns. In this paper, the seismic behavior of concrete-filled L-shaped steel tube columns (CFLSTs) was investigated. Six specimens subjected to a constant axial load and cyclically varying lateral loading were tested to study the effects of width to depth ratio of section, depth to thickness ratio of steel tube and axial load level on the strength, as well as stiffness, ductility and energy dissipation of CFLST columns. Experimental results showed that the displacement ductility of CFLST columns decreased significantly with the increase of axial load level, and the strength and stiffness degradations of CFLST columns were more significant with higher axial load level. With the increase of depth-thickness ratio of steel tube and depth-width ratio of section, the ductility and the lateral ultimate load-carrying capacity of CFLST columns also decreased gradually. All CFLST columns exhibited favorable energy dissipation and ductility, even for the columns subjected to high axial load, which indicates that this type of composite columns is adoptable in practical engineering, especially in seismic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimizing coalbed methane (CBM) favorable targets in western Guizhou Province and eastern Yunnan Province, six typical areas were focused on to estimate which should be explored preferentially. Firstly, nine parameters in three categories, e. g. the coal reservoir, the resource conditions and the exploitation infrastructures were concentrated to form an evaluation matrix. Subsequently, the matrix was weighted by a vector that combined the grey correlation analysis and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and was calculated in a fuzzy multi-objective and multi-level optimization model. Finally, the results of the calculation were drawn on a thematic map. It indicate that the optimal target is the Zhina Coalmine, and the Panxian Coalmine is suboptimal as well as the Laochang, Liuzhi and Shuieheng Coalmines. By contrast, the Enhong Coalmine is unfavorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of large shareholdings from the agency problem perspective of overinvestment, and re-test the role of board independence in the context of concentrated ownership.Design/methodology/approach – Using a five-year panel data of Chinese non-financial listed companies between 2001 and 2005, the paper estimates both a fixed-effects model and a random-effects model.Findings – The paper finds evidence of a significant non-monotonic relationship between large shareholdings and firm level overinvestment. It also finds that state-owned firms and firms with more independent directors experience lower level of overinvestment. However, firms with more frequent meetings experience a higher level of overinvestment.Research limitations/implications – The paper's findings indicate that concentrated ownership is not always a bad thing. The crux of the matter is how to induce large shareholders' incentive to monitor managers' opportunistic behaviors and restrict their motivation to expropriate minority shareholders.Practical implications – In the context of concentrated ownership, the key to improve corporate governance is to strengthen board independence.Originality/value – The paper provides useful information on non-monotonic governance effects of large shareholdings in Chinese listed companies and overinvestment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the role of differentiated margin system in leading investors|!|#39; investing behavior and then optimize investor structure in futures markets. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; Using economic experimental research method, this paper designs and conducts a futures market experiment according to experimental research|!|#39;s basic norms, thus acquiring needed and credible empirical data. Findings |!|#8211; By analyzing the experimental data, it is found that compared with situations in futures markets that implement uniform margin system, investors|!|#39; (especially speculators|!|#39;) futures open position and the ratio of their open position and futures turnover are both significantly higher, in futures markets that implement differentiated margin system. On the other hand, differentiated margin system has no effects on hedgers|!|#39; futures turnover, but significantly reduces speculators|!|#39; futures turnover. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The findings suggest that compared with uniform margin system, differentiated margin system is beneficial to effectively restrict both speculators|!|#39; and hedgers|!|#39; speculating behavior and lead hedgers|!|#39; market participation. Practical implications |!|#8211; In order to resolve the problem of unreasonable investor structure in China|!|#39;s futures market, i.e. lack of hedgers and over-speculating, China|!|#39;s futures market|!|#39;s regulators should reform the margin system and adopt differentiated margin system to lead investors|!|#39; rational behavior and optimize investor structure. Originality/value |!|#8211; This paper empirically analyzes and verifies, for the first time, the roles of differentiated margin system in affecting investors|!|#39; investing behavior. The futures market experiment designed and used in this study is a pioneering and exploratory experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]