This study investigates the impact of analysts' information source diversity on forecast bias and investment returns. We combine the GPT-4o model and text similarity, to extract the names of information sources from the text of analyst in-depth reports. Using 349,200 sources, we calculate information diversity scores based on the variety of data sources to measure analysts’ ability of selecting relevant information. The findings reveal that higher information diversity significantly reduces forecast bias and enhances portfolio returns. The effect is particularly pronounced for large companies, state-owned enterprises, those with low analyst coverage, low firm-specific experience, and reports with positive forecast revisions. Institutional investors recognize the value of this skill, while retail investors remain largely unaware, which contributes to financial inequality. This study highlights the critical role of information diversity in analyst performance.

We examine the effect of minority shareholder voting rights on labor investment efficiency using a sample of Chinese firms. Taking advantage of the difference-in-difference setting, our study reveals that the expansion of minority shareholder voting rights has a detrimental effect on labor investment efficiency. Through analysis of holding period and a managerial shortsightedness index based on textual analysis, we find that this outcome can be attributed to the fact that minority shareholders typically prioritize short-term gains over long-term corporate growth. Moreover, the impact of voting power is more pronounced in determining the investment efficiency of rank-andfileemployees. Our results are more significant for firms that face severe financial constraints, are non-state-owned enterprises, exhibit lower levels of internal control, possess fewer female managers, demonstrate lower human capital quality and higher labor intensity. Taken together, our paper suggests that minority shareholders could be myopia in making labor decisions.

We construct firm-level indicators to capture the engagement in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, henceforth) via textual analysis. We find that higher firm engagement in BRI predicts higher stock returns in the subsequent 12 months. The top 10% high-BRI firms have 12.42% higher annual returns than bottom 10% low-BRI firms in China A-Share market. Additionally, two fundamental channels of increased earnings and reduced liabilities explain the higher expected returns of high-BRI firms. Furthermore, we reveal that the phenomenon is more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises. For large-cap firms, BR Report is a more effective indicator for predicting future stock returns, while BR Beta performs better for small-cap firms. These findings contribute to the measurement of firm engagement in BRI and its impact on the stock market.

This study attempts to shed new light on how the state as a minority shareholder can affect the tax planning of non-state-owned enterprises(non-SOEs). We examine publicly traded non-SOEs in China and find that non-SOEs are more tax avoidance when the government is a minority shareholder, indicating that minority state ownership has played a "shelter effect" on tax avoidance of non-SOEs. Further analysis shows that the sheltering effect of minority state ownership is more prominent for firms located in areas with more social burden, worse tax enforcement and firms with stronger incentive to avoid taxes. Furthermore, non-SOEs with minority state ownership increase excessive capital expenditure and employ redundant employees, but still have higher firm value. Overall, our findings suggest the state as a minority shareholder shapes the tax-planning activities of non-SOEs in a “two-way favor exchange” manner and it is beneficial for non-SOEs to maintain a close relationship with the government in China where the government controls key resources.

As digital technologies proliferate, firms increasingly leverage digital transformation strategically, necessitating new orientations attuned to digital technological change. This study investigates how digital orientation (DORI)- the philosophy of harnessing digital technology scope, digital capabilities, digital ecosystem coordination, and digital architecture configuration for competitive advantage – influences firms’ environmental, social, and governance performance (ESG_per). Analysis of Chinese A-share firms from 2010-2019 reveals DORI is associated with superior ESG_per, operating through the mediating mechanism of enhanced digital finance (DIFIN) as a fund-providing facilitator for sustainability initiatives. Additional analysis uncovers important heterogeneities – private firms, centrally owned state-owned enterprises, politically connected, and emerging companies exhibit the strongest DORI - ESG_per linkages. Prominently, the study findings are validated through a battery of robustness tests, including instrumental variable methods, and propensity score matching. Overall, the results underscore the need for firms to purposefully develop multifaceted digital orientation and furnishes novel theoretical insights and practical implications regarding DORI’s role in improving ESG_per.

Using China's Strategic Emerging Industries Classification (CSEIC), which is enacted in 2018, as a quasi-natural experiment, this study investigates its impact on corporate innovation behaviors. In basic research, we find that: (1) The CSEIC significantly enhances both substantive and strategic innovation; (2) The effect of CSEIC is influenced by the characteristics of the enterprise. Specifically, in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the CSEIC significantly enhances substantive innovation and strategic innovation, while in non-SOEs, the CSEIC only significantly enhances substantive innovation. In further research based on entrepreneurial spirit, we find that: (1) The effect of CSEIC on strategic innovation is suppressed if entrepreneurial patriotism is higher, no matter whether the enterprise is SOEs or non-SOEs; (2) The effect of CSEIC on substantive innovation is enhanced, if and only if entrepreneurial integrity is higher in SOEs or International Vision is higher in non-SOEs. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to foster innovation through targeted support for enterprise leaders, highlighting the need for tailored approaches considering the distinct characteristics of SOEs and non-SOEs.

Digital transformation (DT) is an ongoing and costly process that requires careful planning and the motivation of top executives (CEOs). This research analyze the CEOs compensation as a motivation to embrace DT by reducing agency issue. We determine the extent of DT through a textual analysis method and utilize data from Chinese publicly traded companies spanning the period between 2007 and 2020. Our study findings are threefold, (a) we observe a positive relationship between CEOs' pay gap and DT, highlighting the significant role CEOs compensation plays in encouraging CEOs to adopt digitalization, (b) we find that managerial shareholding significantly enhances this relationship, (c) we note that the relationship between CEOs pay gap and DT is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises compared to non-stateowned enterprises. Additionally, we discover through channel analysis that agency cost and audit quality mediate the relationship between CEOs pay gap and DT potentially by reducing the agency problem between CEOs and shareholders. These findings are vital for comprehending the pay practices and behaviors of corporate executives regarding digitalization in China. Importantly, the study results remain robust when considering instrumental variables (IV), propensity score matching (PSM), and alternative techniques.

This paper explores the ethical dimensions of firm-level digitalisation and its impact on ESG metrics during a decade (2010-2020) of rapid technological progress, focusing on Chinese-listed companies. Utilising a text-based index to measure digitalisation, we find that while digitalisation positively influences ESG ratings, supporting resource-based and dynamic capability theories, its relationship with corruption reveals complex dynamics. Surprisingly, corruption strengthens digitalisation’s positive impact on ESG, raising concerns about technology being used to enhance ESG appearances artificially. A distinct difference emerges between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs; SOEs use digitalisation more ethically and are less influenced by corruption, indicating a more responsible approach to technology adoption. Through examining cash holdings, internal controls, and audit fees, we unpack how corruption influences the digitalisation-ESG nexus. These insights underscore the need for policy that encourages ethical digitalisation and highlight the potential role of SOEs in leading the charge towards sustainable and ethical digitalisation.

This study examines the enduring effects of China’s planned economy on contemporary social attitudes. By leveraging spatial disparities in the historical distribution of state-owned enterprises and external shocks such as the First Five-Year Plan and the Third Front Construction movement, we find that a one percentage point increase in the historical SOE proportion of industrial output corresponds with a 0.57% to 0.89% increase in the contemporary preference for state-owned sectors. The results are robust after controlling the contemporary SOE employment share, and this effect does not apply to the younger generation born after the marketization reform. Furthermore, we provide evidence that city-level state ownership preferences significantly impact the likelihood of SOEs receiving subsidies, with this effect notably amplified in cities governed by locally-born leaders, but the share of locally-born leaders has been trending down.

We find a negative relation between share repurchase and corporate risk-taking using a sample of Chinese listed companies covering the period of 2014–2021. Our analysis yields consistent evidence even after consideration of endogeneity issues and the conducting of other robustness tests. We find that the impeded effect of share repurchase on corporate risk-taking is more pronounced for Chinese non-state-owned enterprises, firms with high competition in the product market, and firms located in low marketization regions. The possible mechanisms underlying these dynamics include share repurchase increasing the restrictions on low-cost financing and reducing over-investment. Our findings provide important implications for policyand low-making and are generalizable to other emerging markets.