Donghui Li

Efficient investment is central to firm value creation and to the broader allocation of economic resources. When firms deviate from their optimal investment level, value is destroyed through either...

This paper examines whether CEOs' formative social environments affect executive labor allocation in public firms. We study women's access to senior executive authority, where promotion, compensation, and role assignment are personnel decisions boards monitor but cannot fully contract over. Linking hand-collected data on CEOs' birth states and cohorts to historical state-level organizations associated with gender-role liberalization, we find that firms led by high-exposure CEOs have a 4.45-percentage-point lower share of women in top management, relative to a mean of 9.2%, and a 4.11-percentage-point lower representation of women among the five highest-paid executives. The relation is concentrated among male CEOs; for female CEOs, the sign reverses. Evidence around MeToo, CEO turnovers, placebo outcomes, randomized birth-state assignments, and governance heterogeneity is more consistent with a gender-norm imprinting interpretation than with fixed firm culture, regional ideology, or ESG preferences alone. Mechanism tests point to higher credential thresholds, role sorting away from core operating positions, weaker diversity policies, wider pay gaps, and greater litigationrelated disclosure language. The relation is stronger where governance constraints are weaker. Formative environments can shape executive labor allocation and create governance-relevant agency costs when managerial talent is misallocated.

This study examines whether U.S. sanctions significantly impact the financing constraints of Chinese listed firms. Using a uniquely constructed dataset of Chinese A‐share firms spanning the 2007 to 2021 period that were directly impacted by the U.S. sanctions, we provide strong evidence showing a positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints. Additional analyses indicate that the positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints is more (less) pronounced for firms with greater risk exposure (strong market position, strong innovation and research capabilities, and effective government support policies). Sanctions also increase the financing costs for affected firms, shorten their financing duration, and complicate their access to financing. Finally, various endogeneity tests and robustness checks confirm our baseline results. Overall, our study provides important insights into the detrimental effect of U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms' financing constraints.

Purpose: Despite the growing importance of employee insights shared on social media, the literature has largely overlooked their role in supply chain relationships, particularly how employees' forward-looking assessments of firms shape customers' supply chain decisions. Design/methodology/approach: Based on 7,722 supplier–customer–year observations spanning 2012–2024, this study empirically examines how employee-generated business outlook ratings on Glassdoor influence supplier–customer relationship stability. To strengthen the relationship, the study employs a difference-in-differences approach, instrumental variable estimation, and a series of robustness tests. Findings: Suppliers with more positive employee-generated business outlook ratings are less likely to experience the discontinuation of principal supplier–customer relationships. The results support both information asymmetry reduction and labor risk mitigation mechanisms. Customer bargaining power strengthens this effect, whereas longer-standing partnerships attenuate it. Additional analyses show that the informativeness of employee-generated business outlook ratings aligns with the wisdom-of-crowds phenomenon and varies by reviewer attributes and job functions. Originality/value: This study introduces employee-generated business outlook ratings as a low-cost prospective soft-information signal that complements traditional supply chain risk assessment. By showing that employee disclosures inform customer-side supplier evaluation and relationship management decisions, it extends the literature on the broader value of employee disclosures in supply chain contexts. Furthermore, by identifying underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions through which employee-generated business outlook ratings become decision-relevant, this study enhances the understanding of non-traditional information flows in supplier–customer relationships.

This study examines whether U.S. sanctions significantly impact the financing constraints of Chinese listed firms. Using a uniquely constructed dataset of Chinese A-share firms spanning the 2007 to 2021 period that were directly impacted by the U.S. sanctions, we provide strong evidence showing a positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints. Additional analyses indicate that the positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints is more (less) pronounced for firms with greater risk exposure (strong market position, strong innovation and research capabilities, and effective government support policies). Sanctions also increase the financing costs for affected firms, shorten their financing duration, and complicate their access to financing. Finally, various endogeneity tests and robustness checks confirm our baseline results. Overall, our study provides important insights into the detrimental effect of U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms' financing constraints.

This study examines whether U.S. sanctions significantly impact the financing constraints of Chinese listed firms. Using a uniquely constructed dataset of Chinese A-share firms spanning the 2007 to 2021 period that were directly impacted by the U.S. sanctions, we provide strong evidence showing a positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints. Additional analyses indicate that the positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints is more (less) pronounced for firms with greater risk exposure (strong market position, strong innovation and research capabilities, and effective government support policies). Sanctions also increase the financing costs for affected firms, shorten their financing duration, and complicate their access to financing. Finally, various endogeneity tests and robustness checks confirm our baseline results. Overall, our study provides important insights into the detrimental effect of U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms' financing constraints.

This study examines whether U.S. sanctions significantly impact the financing constraints of Chinese listed firms. Using a uniquely constructed dataset of Chinese A-share firms spanning the 2007 to 2021 period that were directly impacted by the U.S. sanctions, we provide strong evidence showing a positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints. Additional analyses indicate that the positive relationship between sanctions and financing constraints is more (less) pronounced for firms with greater risk exposure (strong market position, strong innovation and research capabilities, and effective government support policies). Sanctions also increase the financing costs for affected firms, shorten their financing duration, and complicate their access to financing. Finally, various endogeneity tests and robustness checks confirm our baseline results. Overall, our study provides important insights into the detrimental effect of U.S. sanctions on Chinese firms' financing constraints.