Research On The Influence Of Interlocking Director Network On Corporate Risk-taking

In the complex and highly uncertain transition economy and industrial structure upgrading practice,Chinese enterprises are facing challenges such as lack of information and scarce resources.In this situation,it is difficult for enterprises to rely on limited internal resources to maintain long-term economic sustainability.As an informal institutional arrangement,the interlocking director network can not only provide a channel for information sharing and exchange learning among enterprises,but also provide essential resource support for corporate risk-taking behavior.Relevant studies have been shown that social networks constructed with the ties of shareholders and executives can enhance corporate risk-taking.Then,does the embedding of the interlocking directors network affect corporate risk-taking? Does the relationship between state-owned and private enterprises and between firms with different levels of industry competition? And what is the influence mechanism between the two? There is little literature that has discussed this in depth.Based on the social network embeddedness perspective,this thesis uses a sample of Chinese A-listed firms over the 2007-2020 period to empirically examine the influence of interlocking director network on corporate risk-taking and the mechanism of action,and further analyzes the impact of the heterogeneity of corporate ownership and industry competition intensity on the relationship between the two.This thesis firstly explains the basis for the selection of the topic in the introductory section,and on this basis,the research content and framework of the thesis are clarified.Secondly,Citespace software is used to visualize and analyze the hotspots and frontiers of research on the topic of interlocking director network and corporate risk taking,and to sort out and summarize the relevant domestic and foreign literature.Thirdly,based on the definition of relevant concepts and theoretical foundations,the research hypothesis of this thesis is proposed.Then,the above hypotheses are tested using empirical analysis,and the effects of differences in the nature of corporate ownership and differences in the intensity of industry competition are further tested.The research results show that: First,the interlocking director network is conducive to enhancing the level of corporate risk-taking.This finding remained significant after using the 2SLS method,indicator sensitivity tests and changing the regression model for robustness testing.Second,the impact mechanism test shows that financing constraints and R&D investment play a partly mediating role in the process of interlocking director network affecting corporate risk-taking.The interlocking director network can promote corporate risk-taking through two channels: alleviating financing constraints and increasing R&D investment.Third,further subdividing the nature of corporate ownership and the intensity of industry competition,it is found that the promotion effect of interlocking director network on corporate risk-taking is more significant in non-state-owned firms and firms with higher industry competition level.These findings have important guidance and implications for the construction of interenterprise interlocking director network,the improvement of risk-taking level,and the sustainable economic development of the enterprise.