Does religion matter to dividend policy? Evidence from Buddhism and Taoism in China
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between Buddhism/Taoism and dividend payout decisions among Chinese listed firms during 2003-2013.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors include all Chinese A-share listed stocks in their sample during 2003-2013 and use a multiple regression method to conduct their analyses.
Findings
Their findings suggest that firms in regions with high influence of Buddhism and Taoism lean toward having high dividend payouts. The results are robust to a battery of alternative specifications in dividend payout, religiosity measures, research methods and dividend regulation regimes.
Originality/value
They show that the religions of Buddhism/Taoism play a role in determining dividend payout, complementing other informal institution studies of dividend policy. They complement the literature by providing insights into the impact of Buddhism and Taoism on corporate behaviors beyond immoral or unethical practices. They are able to relate specific doctrinal tenets of Buddhism and Taoism to corporate behavior rather than using only the general moral and ethical guidelines of religiosity.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Jia acknowledges the financial support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Register Number: JBK1607K03) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Register Number: 71372148). The authors are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for his helpful comments. Remaining errors, if any, are the authors’.
Citation
Cao, C., Jia, F., Zhang, X. and Chan, K.C. (2016), "Does religion matter to dividend policy? Evidence from Buddhism and Taoism in China", Nankai Business Review International, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 510-541. https://doi.org/10.1108/NBRI-12-2015-0033
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited