Volume 30, Issue 2 pp. 1106-1123
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Directors' and officers' liability insurance and minority shareholders' participation in corporate governance

Ruigang Zhang

Ruigang Zhang

School of Economics, Guangxi University, Nanning, China

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Runze Yang

Runze Yang

School of Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China

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Hanwen Huo

Corresponding Author

Hanwen Huo

School of Economics, Guangxi University, Nanning, China

Correspondence

Hanwen Huo, School of Economics, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 07 March 2024

Abstract

This study empirically investigates the influence of directors' and officers' liability insurance (D&O insurance) on minority shareholders' participation in corporate governance. Using a sample from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2011 and 2018, we find that D&O insurance can significantly decrease the participation of minority shareholders, and this conclusion remains valid after robustness checks. The mechanism analysis demonstrates that D&O insurance plays a positive role in diminishing minority shareholders' participation through the enhancement of firm performance. Further analyses suggest that the negative association between D&O insurance and minority shareholders' participation is more pronounced in firms with weaker corporate governance practices. These findings provide evidence for the supervisory governance role of D&O insurance, suggesting China should consider encouraging listed companies to purchase D&O insurance for the protection of minority shareholders.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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