Management expectations and operating cost responses to COVID-19: a study of Chinese listed enterprises

• Ziyu Zhang ^[1] ; Mengmeng Li ^[1]
  1. [1] Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China
• Localización: Revista española de financiación y contabilidad, ISSN 0210-2412, Vol. 54, Nº 2, 2025, págs. 166-187
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/02102412.2024.2445994
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on operating cost stickiness in Chinese firms, utilising fixed-effects regression analysis of A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2021. The findings reveal that the pandemic significantly reduced cost stickiness across these firms. Heterogeneity analysis indicates a pronounced decrease in cost stickiness among non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), in contrast to a more modest decline in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The manufacturing sector experienced a more substantial reduction in cost stickiness than the non-manufacturing sector. Additionally, the analysis suggests that the pandemic heightened managerial pessimism in both SOEs and non-SOEs; however, this sentiment notably influenced cost stickiness only in non-SOEs. Overall, the management expectations theory elucidates the significant reduction in cost stickiness in non-SOEs, while the political connection theory accounts for the relatively limited impact observed in SOEs.

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