Intellectual capital and dividend policy: the effect of CEO characteristics
Journal of Intellectual Capital
ISSN: 1469-1930
Article publication date: 18 June 2021
Issue publication date: 17 January 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to empirically test the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on a firm's dividend policy. Further, the authors investigate the moderator effect of Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) characteristics (gender, age and education) on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was carried out on the main Chinese listed companies reported on the CSI 100 Index from 2016 to 2018. To assess the impact of IC on the dividend policy and then the moderating effect of the characteristics of the CEOs, the authors used a fixed effects panel data analysis.
Findings
The results suggest a positive impact of IC on dividend policies. In addition, this relationship is enhanced when the CEO is a woman, and the lower the age the higher the effect is.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study that explores the effect of IC on a firm's dividend policy in an emerging country. Specifically, this paper demonstrates the impact that IC has on the creation of shareholder value. Furthermore, considering the characteristics of the CEOs, this study tests new moderating effects in the relationship between IC and value creation and highlights how IC, dividends and CEO characteristics can be useful in aligning interests between ownership and management, enriching the debate on agency theory.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank the Reviewers and the Editor for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Citation
Battisti, E., Nirino, N., Christofi, M. and Vrontis, D. (2022), "Intellectual capital and dividend policy: the effect of CEO characteristics", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-11-2020-0354
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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