Market misvaluation and corporate innovation: “Catering” or “risk aversion”?—Empirical evidence from China capital market

Abstract

This paper tests how market misvaluation affects corporate innovation. Unlike the “catering effect” observed in the US, we find that estimated stock overvaluation in China is strongly negatively associated with corporate innovation, conforming to our “risk-aversion” hypothesis. In China, misvaluation affects innovation via finance and management behavior channels. The effect is more significant in non-state-owned corporations than in state-owned corporations. Stock turnover rate and ownership concentration play moderating roles in the effect. The evidence sheds light on the relationship between market risks and corporate innovation in an emerging market.

Keywords

• Stock misvaluation
• Corporate inventiveness
• Catering mechanism
• Risk aversion