Can Corporate Governance Mitigate the Adverse Impact of Investor Sentiment on Corporate Investment Decisions? Evidence from Taiwan
Abstract
This paper explores whether investor sentiment has an adverse impact on corporate investment decisions and whether such impact, if present, can be effectively mitigated by sound corporate governance mechanisms. The sample comprises listed firms in Taiwan between 2003 and 2010. Empirical results indicate that investor sentiment is significantly and positively related to amount of new investment and over-investment. Investor sentiment has an adverse impact on corporate investment decisions. Further test for the moderating effect of corporate governance confirms that corporate governance mechanisms can mitigate such adverse impact of investor sentiment on corporate investment decisions. The empirical results support the argument of previous literature that corporate governance has both incentive and monitoring effects on managers’ decision-making. Due to the agency problem, managers’ investment decisions may be affected by investor sentiment and deviate from the goal of maximizing firm value. Therefore, firms should reinforce their corporate governance mechanisms to minimize the adverse impact of investor sentiment.
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.
Copyrights for articles published in MTI journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
