Browsing by Author "Lu Y"
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- ItemDoes board diversity in industry-experience boost firm value? The role of corporate innovation(Elsevier, 2023-08-31) Huang P; Lu Y; Wu JPrevious studies examining board diversity disproportionately focus on directors' demographic features. In this paper, we construct a sophisticated measure of board diversity based on directors' industry-experience diversity (BIED) and examine its effect on firm value. Using a sample of S&P1500 firms, we find that higher BIED leads to higher firm value. This result survives both firm fixed effects and an instrumental variable approach, at least partially suggesting a causal relationship. We argue that a more diverse board brings more perspectives, viewpoints, knowledge and information to the firm, enhances directors’ capability of advising, and thus creates higher firm value. We further find one possible underlying economic mechanism through which BIED facilitates value creation. That is, BIED creates value by promoting corporate innovation. Overall, BIED constitutes a valuable corporate governance mechanism.
- ItemHedgehogs as Amplifying Hosts of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus, China.(2022-12) Zhao C; Zhang X; Si X; Ye L; Lawrence K; Lu Y; Du C; Xu H; Yang Q; Xia Q; Yu G; Xu W; Yuan F; Hao J; Jiang J-F; Zheng ASevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tickborne bandavirus mainly transmitted by Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks in East Asia, mostly in rural areas. As of April 2022, the amplifying host involved in the natural transmission of SFTSV remained unidentified. Our epidemiologic field survey conducted in endemic areas in China showed that hedgehogs were widely distributed, had heavy tick infestations, and had high SFTSV seroprevalence and RNA prevalence. After experimental infection of Erinaceus amurensis and Atelerix albiventris hedgehogs with SFTSV, we detected robust but transitory viremias that lasted for 9-11 days. We completed the SFTSV transmission cycle between hedgehogs and nymph and adult H. longicornis ticks under laboratory conditions with 100% efficiency. Furthermore, naive H. longicornis ticks could be infected by SFTSV-positive ticks co-feeding on naive hedgehogs; we confirmed transstadial transmission of SFTSV. Our study suggests that the hedgehogs are a notable wildlife amplifying host of SFTSV in China.
- ItemThe Effect of Corporate Sustainability Performance on Leverage Adjustments(Elsevier, 2021-01-30) Ho L; Bai M; Lu Y; Qin YWe examine the impact of corporate sustainability performance (CSP) on the speed at which firms adjust their leverage ratios to the target levels for a large sample of 31 countries from 2002 to 2018. Using two proxies of CSP, we find that firms with superior CSP tend to adjust faster toward their target leverage ratios. In exploring the potential underlying economic mechanisms through which CSP affects leverage adjustments, we find that better CSP helps firms to ease information asymmetry, enhance stakeholder engagement, push up stock prices in the stock market, and improve competitive advantage in the product market. In the cross section, the positive association between CSP and leverage adjustment speed is less pronounced in countries with high-quality institutions. The results remain unchanged in robustness tests. Overall, this paper highlights the important role of CSP in shaping corporate capital structure dynamics and suggests implications for corporate strategic planning on the privately optimal levels of CSP activities.