Dragon CEOs and Firm Value

Abstract

This article investigates a traditional belief of the Chinese zodiac that individuals born in the dragon year are superior and perform better. Using a sample of listed firms in China, supporting evidence is found for this pervasive superstition that CEOs born in dragon years are positively associated with firm value as measured by Tobin's Q and return on assets. This positive relationship becomes even stronger when the exact birth date of CEOs is known. Finally, the Dragon Survivors Hypothesis and the CEO Self-fulfillment Hypothesis are examined to explain why dragon CEOs matter to firm value.

Managerial attitude towards the natural environment and environmental sustainability expenditure

“…Although superstition is rooted in cultural traditions and has often been the central pillar of environmental sustainability (Mawere & Awuah-Nyamekye, 2015), there remains limited understanding of how superstition influences environmental sustainability expenditure. Moreover, whilst it is widely recognised that superstition endures in society (Tsang, 2004a;Wang, Hernandez, Minor & Wei, 2012;Ya'akov, Ruffle & Shtudiner, 2018) and that superstition predicts attitudes (Chen, 2018Tsang, 2004b, to date we know little about how these constructs work in concert with one another to influence sustainability expenditure of firms. This issue is particularly important given that superstition is inextricably interwoven with environmental protection (Mawere & Awuah-Nyamekye), and superstition and attitudes are pivotal features of many societies in developing countries (see Tsang, 2004).…”