本文考察了民营公司最终控制人的声誉是否影响民营公司的债务融资。基于2002—2007年中国民营上市公司样本,我们发现最终控制人若遭到媒体负面报道,则下一年债务融资规模更低。这意味着金融机构在决定贷款决策时,会考虑借款人的声誉。进一步的分析发现,公司所在地区的市场化程度越高,则声誉对债务融资的影响越弱。这表明随着市场化程度的增强,银行等金融机构减少了对声誉等非正式契约的依赖,即声誉和市场化程度之间存在相互替代关系。
The study examines whether the ultimate controller's reputation affects debt financing. Using the data from Chinese private-owned listed firms from 2002 to 2007, we find that negative media coverage of ultimate controllers results in lower debt financing in the subsequent year. The magnitude of debt financing decreases by 34% for the ultimate controllers with negative media coverage compared to those without negative media coverage. Further analyses suggest that marketization moderates the relationship between reputation and debt financing.