We discover the impacts of FinTech on operational risk in the context of Chinese commercial banks from 2008 to 2019. Based on the massive amount of data collected manually, we find that FinTech and its subtypes, except for mobile internet, significantly reduce operational risk. Specifically, the baseline results reveal that for one unit increase in the FinTech index, the decrease in operational risk is about 1.414 units. For different types of FinTech, artificial intelligence (AI) has the most significant impact on operational risk, and for an increase of one unit of the AI index, operational risk is reduced by 4.033 units. Moreover, we find that the impact of FinTech on operational risk mainly comes from the interest, leases, and dividend component and the services component; the influence of FinTech on operational risk is greater in state-owned banks compared to other commercial banks with other ownership structures. Our main results hold for an array of endogeneity and robustness tests.

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the curvilinear effects of firms’ market learning on radical innovation and the moderation effects of the focal firms’ horizontal ties and vertical ties.Design/methodology/approach: This study uses regression analysis with the survey data from 303 Chinese firms.Findings: Explorative/exploitative market learning has an inverted U-shaped/U-shaped effect on radical innovation. The effects of explorative market learning on radical innovation increase when firms have strong horizontal ties, but decrease when firms have strong vertical ties. The opposite is true for the effects of exploitative market learning.Research limitations/implications: This study uses unilateral data to examine the moderation effects of the focal firms’ vertical and horizontal ties on the market learning-radical innovation links. Future research that conducted in the dyadic-paradigm would be preferable to test the generalizability of this research and address the potential changes.Originality/value: The value of the current study centers on its integrated framework that incorporates organizational learning theory and the social network perspective to account for radical innovation. The integrative view helps us to interpret the curvilinear effects of market learning on radical innovation and outlines the moderation mechanisms of horizontal ties and vertical ties.

We examine the effects of anti-corruption efforts on local environmental pollution in China. Using data for China from 2003 to 2017, we find that anti-corruption efforts contribute to reduce local environmental pollution. Second, we show the two possible channels through which the anti-corruption efforts reduce local environmental pollution: political connection effects and deterrent effects. Finally, our results show that the effects of anti-corruption efforts on local environmental pollution are stronger in cities located south of the ‘Qin ling Mountains-Huai he River’, in cities with stronger government and public concern for the environment. Our main results pass a series of robustness tests. Overall, we offer novel evidence that anti-corruption efforts contribute to improving environmental quality.

Using Chinese data from 2004 to 2016, we investigate the effects of business models on bank risk before, during and after financial crisis. Three main results emerge. First, insolvency risk and ROA volatility significantly increase if banks increase their share of non-interest income, and this relationship mainly appears during and after financial crisis. Second, a higher non-deposit funding share results in lower capital risk and credit risk and higher asset quality. However, these effects disappear after financial crisis. Finally, further analyses show that the effects of non-interest income on bank risk are mainly from assets-based non-interest income, and the effects of non-deposit funding on bank risk come primarily from money-market and short-term funding.

Using a unique quasi-natural event, i.e. gangdom and evil forces (hereafter, GEs) elimination in China, we investigate the relationship between the public governance proxied by GEs elimination and corporate innovation based on the data of Chinese listed firms from 2013 to 2021. The results show that the GEs elimination leads to a 0.39% increase in corporate innovation investment. Quantitatively, the increase is approximately equivalent to 4.42 million yuan for a firm of median innovation investment. Furthermore, we find that the GEs elimination increases corporate innovation through two possible channels: relieving financing constraints and intensifying market competition. In addition, we also reveal that the effects of GEs elimination on corporate innovation are stronger in firms located in a better marketization environment and a stronger Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection environment. Our main results pass a series of robustness tests and endogeneity issues.