Governance participation puzzle: A field experiment

Last registered on January 02, 2024
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Governance participation puzzle: A field experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012762
Initial registration date
December 31, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 02, 2024, 11:02 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Minghao Yan
Affiliation
Lingnan University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Xiaofeng Zhao
PI Affiliation
Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-01-01
End date
2024-06-30
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity, Governance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The participation in individual shareholder voting for corporate governance proposals among publicly listed firms in China is notably low. This project aims to conduct a field experiment by providing governance knowledge and information about voting events to individual investors, assessing whether the treated firms experience an increase in shareholder voting participation and governance changes in the post-experiment period.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Yan, Minghao and Xiaofeng Zhao. 2024. "Governance participation puzzle: A field experiment." AEA RCT Registry. January 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12762-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)


Intervention (Hidden)
We plan to distribute four types of information to individual investors via posting on social media, including: 1) the date of the vote and the proposals to be reviewed (News treatment); 2) the voting procedure (Method treatment); 3) legal knowledge emphasizing that attending shareholder meetings and voting is a right under Article 103 of the Company Law of the People's Republic of China (Legal knowledge treatment); and 4) governance knowledge about the benefits of active participation in shareholder meetings for firm governance and stock performance (Governance knowledge treatment).

The companies will be randomly divided into several groups. One of these groups is the control group, where the investors are not provided with any information. The investors in the remaining groups will be provided with different types of information mentioned above or combinations of different types of information.

Groups thus read:
C: Do nothing
T1: News treatment: share the voting news/date/proposal with the public investor
T2: method treatment: news treatment + share the tips of how to make the voting
T3a: Investor right treatment: news treatment + share the tips of how to make the voting + share the knowledge that shareholder voting is the basic rights of an investor.
T3b: Governance treatment: news treatment + share the tips of how to make the voting + share the knowledge that investors' voting participation can improve firms' governance and thereby performance
T4: Investor right treatment + Governance treatment: news treatment + share the tips of how to make the voting + share the knowledge that shareholder voting is the basic rights of an investor + share the knowledge about how investors' voting participation can improve firms' governance and thereby performance
Intervention Start Date
2024-01-01
Intervention End Date
2024-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We look at whether participation rate of the annual shareholder meeting will be changed after the treatment.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Investors will be given different types of information. The grouping of the companies is randomly assigned by a computer. The experiment is planned to be conducted from January to June 2024.
Experimental Design Details
Different types of information will be posted for investors of different company groups on social media platforms. In addition, the number of reads for each post the day after it is posted will be collected. The grouping of the companies is randomly assigned by a computer. The experiment is planned to be conducted from January to June 2024.
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by computer.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is the listed companies.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 4,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
approximately 600
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer (ORKT)
IRB Approval Date
2023-12-20
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials