Local Credit Default Environment and Enterprises Cash Holdings—Evidence from the Blacklisted Defaulters Subject to Enforcement
Blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement are a typical manifestation of disregard for contractual spirit and a profound lack of integrity.The number of such individuals serves as a crucial indicator for assessing the credit environment of a region.As the number of blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement increases,the level of environmental uncertainty faced by enterprises intensifies.Existing literature has elucidated the causes of credit default and discussed its economic consequences from the perspectives of accounting information quality,financial constraints,financialization,risk-taking,and excessive debt.However,there is a paucity of research examining the impact of blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement on corporate cash holdings.Consequently,this paper employs data on blacklisted default legal persons subject to enforcement,as compiled by the Supreme People's Court,to investigate the economic consequences of a local credit default environment from the perspective of corporate cash holdings.Specifically,blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement violate fundamental business rules and convey a negative signal of credit deficiency to society.This credit deficiency has spillover and contagion effects,leading external stakeholders to form a stereotypical impression of"untrustworthiness"about the region,which translates into distrust of all enterprises operating in that area.In other words,in regions with a high number of blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement,other enterprises experience a significant reduction in trust,necessitating the possession of more resources to cope with the uncertainties brought about by the credit default environment.Favara et al.found that cash is an important resource for enterprises to manage uncertainty.By increasing corporate cash holdings and leveraging the preventive motivation of cash,enterprises can mitigate the adverse impacts of environmental uncertainty.Therefore,enterprises need to maintain higher cash holdings to address financing difficulties,repair reputational damage,and compensate for the weakened operational capabilities caused by a credit default environment.Using a sample of A-share listed companies in China from 2008 to 2018,the empirical results indicate that the greater the number of blacklisted defaulters subject to enforcement in the region where an enterprise is located,the higher its cash holdings.This conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests.Mechanism tests reveal that a credit default environment exacerbates corporate financing constraints,increases expenditures,and reduces operating performance,thereby compelling enterprises to hold higher levels of cash out of preventive motivation.Further tests find that when an enterprise's accounting information quality is poor or its size is small,it needs to hold more cash to cope with potential risks in a credit default environment.This paper clarifies the logic and mechanism through which a credit default environment affects corporate cash holdings,enriches the research literature on the economic consequences of a credit default environment from the perspective of cash holdings,and serves as a useful supplement to the preventive motivation for holding cash.It also provides a reference for continuously optimizing the business environment and improving the social credit system.
Local credit default environmentBlacklisted defaulters subject to enforcementCash holdingsSocial credit
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