Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

5-2023

Abstract

In this study, we examine whether the social capital surrounding the firm’s corporate headquarters mitigates managerial self-dealing in the form of opportunistic insider trading. We find strong evidence that the level of social capital in the region surrounding the firm’s headquarters is negatively and significantly associated with insider trading profitability. We also find that the negative association between social capital and insider trading profitability is more pronounced when governance is weaker and corporate opacity is higher, instances where insiders have greater opportunities to trade on their private information. Further analyses on the potential mechanisms suggest that the negative association is stronger when the firm’s social networks are denser and when the civic norms in the region are stronger. Overall, our paper contributes to the growing social capital literature in accounting and finance by providing direct empirical evidence that social capital mitigates managerial self-serving behavior in the form of opportunistic insider trading.

Keywords

Social capital, insider trading, managerial opportunism, information environment

Discipline

Accounting | Corporate Finance

Research Areas

Corporate Governance, Auditing and Risk Management

Publication

Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance

ISSN

0148-558X

Identifier

10.1177/0148558X231167202

Publisher

SAGE Publications (UK and US)

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/0148558X231167202

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