We study whether sibling co-management affects the cost of capital for family firms in China. We find that sibling co-management strongly correlates with a lower cost of capital. We identify three mechanisms through which sibling co-managers (including directors) influence the cost of capital: providing coinsurance, enhancing corporate governance, and facilitating communication with investors. Furthermore, the effect is more pronounced for firms operating in regions with weaker legal environments and firms with auditors from non-Big 4 accounting firms. However, sibling co-management may also hinder external financing due to higher uncertainty during family power transfer periods. In addition, the value of sibling co-management is more salient for financially constrained firms and those in which at least one of the co-manager siblings has a finance background. Overall, the findings suggest that family firms benefit from sibling co-management, resulting in a lower cost of capital, despite the challenges that arise during family power transfer.

Using a sample of Chinese firms from 2000 to 2018, we document that hometown firms (firms with hometown chairpersons) engage in less green innovation than non-hometown firms. Evidence suggests that local stakeholders offer hometown chairpersons more protection from environmental consequences than non-hometown chairpersons. We identify two possible mechanisms: government patronage and accommodation by local supply chain partners. Furthermore, we find that the double standards are alleviated with insignificant difference in corporate green innovation when non-hometown chairpersons marry hometown spouses or build local political relationships. Additional analyses suggest that (1) the double standards drive hometown firms to emit more pollutants than non-hometown firms, (2) when a firm is under government scrutiny for environmental issues, located in the city with severe air pollution, or in heavily polluting industries, the adverse effect of a chairperson's hometown on green innovation is minimal, and (3) our findings on green innovation also extend to a decrease in the number of pollutant treatment facilities and treatment capacity in a firm.