This paper investigates whether network effects on investment exist and whether firms strategically herd their connected firms. To construct firm networks, we utilize board-interlock networks where two firms share at least one common board member and estimate network effects on firms’ investment decisions. Our identification strategy is built on adopting characteristics of the peers of peers as legitimate instrumental variables. Empirical findings confirm significant network effects on firms’ investment and show that firms strategically follow their connected firms with high-quality information.

中文翻译：

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董事会网络和企业投资

本文研究了投资的网络效应是否存在，以及企业是否战略性地聚集其关联企业。为了构建公司网络，我们利用董事会连锁网络，其中两家公司至少拥有一名共同的董事会成员，并估计网络对公司投资决策的影响。我们的识别策略建立在采用同行的特征作为合法的工具变量的基础上。实证研究结果证实了网络对企业投资的显着影响，并表明企业战略性地跟踪其关联企业的高质量信息。