The Coopetition in Peer Effects: Evidence from Dividend Policy

This paper investigates dividend peer effects among Chinese listed companies using panel data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2023. The results show that dividend peer effects among Chinese listed companies are significant but predominantly differentiated rather than mimetic. When peer firms increase dividends, focal firms tend to reduce their own dividends; this pattern exists for both complementary and substitute peers, while brand capital positively affects firms’ dividend payments and strengthens the negative peer effect associated with substitute peers. These findings enrich the literature by showing that dividend peer effects in an emerging market may take the form of strategic differentiation rather than simple imitation, extend theory by integrating signaling theory, the resource-based view, and competitive strategy theory, and suggest that regulators and investors should evaluate dividend policy together with firms’ long-term strategic resource allocation rather than by dividend payout ratios alone.