Types of variables

Variable symbol

Variable name

Variable meaning

Dependent variable

Divdi,t

Whether there is diversified M & A

If in the tth, company i has diversified M & A, then Divi, t = 1, otherwise Divi, t = 0

Divvi,t

Scale of diversified M & A

The total amount of diversified M & A in a year (logarithm)

Explanatory variable

Female

Whether there are female executives

If there are female executives in the company, the value is 1, otherwise it is 0

Female_Rate

Proportion of female executives

The percentage of women in the total number of directors, supervisors and senior executives of the company

FTMage

Average age of female executives

Average age of female executives

FTMedu

Average educational level of female executives

Total score of executives/total number of executives. Technical secondary school and below = 1; college = 2; undergraduate = 3; master = 4; doctoral degree and above = 5.

Control variable

Cash_Ratio

Cash flow ratio

Net cash flow from operating activities/year-end current liabilities

Size

Company size

The natural logarithm of the book value of total assets at the end of the year before the diversified M & A transaction

ROA

Profitability

The ratio of the net profit to the total asset balance at the end of the year before the diversified M & A transaction

ROE

Return on equity

Profit after tax/average shareholders’ equity (owners’ equity)

Lev

Debt-to-asset ratio

The ratio of the book value of liabilities to the book value of total assets at the end of the year before the diversified M & A transaction

Indp

Independent director proportion

Number of independent directors/number of directors

CEO_Gender

whether the CEO is female

If the company’s CEO is a female, the value is 1, otherwise it is 0

Chair_Gender

whether the chairman is female

If the company’s chairman is a female, the value is 1, otherwise it is 0

Fe_CEO

The number of female CEO

Number of female financial executives

Tagr

Total assets growth rate

(Total assets at the end of the year − total assets at the beginning of the year)/Total assets at the beginning of the year

Tatr

Total asset turnover rate

Total sales revenue/average total assets

Year

Year

Year dummy variable

Industry

Industry

Industry dummy variable