Abstract: Preventing and mitigating firm-specific risks is crucial for enhancing the intrinsic stability of the capital market and maintaining its healthy and stable operation. Using data from listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges between 2007 and 2023, this paper empirically examines the impact of the network position characteristics of the audit committee on firm-specific risk and its underlying mechanisms from the perspective of social relationship networks. The study finds that audit committees occupying key network positions can effectively reduce firm-specific risk, manifested as a significant negative correlation between the network centrality and structural hole richness of the audit committee and firm-specific risk. Mechanism analysis reveals that the information effect and the monitoring effect play mediating roles between the network position characteristics of the audit committee and firm-specific risk. Further analysis shows that in sample firms with high environmental uncertainty, audit committees occupying key network positions can effectively suppress firm-specific risk. In contrast, in sample firms with favorable technological development environments and strong external monitoring environments, the marginal effect of the audit committee's relational network on mitigating firm-specific risk diminishes. Additionally, the network position characteristics of the audit committee can enhance firm value by alleviating firm-specific risk. The study suggests that firms should fully leverage the governance role of the audit committee network to prevent and mitigate firm-specific risks, thereby promoting the healthy and orderly development of the capital market.

Key words: Audit Committee, Network Position Characteristics, Social Relationship Network, Enterprise Trait Risk

摘要： 防范化解企业特质风险对于增强资本市场内在稳定性,促进资本市场高质量发展至关重要。本文利用2007—2023年沪深两市上市公司数据,基于社会关系网络视角,实证检验了审计委员会网络位置特征对企业特质风险的影响。研究发现,占据关键网络位置的审计委员会能有效降低企业特质风险,具体表现为审计委员会网络中心度和结构洞丰富度与企业特质风险显著负相关。机制分析显示,审计委员会社会关系网络能够通过信息效应和监督效应来降低企业特质风险。进一步分析发现,在环境不确定性高的样本企业中,占据关键网络位置的审计委员会能有效抑制企业特质风险,而在技术发展环境以及外部监督环境较好的样本企业中,审计委员会关系网络抑制企业特质风险的边际效果降低;审计委员会网络位置特征能通过缓解企业特质风险促进企业价值提高。上述结论为更好地理解审计委员会关系网络对企业特质风险的治理作用提供了理论支撑。

关键词: 审计委员会, 网络位置特征, 社会关系网络, 企业特质风险