2026年5月，苏州大学商学院智能会计系王慧强博士与邵新建教授（对外经济贸易大学）、刘拯博士（浙江师范大学）合作的论文“Customer Concentration and Corporate Employment”在Journal of Corporate Finance正式发表。Journal of Corporate Finance是学术界公认的金融领域国际权威期刊，为ABS四星期刊，享有极高的学术声誉。

In May 2026, Dr. Huiqiang Wang from the Department of Intelligent Accounting at the Business School of Soochow University, in collaboration with Professor Xinjian Shao from the University of International Business and Economics and Dr. Zheng Liu from Zhejiang Normal University, published their paper titled "Customer Concentration and Corporate Employment" in the internationally renowned financial journal Journal of Corporate Finance. Journal of Corporate Finance is widely recognized as an authoritative international journal in the field of finance within the academic community, and it enjoys an extremely high academic reputation.

本研究探讨了客户集中度如何影响供应商企业的劳动力雇佣决策。利用2007年至2020年中国A股上市公司的数据，研究发现客户集中度与企业劳动力雇佣量之间存在负相关关系。研究结论经过变动模型分析、倾向得分匹配分析、工具变量分析以及一系列稳健性检验依然成立。本文继续探究了潜在机制，发现客户集中度较高的供应商现金流压力增大，生产规模缩小，从而抑制了对劳动力的需求。横截面分析表明，对于劳动密集型、客户转换成本低或竞争优势有限的供应商，这种负面影响更为显著。进一步研究表明，客户集中会促使供应商企业主动调整自身的劳动力结构，提高平均工资（尤其是非高管员工），降低总工资支出，并提高劳动生产率。该研究结论突显了供应链依赖对劳动力战略决策的影响。

This study examines how customer concentration influences a supplier firm's labor employment decisions. Using a comprehensive panel of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2007 to 2020, we document a negative association between customer concentration and total labor employment. Change analyses, a propensity score matched (PSM) sample analysis, an instrumental variable (IV) analysis, and a series of robustness tests provide robustness and causal inference. We explore potential mechanisms and find that a concentrated customer base heightens suppliers’ cash flow pressure and reduces production scale, thereby dampening labor demand. Cross-sectional analyses reveal that the negative effect is more pronounced among suppliers with high labor intensity, low customer switching costs, or limited competitive advantage. Additional evidence suggests that customer concentration prompts suppliers to restructure their workforce, raise average wages (particularly for non-executive employees), cut total wage expenses, and improve labor productivity. Collectively, our findings highlight the strategic labor implications of supply chain dependence.

王慧强，经济学博士，苏州大学优秀青年学者(讲师)，硕士生导师，2023年6月毕业于对外经济贸易大学国际经济贸易学院金融学专业获博士学位。主要研究兴趣是企业首次公开发行上市（IPOs）、公司财务与资本市场。研究成果发表在《金融研究》（2篇），Journal of Corporate Finance，Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation（2篇），Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting，Applied Economics，Finance Research Letters，Pacific-Basin Finance Journal等期刊上。

Huiqiang Wang, a Doctor of Economics, is an outstanding young scholar (lecturer) at Soochow University. He graduated from the School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, in June 2023, majoring in Finance. His main research interests lie in initial public offerings (IPOs) and corporate finance. His research has been published in journals such as Journal of Financial Research (In Chinese), Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Applied Economics, Finance Research Letters, and Pacific-Basin Finance Journal.