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.

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.

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.