| Abstract | Marriage and gender are two key factors which would affect ones’ decision-making behavior. We study the impact of joint-shareholding between controlling couple on the firm’s risk-taking level from the perspective of marriage economics for the first time, basing on the sample of 2007 - 2015 Shanghai and Shenzhen listed family enterprises. We find that the firm’s risk-taking level would be lower when the controlling couple both holding shares. The conclusion is still robust even after using instrumental variables, adopting PSM and placebo test, changing the measurement and controlling omitted variables. What’s more, the role of wife in the decision-making is not affected by the difference of shares hold by two sides, but differences in education background and region’s marriage atmosphere. We also summary two effective mechanisms. First, the wife, as a women, is relatively risk aversion. Second, a husband who is willing to share the shares with his wife would be less likely to be a male chauvinist, also showing a more conservative risk attitude when making decisions. This paper first discusses the management characteristics of "Couple shop". By introducing marriage economics into the research of firms’ financial behavior, we find that the conjugal relationship of the entrepreneur has economic impact beyond the family scope. The paper reaffirms the view in marriage economics field that the family structure and characteristics are important variables in promoting economic development. It also provides a new way to understand the entrepreneur's decision-making model and the financial behavior of family companies from a broader perspective. |