Research | Dai Rui: Global Zombie Companies: Measurements, Determinants, and Outcomes

Release time：20 January 2025

“Zombie companies” refer to companies that have lost the ability to develop themselves and market vitality, dependent on government subsidies, bank loans, or external assistance to survive. Such companies are stuck in a state of loss for a long time, with no hope of turning losses into profits, and occupy a lot of resources but fail to create corresponding value. Since 1990, the average proportion of zombie companies in global listed companies has increased significantly, reaching about 7% in 2020. Zombie companies will not only seriously hinder market development but also curb the growth of sound companies.

Dai Rui, Assistant Professor of the School of Management and Economics (SME), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), Professor Altman of New York University, the United States, and Professor Wang Wei of Queen’s University, Canada, jointly authored the research titled Global Zombie Companies: Measurements, Determinants, and Outcomes, which proposes a new metric to assess the degree of rigidity in the world’s top 20 economies. This study aims to explore the causes and impacts of zombie companies, alleviate their problems, and create a legal and market environment conducive to business development.

The research paper was published in Journal of International Business Studies, a top international journal.