Ownership structure,investors’ protection and corporate valuation: the effect of judicial system efficiency in family and non-family firms

Research on the effect of ownership structure on firm performance shows no convergent evidence concerning the sign and form of the above-mentioned relationship. Similarly, there is no homogeneous evidence documenting family ownership concentration is always positively or negatively correlated with firm value, or irrelevant. This paper analyses whether and how the de facto investor protection provided by the judicial system affects the relationship between corporate performance and ownership structure in 1314 firms operating in four European countries (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) over a five-year period, 2010–2014. Moreover, we analyse whether judicial system efficiency influences if and how family firms in the controlling coalition collude for expropriating minority shareholders. Our findings show that the level of shareholder protection, derived from judicial efficiency, is relevant to the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance, thus corroborating literature in that institutional contexts matter in explaining such relations. The results suggest the need for more efficient external mechanisms of corporate governance to facilitate investment in equity capital, thus decreasing the country risk perceived by investors.     

Ownership concentration beyond good and evil: is there an effect on corporate performance?

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance, while accounting for the endogeneity of the ownership structure, a potential curvilinearity of the performance effect, differences in corporate governance systems, and alternative performance measures. Using a sample of 1,079 firms from 8 countries we find evidence for a curvilinear effect of ownership concentration on firm performance, which becomes insignificant after controlling for endogeneity. Hence, our results support the findings by Demsetz and Villalonga (J Corp Fin 7(3):209?C233, 2001). More research is needed to disentangle the contradictory findings in prior works.     

The impact of family CEO’s ownership and the moderating effect of the second largest owner in private family firms

This study explores two ownership issues in private family firms. First, we investigate the relationship between the ownership of family CEOs and firm performance, and postulate that this relationship in private family firms is more complex than the inverted “U” relationship found in public family firms. Second, we predict a potential moderating effect of the second largest owner, who may exert a monitoring role on family CEOs. We focus on private family firms as recent studies show that private family firms have distinct features compared to public family firms, and that findings documented in public family firms may not apply to the ubiquitous, but much less studied, private family firms. We have applied agency theory to develop the two hypotheses, used secondary data on a large sample of private family firms, utilized an adjusted conventional quadratic technique to test the hypotheses, and validated the findings using a second method of piecewise linear specification. The results show that the non-linear relationship between the ownership of family CEOs and firm performance is more complicated than the often-documented inverted “U” shape from public firms. Meanwhile, the second largest owner with a high enough ownership stake can impose a positive moderating effect by mitigating potential agency problems caused by family CEOs.     

Capital structure,managerial ownership and firm performance: evidence from Egypt

This paper focuses on an important issue, which has generally received less attention in corporate governance literature, being the effect of managerial ownership on the relationship between debt and firm performance. By employing a sample of Egyptian listed firms, the generalized least squares method, as a panel data technique, is used to examine the joint effect of debt and managerial ownership on various measures of firm performance (i.e., Tobin’s q and ROA). The results reveal that managerial ownership moderates the relationship between debt and firm performance, with the relationship being negative (positive) in presence (absence) of managerial ownership concentration. The implication of this finding is that the optimal capital structure is more likely to be contingent on contextual variables as well as the roles, power, and stakes of key internal and external actors. Put simply, the effectiveness of one corporate governance mechanism (i.e., debt) is more likely to be contingent on the effect of other existed corporate governance mechanisms, and hence, there is not one best arrangement of either capital structure or ownership structure, but different arrangements are not equally good.     

Ownership and corporate social responsibility: "The power of the female touch"

Using a sample of 26,029 firm-year observations over the period 2002–2017 from 4,479 firms and 44 countries, we examine the relationship between ownership concentration and corporate social responsibility by focusing on the mediating role of board gender diversity and the moderating role of family shareholding. We find that ownership concentration negatively affects corporate social responsibility, and the board gender diversity partially mediates this negative effect. Our results indicate that the mediating effect of board gender diversity leads to a 10.65 percent decrease in the impact of ownership concentration on corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, moderated path analysis indicates that family shareholding weakens the direct effect of ownership concentration on board gender diversity and its indirect effect on corporate social responsibility. In post hoc analysis, we also document that the effect of gender diversity on the board is more prevalent in high gender-egalitarian societies where women are more involved in decision-making. Our study addresses the strategic role of female board members in increasing firms’ respect for corporate social responsibility, especially in family-controlled firms. Thus, our results may provide insights to regulators and policymakers to enhance firms’ corporate social practices by encouraging women’s participation on corporate boards.     

Corporate Governance and Tobin's Q as a Measure of Organizational Performance

This empirical study examines the relationship between corporate governance and organizational performance (OP), measured using Tobin's Q (TQ) in the context of an emerging economy for which, as yet, only a handful of studies have been conducted. We employ a system generalized method of moments approach controlling for endogeneity and test it on a newly created dataset comprising 324 listed firms in Pakistan. We find that board size, number of board committees and ownership concentration are positively linked with high TQ ratio, whilst board independence and CEO duality display a negative relationship. In terms of moderating effects, we find that ownership concentration negatively moderates the relationship between board independence and OP, as well as that of CEO duality and OP. The relationship between the number of board committees and OP is positively moderated by ownership concentration. Our findings contribute towards a better articulation and application of a more concrete measure of OP ? that of the TQ ratio ? whilst, at the same time, testing the board composition–performance relationship in the context of an upcoming and increasingly important emerging market. Wider applicability of results and policy implications are discussed.     

股权结构、高管持股与公司绩效——来自民营上市公司的证据

本文以1999年至2003年的民营上市公司为研究对象,回避国有上市公司的非市场因素,研究股权结构、高管持股对绩效的影响。实证研究显示:第一大股东绝对控股时,其持股比例越高公司绩效越好,这时高管的股权激励无法发挥作用;当第一大股东持股比例低于20％时,高管的股权激励也无法发挥作用;当第一大股东持股比例在20％至40％之间时,其持股比例和绩效呈现倒U型关系,这时高管的股权激励发挥显著的作用。不同的股权结构对股权激励和绩效产生不同的影响,设计公司治理机制时应充分考虑这一因素。     

我国上市公司配股前后业绩变化及其影响因素的实证研究

本文首次系统考查了我国上市公司配股融资后的业绩表现及其影响因素。实证研究表明,我国上市公司配股融资后业绩出现显著的下降,和没有配股的配比公司相比,配股公司的业绩要好于配比公司,但在配股后第3年,开始逊色于配比公司,并且,公司配股后业绩的下降幅度大于配比公司。本文首次发现,自由现金流假说能很好解释我国上市公司配股后长期业绩下滑的影响因素,公司配股前的自由现金流量越多,公司配股后的业绩下降得越快,公司的股权集中度低与投资水平低的上市公司,配股后业绩下降得越快。另外,公司的成长性越高,资产规模越大,公司配股后业绩下降的更快。     

Ownership concentration and market value of European banks

This paper investigates the relationship between ownership concentration and market value of European banks, and the role of the institutional environment in shaping this relationship. Using GMM dynamic estimator on a sample of European banks over a 13-year period (1993–2005) we find on average a negative effect of ownership concentration on bank value, measured by Tobin's Q. However, this effect varies across different institutional settings; while higher ownership concentration results in a lower bank value particularly in the countries belonging to German legal family, the impact of ownership concentration is positive in Scandinavia. We propose that, besides the legal protection of small investors, the differences in the impact of ownership concentration across the countries could be due to the identity of the predominant owners, i.e. financial institutions in Germany and trusts and foundations in Scandinavia. This in turn implies that restrictions of shareholdings in banks could alleviate governance problems in some countries, but lower bank valuation in others.     

Formal governance,interfirm coordination,and performance in partnerships: An empirical investigation of a mediation model

This study investigates the extent to which formal governance mechanisms such as contracts and equity ownership affect interfirm coordination and partnership performance. We analysed data from a survey of 301 Korean firms to show that interfirm coordination partially mediates the relationship between contract completeness, defined as the extent to which a contract specifies task operations and contingencies, and partnership performance. Furthermore, we find that more complete contracts can attenuate the negative effects of equity ownership on coordination, and that this effect is particularly strong when partner tasks are interdependent and relational norms are weak.     

研发投入对企业绩效的影响研究 ——基于企业金融化水平门限回归

本文选取1435家A股上市公司2011—2018年度的面板数据,以企业金融化水平作为门限变量,研究企业研发投入对企业绩效的非线性影响关系。研究结果表明:(1)企业金融化行为给研发投入对企业绩效的促进作用带来严重的时滞效应,研发投入对当年企业绩效不存在促进作用;(2)研发投入对未来一年企业绩效有双门限效应,二者呈倒N型关系,在第二区间内研发投入促进未来一年企业绩效;研发投入对未来二年企业绩效有单门限效应,在第一区间内研发投入促进未来二年企业绩效;(3)在适度的企业金融化水平区间内,研发投入才会促进未来企业绩效。本文指出上市公司金融化水平最优区间占比分布具有区域、行业和企业性质异质性,并进一步基于实证研究结果提出了相应的政策建议,有利于企业合理管理研发投入和防止企业脱实向虚。     

上市公司治理:理论与现实的距离——基于1250份上市公司“自查报告和整改计划”的分析

本文根据1250家上市公司所公布的"自查报告和整改计划",重点从大股东、董事会/监事会、经理层以及投资者法律保护等四个方面对"自查报告和整改计划"的调查问题进行全面归纳、整理、分解和剖析,通过统计分析和理论文献对比,综合反映出目前我国上市公司治理现状和问题.调查分析结果表明,虽然我国目前已基本上建立了一整套与上市公司治理相关的法律法规,上市公司在大股东、董事会、经理层和投资者保护等方面的行为得到了一定的规范约束.但是,我国上市公司治理仍然处在不断完善过程中,如何强化大股东的信托义务和法律责任,从根本上解决大股东侵占中小股东利益的问题、保证董事会制度的独立性和有效性、培育经理人市场,积极推进股权激励机制、落实投资者法律保护制度等成为今后完善我国上市公司治理的重要任务.     

Ownership Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from Israel

The study examines the effect of ownership structure on firm performance. We distinguish between family firms, firms controlled by partnerships of individuals, concern controlled firms, and firms where blockholders have less than 50% of the vote. The empirical work analyzes data on 280 Israeli firms and employs the technique of Data Envelopment Analysis. It is found that owner-manager firms are less efficient in generating net income than firms managed by a professional (non-owner) manager, and that family firms run by their owners perform (relatively) the worst. This evidence suggests that the modern form of business organization, namely the open corporation with disperse ownership and non-owner managers, promotes firm performance.     

To fit in or stand out? How optimal distinctiveness in technological diversification affects firm performance

Previous research has observed technological diversification from a strategic viewpoint and regarded it as a strategy used by firms to differentiate themselves from competitors. This perspective, however, overlooks the fact that firms' strategies can also be understood as conformity to institutional pressure to gain legitimacy. In order to study the technological diversification–firm performance relationship from a more comprehensive viewpoint, this paper starts from a strategic balance perspective and investigates how technological diversification conformity enhances firm performance. Using a unique dataset of Chinese listed firms' patenting activities from 2003 to 2014 and adopting ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, we produce empirical findings that reveal a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship between firms’ conformity in technological diversification and their performance. Our results further delineate the boundary conditions that influence this relationship. We find that firm age positively moderates the relationship, that is the conformity-performance relationship is steeper with the older firms. Moreover, the result suggests that state ownership negatively moderates the relationship, that is, the relationship is flatter when firms are controlled by the state.     

股权结构与择时披露

本文从股权集中度视角出发,分别探讨了国有控股公司和民营控股公司股权集中度对上市公司择时披露行为的影响。结果表明,对于国有控股公司股权集中度与管理层选择周末披露的概率呈正U型关系;对于民营控股公司股权集中度与管理层选择周末披露盈余公告的概率呈倒U型关系。进一步,由于我国民营上市公司控制链较长,终极控制权与现金流权分离问题严重,我们又从终极控制权,以及终极控制权与现金流权分离度角度研究了民营上市公司择时披露的影响因素。与股权集中度影响类似,我们发现在民营上市公司中,终极控制权持股比例与管理层选择周末披露盈余公告的概率呈倒U型关系,终极控制权与现金流权分离度与管理层选择周末披露盈余公告的概率呈正向关系。     

Internal corporate governance mechanisms as drivers of firm value: panel data evidence for Chilean firms

The paper analyses to what extent ownership structure, capital structure, and dividend policy as corporate governance mechanisms drive the firm value. From a data panel of publicly quoted Chilean firms for the years 2002–2010, we find that there is an inverse U-shaped relationship between ownership concentration and firm value. The positive slope is supported by the supervision hypothesis; whilst the negative relation between ownership concentration and firm value is supported by the expropriation hypothesis. We also find that there is a positive impact of both leverage and the dividend pay-out on the firm value. In this case, these two mechanisms reduce the free cash flows which otherwise might be used opportunistically by managers in their own interests (free rider problem). Contrary to the previous empirical literature in Chile, it is found that the mere fact that a firm is affiliated to a business group/conglomerate impacts positively its value. This positive effect is basically driven by the development of intragroup capital markets, and the governance imposed by the rules of the conglomerate.     

Ownership Structure and Value of the Largest European Firms: The Importance of Owner Identity

The paper examines the relationship betweenownership structure and value of the largestEuropean firms. Using simultaneous estimationand controlling for nation and industry effectswe find that ownership concentration (measuredby the fraction of ``closely held' shares) hasa positive effect on firm value (market-to-bookvalue of equity), when the largest owner is afinancial institution or another corporation. If the largest owner is a family or a singleindividual, ownership concentration has noeffect on firm value, and the effect isnegative if the largest owner is a governmentorganisation. Firm value is found to have apositive feedback effect on ownershipconcentration except for governments, whichhold higher stakes in low-value firms. Inother words, owner-identity matters,particularly in a Continental Europeaninstitutional setting where ownershipconcentration is high and minority investorprotection is low.     

Board compensation and ownership structure: empirical evidence for Italian listed companies

This paper investigates the relationships among corporate ownership, the level of board compensation, and firms’ future performance within Italian listed companies. Board compensation could be related to corporate ownership characteristics, like the type of controlling shareholder, ownership concentration, the separation between cash flow and voting rights, and the presence of shareholders’ agreements. The evidence of high levels of board compensation associated with certain governance characteristics could signal, in a principal-agent framework, rent extraction by entrenched managers or by controlling shareholders versus minority shareholders; high board compensation, however, could be related to the need to hire directors with higher professional standing and also to the desire to create a network with other companies through the enlargement of the board, according to a social network view. In this paper we disentangle this issue showing the relationship between excess board compensation and future performance: examining firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange over the period 1995–2002, we show that board compensation is linked to many governance characteristics, but excess compensation is never positively related to future performance. For founder family firms, in particular, high board compensation is associated with (a) smaller board size; (b) higher proportion of family members on the board; (c) lower future performance. The whole evidence therefore doesn’t support the hypothesis suggested by the social network view, but is consistent with a rent extraction hypothesis. These results could add new empirical evidence to the recent debate on the need for global remuneration reform. According to our results, some control mechanism and an increase in transparency of executive compensation schemes could be appropriate.     

基于行业环境风险感知维度的中国企业国际扩张与绩效关系研究——兼论企业所有制形式的调节作用

企业的国际扩张与国际化绩效一直是国际商务研究关注的重要问题。然而,中国企业与西方企业在国际化扩张中最大差异之一则在于其所有制形式。本研究从中国企业所有制独特特性出发,实证检验了中国企业所有制形式对企业在国际扩张中行业环境风险感知、进入模式选择的影响,并进一步分析不同进入模式的绩效差异。研究发现,中国企业在国际化扩张进程中:(1)行业环境风险感知对国际进入模式选择具有显著负向影响;(2)所有制形式对企业的行业环境风险感知与国际进入模式产生重要的调节作用;(3)不同进入模式对企业的国际化绩效也会产生重要影响。     

经营者股权、非流通股权和公司绩效——对中国上市公司的实证分析

许多学者证明内部人股权和公司绩效之间存在非线性关系,并且把内部人股权看作经营者股权。本文结合中国上市公司的特点,认为应该从广义上理解内部人股权的概念,把非流通股都看作内部股。通过对深市上市公司的分析,本文发现经营者股权和公司绩效之间没有显著的关系。国家股和法人股等与公司绩效显著正相关。一定比例的非流通股可以促进公司绩效,而非流通股比例过大,则会使公司绩效降低。企业应该逐渐降低非流通国家股和法人股的比例,提高经营者股权,以发挥经营者的积极性和管理能力。