The role of firm ownership on internationalization: evidence from two transition economies

This paper investigates how different types of owners influence the extent of firm internationalization, measured by the share of firm exports in total sales. The results of the analysis carried out using firm level data of Estonian and Slovenian firms, show that the firms under the control of the insider owners are, on average, more internationalized. State control, on the other hand, hampers internationalization efforts. Further, more productive firms, larger firms, more capital-intensive firms and those with high level of investment in both fixed capital and R&D are more successful in internationalization process. Finally, high market share also leads to increased internationalization through exports as firms seek to expand in foreign markets after having dominated the domestic ones.     

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.