scholarly journals Corporate governance and the dynamics of ownership of German firms between 1997 and 2007

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Schwetzler ◽  
Marco O. Sperling

La Porta et al. (1999) find that countries with weak corporate governance tend to have higher ownership concentration than countries with legal systems that protect shareholders well. Changes in the quality of corporate governance are often followed by adjustments in ownership structure. On a sample of first layer as well as ultimate ownership (10% and 20% cut-off threshold) data for 11 years between 1997 and 2007 for German firms listed in the DAX, we examine the dynamics of ownership structure. We find that ownership concentration strongly declined. Further, foreign financial institutions became an important investor group with an increase of average stake from 0.4% in 1997 to 9.1% in 2007. We conclude that the quality of corporate governance increased and the Germany capital market became more open during that period.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1344-1361
Author(s):  
Isaiah Oino

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of transparency and disclosure on the financial performance of financial institutions. The emphasis is on assessing transparency and disclosure; auditing and compliance; risk management as indicators of corporate governance; and understanding how these parameters affect bank profitability, liquidity and the quality of loan portfolios. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 20 financial institutions was selected, with ten respondents from each, yielding a total sample size of 200. Principal component analysis (PCA), with inbuilt ability to check for composite reliability, was used to obtain composite indices for the corporate governance indicators as well as the indicators of financial performance, based on a set of questions framed for each institution. Findings The analysis demonstrates that greater disclosure and transparency, improved auditing and compliance and better risk management positively affect the financial performance of financial institutions. In terms of significance, the results show that as the level of disclosure and transparency in managerial affairs increases, the performance of financial institutions – as measured in terms of the quality of loan portfolios, liquidity and profitability – increases by 0.3046, with the effect being statistically significant at the 1 per cent level. Furthermore, as the level of auditing and the degree of compliance with banking regulations increases, the financial performance of banks improves by 0.3309. Research limitations/implications This paper did not consider time series because corporate governance does not change periodically. Practical implications This paper demonstrates the importance of disclosure and transparency in managerial affairs because the performance of financial institutions, as measured in terms of loan portfolios, liquidity and profitability, increases by 0.4 when transparency and disclosure improve, with this effect being statistically significant at the 1 per cent level. Originality/value The use of primary data in assessing the impact of corporate governance on financial performance, instead of secondary data, is the primary novelty of this study. Moreover, PCA is used to assess the weight of the various parameters.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan ◽  
Everton Dockery

In this paper we examine the ownership structure of 169 firms listed on the Saudi Arabian stock market from 2008 to 2014. The analysis uses the testing methodology described by Demsetz and Lehn (1985) to examine the effects of firm and market instability on Saudi ownership structure and additionally, the effect of systematic regulation that imposes constraints on the behaviour of the selected listed firms. We find evidence, for the majority of the ownership structures considered, in favour of the view that firm size, regulation and instability affects ownership structure. The results suggest that the size variable has a positive effect on ownership concentration. Our analysis also shows that instability had some effect on ownership concentration and structure when using the non-linear specification, particularly when using firm specific instability, albeit the effect was stronger when the instability measure was accounting profit returns. Lastly, there is evidence that government-owned firms were mostly affected by regulation while diffused owned firms were affected most by instability than non-government owned firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Bruno Elmôr Duarte ◽  
Ricardo Pereira Câmara Leal

This article analyzes conflicts between principals that led to activism by one large Brazilian government-owned investor as a minority shareholder and verifies the antecedents, means employed, apparent motivations, and effectiveness of its reactions (Goranova & Ryan, 2014). It examines the cases of three large high ownership concentration listed companies using solely public sources. Poor performance was a frequent conflict antecedent. No evident trade-off between activism and corporate governance (CG) practices emerged. High ownership concentration influenced the way the investor reacted and its success because opposition through internal CG mechanisms was usually not successful and led to legal proceedings. The limitations of the regulatory framework became evident from the mixed outcomes of these proceedings. The investor was not exclusively financially motivated and it occasionally opposed the interests of other minority shareholders to follow government policy. These findings illustrated how high ownership concentration rendered difficult the mitigation of principal-principal conflicts even for a large government-owned investor and help explain the failure of previous econometric studies to relate activism, quality of CG practices and performance (Young, Peng, Ahlstrom, Bruton, & Jiang, 2008)


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rihab Grassa

Purpose This paper aims to assess the effects of deposits structure and ownership structure on the GCC Islamic banks’ corporate governance disclosure (CGD) practices. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a sample of 38 Islamic banks operating in five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and the authors observed them over the period from 2006 to 2011. The authors used the transparency and disclosure score, developed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), to identify the sample’s CGD scores. Findings This paper’s findings suggest that the level of CGD is lower for Islamic banks with higher ownership concentration, for levered Islamic banks and for Islamic banks with greater concentration of nonprofit-sharing investment accounts (PSIA) and is higher for Islamic banks with greater concentrations of PSIA; the Islamic bank size; the bank age; listed bank and the country transparency index. By disaggregating the total CGD into the three sub-categories, the authors are able to specify, also, the components of corporate governance (CG) impacted by various determinants. Research limitations/implications This paper is subject to a number of limitations. First, there is manual scoring of annual reports (subjectivity). Second, the research focuses exclusively on the GCC context and excludes the other Middle East, Southeast Asia and Far East countries, where ownership structure and deposits structure might affect CGD differently. Third, the governance score, which is used in this research, is developed by S&P and does not take into account the characteristics of Islamic banks. Practical implications The findings of this paper suggest many policy implications. First, through the optimization of ownership structure, GCC countries’ regulators have to improve the Islamic banking system’s CG mechanisms through the optimization of ownership structure (dispersed ownership) to promote transparency and disclosure. Second, regulators and policymakers should revise guidelines with the main purpose of protecting PSIA’ holders (considered to be minor shareholders without voting power) through promoting disclosure and transparency. Third, the findings can be useful for many international supervisory bodies, like the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), in evaluating transparency and disclosure standards. Originality/value This study is expected to be useful for all market participants, namely, investors, financial analysts, managers, marker regulators and many international Islamic supervisory bodies, such as the IFSB and AAOIFI, by providing new requirements on CGD in the GCC region and in better understanding its determinants for Islamic banks in this region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Erick Lusekelo Mwambuli ◽  
Avitus Mwebembezi Dominick

The study was to assess on corporate governance and risk management in Tanzania. The study was guided by three objectives which were to assess if transparency, disclosure and audit have significant effect on risk management of the firm, to assess if the board of directors have significant effect on risk management of the firm and evaluate if the ownership structure have significant effect on risk management of the firm. Furthermore, we assess how corporate governance and particularly board of directors, ownership structure, transparency disclosure and audit can affect risk management practices in the context of Dar es Salaam stock exchange listed banks. By the use of a content in analysis approach, the level of exposing the risks in terms of likelihood, consequences of such risk and the strategies used for managing that risk were identified for each kind of risk by using attributes. The results show that corporate governance is related to board of directors, ownership structure, transparency, disclosure and audit play a positive significant and crucial role in establishing an integrative risk management approach. The results from data collected demonstrate that corporate governance has positive significant effect in determining the the good quality of risk management through the level of risk-taking in decisions, especially in terms of financial risks management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Yu Lu ◽  
Diandian Ma

The purpose of this essay is to review empirical literature on internal control weakness over the past seven years. I use an analysis framework consisting of determinants (corporate governance and other affecting factors) and economic consequences (accounting information quality, market reaction, cost of equity, debt contracting) of weakness disclosure and its remediation. Basic findings of prior studies agree that corporate governance and firm characteristics influence the presence of control problems and their remediation. In turn, the effectiveness of internal control impacts the quality of financing reporting, auditor reaction (auditing fees and audit delays), insider trading and leads to capital market consequences (the weakness disclosures affect debt contracting). More internal control studies combine with capital market and provide evidence that SOX are not always effective. Overall, these findings contribute to profession by suggesting that the disclosures of internal control deficiencies generally convey incremental information on the quality of financial reporting to investors. This review integrates and assesses current internal control weakness research and offers some suggestions for future study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Veltri ◽  
Romilda Mazzotta

<p>The association of Corporate Governance (CG) with Firm Performance (FP) has always been an issue relevant to management literature. Nevertheless, the notable heterogeneity of studies and their mixed results highlight the opportuneness of continuing to investigate the association of CG with FP. The article aims to contribute to this research by building and employing a sophisticated model to take into account beyond the  board composition ownership structure and firm efficiency in using its intellectual capital (as measured by VAIC<sup>TM</sup>). The findings provide evidence that the board composition, the ownership concentration and the efficiency of intellectual capital increases firm efficiency in producing profits (as measured by ROA). Furthermore, our findings add knowledge to the relationship between CG and FP, by confirming a positive relationship in Italy, a continental European capital market under-investigated on this issue.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saidatou Dicko

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ask the following question: is there a link between being politically connected, the quality of governance and the company’s ownership structure? Design/methodology/approach The author then examined Canadian companies from the S&P/TSX index for the year 2015. Findings Political connectedness is significantly associated with lower quality of governance in relation to shareholders’ rights; ownership concentration is associated with lower quality of governance in relation to the overall governance, board of directors, shareholders’ rights and compensation structure indices; ownership structure does not mediate the relationship between political connections and quality of governance; and number of political connections through the executive is associated with less risky governance practices in relation to compensation structure; in other words, when members of the executive are politically connected, the firm adopts better compensation practices. Research limitations/implications The time limitation is the main weakness of this study and probably the cause of observed mitigated results. Practical implications The author hope that the results will inform regulators on the need not only to further regulate the business-politics relationship, but also to consider the specific traits of concentrated ownership companies and the most critical aspects of corporate governance in politically connected firms, such as shareholders’ rights, particularly those of minority shareholders. For example, an intriguing case to investigate in the Canadian context would be Pierre Karl Péladeau’s foray into Quebec politics and the controversy ignited by his political bid in light of his position as majority shareholder (75 percent) in communications giant Quebecor Inc. Social implications In fact, the results shown that concentrated ownership firms have lower governance quality than non-concentrated ones. Furthermore, in a concentrated ownership context, the minority shareholders’ rights could be threatened. In this sense, the results also shown that shareholders’ rights seem to be the most critical governance issue for the politically connected Canadian firms. These results are therefore the indication that Canadian financial market regulators must take action about politically connected and concentrated ownership firms in order to further protect minority shareholders’ rights. Originality/value This study makes a double theoretical contribution by enriching the literature on corporate governance and by providing one of the first investigations into the direct and comprehensive relationships between political connections, governance and ownership structure.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregorio Sanchez-Marin ◽  
J. Samuel Baixauli-Soler ◽  
M. Encarnacion Lucas-Perez

This study analyzes the influence of ownership structure and the board of directors on top management team (TMT) pay levels in a sample of Spanish listed firms. When panel data methodology is applied, the results show that TMT pay level is affected by the supervisory effectiveness of the board. This, in turn, is influenced by ownership concentration and the type of major shareholders. When ownership is dispersed, the board is more effective in their supervision and TMT pay level is lower. However, when ownership is concentrated, the quality of supervision and, consequently, TMT pay levels depend upon the type of shareholder that is predominant. Santrauka Analizuojama nuosavybes formos strukturos ir valdybos itaka aukšèiausio lygio Ispanijos kompaniju vadovu darbo užmokesèio dydžiui. Tyrimu duomenys parode, kad aukšèiausio lygio vadovu darbo užmokesèio dydis priklauso nuo valdybos kontroles ir jos efektyvumo itakos. Tai, žinoma, yra susijê su kompanijos savininko ir pagrindiniu akcininku pozicija. Kai savininko pozicija pasyvi, tuomet valdybos veiksmai kontroles srityje yra efektyvesni, taèiau aukšèiausio lygio vadovu darbo užmokesèio lygis yra gerokai mažesnis. Taèiau kai savininkas tiesiogiai dalyvauja kompanijos veikloje ir prisideda prie jos valdymo, tuomet kontroles kokybe ir aukšèiausio lygio vadovu darbo užmokesèio lygis priklauso nuo akcininko pozicijos.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Pisano ◽  
Luigi Lepore ◽  
Rita Lamboglia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between ownership concentration and human capital (HC) disclosure released via LinkedIn. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative methodology. The sample is composed of 150 European companies. Content analysis was used to examine HC disclosure via LinkedIn. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. Findings The results indicate that ownership concentration negatively influences HC disclosure via LinkedIn, confirming that closely held firms have little motivation to voluntarily release information. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study relates to the sample size. Furthermore, this study investigates only the quantity of HC disclosure; it does not consider the quality of this information. Practical implications The typical ownership structure of European firms generates a force that opposes the growing pressure for internationalization and global transparency. This important issue needs to be considered in investor decisions, HC management and reporting and in setting accounting standards. Moreover, the study points out that, despite the potential opportunities provided by LinkedIn to build and enforce relationships with their stakeholders, companies mainly use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on HC disclosure because it is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first study that exclusively examines HC disclosure by European companies via LinkedIn and because it develops a disclosure index that includes items concerning the stock of knowledge and capabilities of employees in addition to the practices in human resource management.


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