Multiple owners and productivity : evidence from family firms

We investigate the productivity of family owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, we examine whether productivity is influenced by the number of family owners and by family member involvement in daily operations. We find that the productivity of family firms is non-monotonically associated with the number of family owners and with the number of family members who work in the firm. Although prior empirical research has often been associated with positive effects, we identify problematic cases, especially when a few owners are involved. We document a negative effect on productivity if the firm has few but more than one family owner, and if the firm has two or three owners who are involved in daily business operations. In these cases, an external (non-family) Chair (CEO) might mitigate these effects stemming from the family ownership (family working in the firm). The results of our study have practical relevance and policy implications when it comes to questions concerning optimal governance.© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Tax Reform and Payout Policy:Do Shareholder Clienteles or Payout Policy Adjust?

Changes in taxation of corporate dividends offer excellent opportunities to study dividend clientele effects. We explore payout policies and ownership structures around a major tax reform that took place in Finland in 2004. Consistent with dividend clienteles affecting firms’ dividend policy decisions, we find that Finnish firms altered their dividend policies based on the changed tax incentives of their largest shareholders. While firms adjust their payout policies, our results also indicate that ownership structures of Finnish firms also changed around the 2004 reform, consistent with shareholder clienteles adjusting to the new tax system

Dividend policy in Nordic listed firms

In this paper we analyze the results from a survey among all publicly listed Nordic firms on their dividend payout policy. The results show that 72% of the Nordic companies have a specified dividend policy. Larger and more profitable companies are more likely to have a defined dividend policy in place. The dividend policy is mostly influenced by capital structure considerations and the outlook of future earnings. We also find that the likelihood for a firm having an explicit dividend policy is positively related to ownership concentration as well as to the presence of large long-term private or industrial owners. Our results support the use of defined dividend policies for agency or monitoring reasons rather than signaling reasons.</p

Do dividends signal future earnings in the Nordic stock markets?

We study the informational content of dividends on three Nordic civil law markets, where other simultaneous but blurring motives for dividends may be weaker. Using aggregate data on real earnings per share and payout ratios, long time series from 1969 to 2010, and methodologies which address problems of endogeneity, non-stationarity and autocorrelation (including a Vector Error Correction Model approach), we find evidence on dividend signaling in Nordic markets. However, we also find heterogeneity in the relationship between dividends and earnings on markets similar in many respects, suggesting that even small variations in the institutional surroundings may be important for the results

Dividend Policy, Corporate Financing, and Mergers and Acquisitions in Finland; A Survey

This paper surveys empirical research in Finland on central topics within the area of corporate finance, that is, topics related to corporate financing (including issues of equity and debt), dividend policy, and mergers and acquisitions. For each of these three core topics, a brief overview of the papers surveyed and their connections to each other is provided. Some central results are described in more detail. Finally, these results are summarised in order to provide a picture of level of current knowledge of the empirical regularities observed on the Finnish market, and the theories gaining support in explaining these. The paper ends with suggestions for future research.peerReviewe

Chairman’s Perception of Board Work Upon Female Board Representation: : A Study on Nordic Listed Companies

In this study we consider the consequences of female board representation on board work in listed firms in the five Nordic countries. Using survey data provided by company chairmen, we contribute to the literature on gender diversity in boards by providing an insider perspective. Survey data reveals that chairmen, the operative syllable being "men," are significantly less satisfied with female board members when asked to rate various groups of board members. Controlling for a number of factors, gender diversity is not perceived to provide a positive contribution to board work. However, concluding that homogeneous groups would work better when risk is high is not warranted, as data reveals evidence that gender diversity produces positive results in high-risk firms. Furthermore, the results indicate that when a company has a nomination committee, the likelihood that the company will have a gender diverse board increases dramatically

CG Venäjällä

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