Agency costs, board structure and institutional investors: case of India

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Chaudhary

PurposeThe author examines the role of board structure and institutional investors in dealing with the agency issues for the Indian firms by taking the data of NSE-500 nonfinancial firms for the period 2010–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe author applies dynamic panel data methodology to deal with endogeneity concerns prevalent in corporate finance variables.FindingsThe agency view is consistent with the board size in the context of India. The author observed that the board size has a harmful effect on agency cost. A larger board size may create a coordination problem, or CEO may find it easy to thrust his or her decisions on board. The author also noticed that firms should have sizeable institutional ownership, particularly pressure-insensitive investors, in equity as they can reduce agency-related issues.Originality/valueThis study focuses on one of the largest emerging economies, i.e. India.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Karim ◽  
Muhammad Ilyas

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the effect of foreign institutional investors (FII) on the contribution of cash and dividend to firm's value in the context of Japan.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a sample of 1,929 nonfinancial firms listed in Tokyo Stock Exchange in the period from 2002 to 2016. For data analysis, pooled OLS regression with firm and year fixed effect is applied. Further, the p-value of difference is used to test the null hypothesis of equal coefficients.FindingsThe findings depict that cash holdings contribute more to firm's value when ownership by FII is high. Contrarily, dividends contribute more to firm's value when ownership by FII is low. The results remain consistent after using excess cash holdings instead of cash holdings and after re-estimating the main regression model in the presence of top 30% and bottom 30% ownership level.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to Japanese nonfinancial sector. The results implied that firms where the probability of managerial agency cost and expropriation of cash is high, the presence of FII mitigates the agency cost and positively influences the contribution of cash to firm's value. Overall, this research highlighted the disciplinary and monitoring role of FII in Japan.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights on the monitoring and governance role of foreign institutions, showing that FII promote better cash management and utilization, which significantly affects the contribution of cash holdings to firm's value.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mushafiq ◽  
Syed Ahmad Sami ◽  
Muhammad Khalid Sohail ◽  
Muzammal Ilyas Sindhu

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to evaluate the probability of default and examine the relationship between default risk and financial performance, with dynamic panel moderation of firm size.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a total of 1,500 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2018 using dynamic panel data approach of generalized method of moments to test the relationship between default risk and financial performance with the moderation effect of the firm size.FindingsThis study establishes the findings that default risk significantly impacts the financial performance. The relationship between distance-to-default (DD) and financial performance is positive, which means the relationship of the independent and dependent variable is inverse. Moreover, this study finds that the firm size is a significant positive moderator between DD and financial performance.Practical implicationsThis study provides new and useful insight into the literature on the relationship between default risk and financial performance. The results of this study provide investors and businesses related to nonfinancial firms in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with significant default risk's impact on performance. This study finds, on average, the default probability in KSE ALL indexed companies is 6.12%.Originality/valueThe evidence of the default risk and financial performance on samples of nonfinancial firms has been minimal; mainly, it has been limited to the banking sector. Moreover, the existing studies have only catered the direct effect of only. This study fills that gap and evaluates this relationship in nonfinancial firms. This study also helps in the evaluation of Merton model's performance in the nonfinancial firms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 950-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Neupane ◽  
Biwesh Neupane

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mandatory regulatory provisions on board structure and the influence of such board structure on institutional holdings. Design/methodology/approach The study uses unique hand-collected data set of Indian IPOs during the 2004-2012 period after the corporate governance reforms with the introduction of clause 49 in the listing agreements in 2001. Using OLS regression, the paper empirically analyses the determinants of board size and board independence at the time of the IPOs and the influence of such a board structure on shareholdings by domestic and foreign institutional investors. Findings The authors find that complying with mandatory regulatory provisions does not impede firms from structuring their boards to reflect the firms’ advising and monitoring needs. The authors also find that complying with provisions have positive implication for the firm, as firms with greater board independence appear to attract more foreign institutional investors. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study to examine the issue in a regime where regulation mandates the composition of the board of directors. The paper also extends the literature on institutional holdings by providing evidence on the impact of board structure on institutional ownership at a critical time in a firm’s life cycle when concerns for endogeneity for empirical investigations are weaker.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinedu Francis Egbunike ◽  
Augustine N. Odum

Purpose One main concern and issue affecting earnings quality is the extent to which managers manipulate earnings to mislead stakeholders about the underlying economic performance of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers. This study builds on prior research and examines empirically the relationship between board leadership structure and earnings quality of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper is to specifically focus on four board structure characteristics: board size, composition, proportion of non-executive directors and CEO duality. Design/methodology/approach Data used for this investigation were collected from secondary sources, i.e. annual reports and accounts. The study used the Pooled OLS regression model to examine the effect of the board structure on earnings management for a sample of 45 non-financial listed Nigerian companies (conglomerates, consumer goods and industrial goods firms) for the years 2011 to 2016. Findings Based on the analysis, board size and board composition were positive and significant. However, proportion of non-executive directors was negative and significant; while, CEO duality was positive and statistically significant. It was consequently recommended that audit firms should review their audit business model and become more circumspect of their client, e.g. provide fraud assessment and checks for earnings quality. Boards should not just reflect size but rather the skills and expertise of individuals appointed to the board. Furtherance to this, the effectiveness of boards can be improved by committees and sub-committees allocation of duties. Originality/value Few studies have addressed this area in the country.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Merendino ◽  
Rob Melville

PurposeThis study aims to reconcile some of the conflicting results in prior studies of the board structure–firm performance relationship and to evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of agency theory in the specific context of Italian corporate governance practice.Design/methodology/approachThis research applies a dynamic generalised method of moments on a sample of Italian listed companies over the period 2003-2015. Proxies for corporate governance mechanisms are the board size, the level of board independence, ownership structure, shareholder agreements and CEO–chairman leadership.FindingsWhile directors elected by minority shareholders are not able to impact performance, independent directors do have a non-linear effect on performance. Board size has a positive effect on firm performance for lower levels of board size. Ownership structure per se and shareholder agreements do not affect firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature on agency theory by reconciling some of the conflicting results inherent in the board structure–performance relationship. Firm performance is not necessarily improved by having a high number of independent directors on the board. Ownership structure and composition do not affect firm performance; therefore, greater monitoring provided by concentrated ownership does not necessarily lead to stronger firm performance.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that Italian corporate governance law should improve the rules and effectiveness of minority directors by analysing whether they are able to impede the main shareholders to expropriate private benefits on the expenses of the minority. The legislator should not impose any restrictive regulations with regard to CEO duality, as the influence of CEO duality on performance may vary with respect to the unique characteristics of each company.Originality/valueThe results enrich the understanding of the applicability of agency theory in listed companies, especially in Italy. Additionally, this paper provides a comprehensive synthesis of research evidence of agency theory studies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 681-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.I. Muller-Kahle ◽  
Liu Wang ◽  
Jun Wu

Purpose – With boards of directors playing both monitoring and guidance roles, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of board structure on firm value in large US and UK firms using the lenses of agency and resource dependence theories. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of firms in the USA and the UK from 2000 to 2007, the paper conducts a panel data analysis of the impact of board structure on firm value and examine the nuances of different governance environments. Findings – The paper finds distinct differences in the impact of board independence, board size, and outside director busyness on firm value between UK and US firms. Specifically, the paper finds that board independence, board size, and board busyness all have a significant positive impact on firm value in the UK. However, the paper finds no significant relationship between board independence and firm value among US firms. Both board size and board busyness are found to be positively associated with firm value in the USA. Social implications – The paper finds strong support for resource dependence theory in the UK but limited support for agency theory in the USA. Originality/value – This paper takes a multi-country approach to examining the impact of board structure on firm value.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Antonio Orozco ◽  
Jose Vargas ◽  
Raquel Galindo-Dorado

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between board size (B-SIZE) and financial and reputational corporate performance in top companies ranked by the Business Monitor of Corporate Reputation – MERCO in Colombia. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts correlations and cluster analysis in order to classify firms based on performance and control variables, using a sectional sample of 84 large companies in Colombia over the period 2008-2012. Findings This research founds that large boards are associated with high performance on corporate reputation, as stated by the resource dependence theory, and a low-financial performance, as predicted by the agency theory. However, the results indicate that there is no relation between financial and reputational performance. Research limitations/implications This research considered only large companies listed by MERCO. Therefore, the results can only be generalized for top firms in Colombia according to this list. However, results add empirical evidence to theoretical debate between B-SIZE and firm performance considering financial and reputational indicators. Practical implications According to the OECD manual of good corporate governance practices, the optimal B-SIZE has between five to nine core members. The board structure has a direct impact over the firm’s financial and reputational performance and must be carefully analyzed by shareholders to balance the size according to expected results and firm’s features like family ownership, exportation activities and norms of stock markets. Originality/value This paper contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between B-SIZE and corporate performance with the evaluation of financial and reputational results for the case of an emerging economy. In Latin America, this analysis must go beyond OECD recommendations, and shall consider the context of an emerging country based on empirical evidence.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Kyereboah-Coleman ◽  
Nicholas Biekpe

The paper examined board characteristics and its impact on the performance of non-financial listed firms in Ghana. Data covering 11 year period (1990-2001) was used and analysis conducted within the panel data framework. The study shows that most Ghanaian firms adopt the two-tier board structure and are largely non-independent. The regression results, though relatively mixed, confirm other studies and show that there should be a clear separation of the two critical positions of CEO and board chairman in order to reduce agency cost for enhanced firm performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Shettima ◽  
Nazam Dzolkarnaini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of board characteristics on MFIs performance in Nigeria. A specific country study is warranted given the results from pooled cross-country studies may be biased owing to a failure to control for country differences. It is also particularly challenging to generalize the outcome of these results into a specific country given that many factors about MFIs, ranging from the nature of governance, legal status, size and prudential regulations, are not similar across countries. Design/methodology/approach The relationship between board characteristics and microfinance banks performance in Nigeria is tested using a sample of 120 firm-year observations covering 30 MFIs in the periods from 2010 to 2013. The study extracted all microfinance-level data from the Microfinance Information Exchange database. Findings The authors document a positive and significant relationship between board size and MFIs performance. The authors also find negative relation between female directors and MFIs performance, but not significant. The results suggest that larger board size indicates good corporate governance practice, which leads to reduced agency cost. Research limitations/implications This study sheds new lights on the Nigerian MFIs’ board room dynamic. As the government is increasingly contemplating on the board structure and corporate governance policies, the study offers useful and timely empirical guidance to the Nigerian regulators. Originality/value Given the important role of microfinance industry in Nigeria, this is the first study of its kind analyzing the impact of board characteristics on microfinance performance among Nigerian MFIs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-211
Author(s):  
Jasper Grashuis

Purpose Many farm producer organizations pursue growth and complexity in response to price volatility, industry consolidation and other external developments. Consequently, as ownership is dispersed and control is delegated, members may face increasing agency cost. In spite of the potential to impact performance and even survival, empirical attention to agency problems in farm producer organizations is limited. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in the literature with an empirical study. Design/methodology/approach With survey responses from 365 farm producer organizations in the USA, the author uses a two-limit tobit model to estimate the relationships of six ownership and governance characteristics (i.e. board size, management size, director independence, manager independence, CEO independence and non-member ownership) to agency cost, which is proxied by the operating expense ratio. Findings While controlling for heterogeneity in scale and technology, the author finds positive relationships of board size, management size and CEO independence to agency cost. The novel result illustrates there is a significant cost to the adoption of non-traditional ownership and governance characteristics by farm producer organizations. Practical implications The presence of agency cost serves as motivation to farm producer organizations to implement new or adapt old agency mechanisms. One recommendation is to reconsider the payment structure of non-member CEOs. There may not be enough incentive to inspire an upstream bias, which is perhaps possible by linking CEO performance to price, patronage and member-oriented performance measurements. Originality/value Agency cost is rarely studied in relation to farm producer organizations. Recent contributions in the empirical literature lacked an explicit connection of ownership and governance characteristics to agency cost.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document