scholarly journals Corporate governance and performance: Evidence from Chinese private listed companies based on cash flow rights and control rights

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hu Dan Semba ◽  
Haiyan Zheng

This paper investigates the relationship between control rights, cash flow rights, and firm performance across a sample of 276 China’s private listed companies (CPC) from 2003 to 2008. This paper finds that the performance of firms with pyramid ownership structures (POS) is lower than that of firms with direct controlling ownership structures (DOS). The separation of control rights and cash flow rights, which is the main characteristic of POS, is negatively related to the firm performance. Furthermore, in order to reduce the negative influence of control rights, this paper proposes the following countermeasures: cash flow rights should be increased because it has a positive effect on the firm performance; the supervisory powers of shareholders meeting (SM) should be strengthened because it helps improve firm performance and overrule invalid decisions taken by independent directors in China. This is proved by the findings that show a positive correlation between the attendance rate at shareholders’ meetings and firm performance; moreover, there is no positive relationship between independent directors and firm performance.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Sara Saggese

<p>The paper explores the relation between the use of disproportional ownership mechanisms and firm performance in listed companies. Literature suggests that such tools deviate from the proportionality principle between cash-flow rights and control rights and negatively affect firm outcomes. Differently, some studies emphasize that disproportional ownership mechanisms have a positive effect on company performance as controlling shareholders can be motivated to maximize corporate outcomes, providing outperforming benefits than the potential minority expropriation risk. Moreover, it is still an open issue whether firm performance can be interpreted as determinant of disproportional ownership mechanisms. Therefore, it is an empirical question whether company performance can be considered as an implication and/or a driver of disproportional ownership devices. Moving from these premises, the article relies on a unique hand-collected dataset and examines a sample of Italian listed companies through regression analyses. Findings show that the use of disproportional ownership devices is affected by past company performance and highlight that these ownership tools worsen firm outcomes. The research has both theoretical implications for future studies and practical implications for policy makers.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamduh M. Hanafi ◽  
Bowo Setiyono ◽  
I Putu Sugiartha Sanjaya

Purpose This paper aims to compare the effect of ownership on firm performances in the 1997 and 2008 financial crises. More specifically, it investigates the effect of cash flow rights, control rights and cash flow rights leverage on firm performance. Two conditions motivated the study. First, the 2008 financial crisis happened quickly, so it was endogenous for firms. This setting is ideal to deal with endogeneity problems in a study that involves ownership and performance. Second, during the 2000s, awareness and implementation of corporate governance increased significantly. The authors believe that the markets learn these changes and incorporate them into prices, as suggested by an efficient market hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates and compares the effect of ownership structure on firm performance in the 2008 subprime crisis period to that in the 1997 financial crisis. Both crises happen unexpectedly, so the authors can expect that the crises are exogenous to firms. The authors use cash flow rights, control rights and cash flow right leverage for the ownership structure dimension. They also study time-series data to investigate the effect of ownership on a firm’s value. Findings The study finds that cash flow right and cash flow right leverage did not affect stock performance during the subprime crisis of 2008. It also finds that cash flow right leverage and cash flow right affected stock performance during the financial crisis of 1997. The study attributes this finding to the learning process and improvement of corporate governance during the period of the 2000s. Using time-series data, it finds that cash flow rights positively affect firm performance, suggesting an alignment effect. Ownership concentration improves firm performance. When the study split its sample, it found that the effect ownership on firms’ value is stronger for large firms. Research limitations/implications The study’s main limitation is that it does not test directly the learning process hypothesis. The study contributes to the current literature by presenting more recent evidence on the effect of ownership structure on firm performance in a developing country. The authors argue that markets learn the improvement of corporate governance and incorporate this development into prices. Extending this research to other markets will provide confirmation whether the learning process is an international phenomenon. Practical implications The awareness and implementation of corporate governance should be maintained at least at this level. The positive relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance suggests that concentrated ownership performs monitoring more effectively. Investors should pay attention to ownership concentration. Social implications The finding that prices already reflect corporate governance may suggest that market is monitoring this issue. This seems to be a good finding. Markets can be expected to discipline companies in the implementation of corporate governance. The awareness and implementation of corporate governance should be maintained at least at the current level. Originality/value The study contributes to the current literature by presenting additional evidence on the effect of ownership (using cash flow rights, control rights and cash flow right leverage) on firms’ performance in a more recent period and in a developing country. This period is characterized by a significant increase in awareness and the implementation of good corporate governance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samer Khalil ◽  
Michel L. Magnan ◽  
Jeffrey R. Cohen

SUMMARY: This paper investigates whether audit fees vary with the wedge between cash flow rights and control rights arising from the presence of dual-class share structures. Dual-class shares exist in firms having two or more classes of shares with disproportionate voting rights. They affect audit fees through their effect on the supply for audit services. External auditors conduct wider (narrower) scope audits depending on whether dual-class shares increase (decrease) audit risk and/or auditor business risk. Wider (narrower) scope audits are more (less) costly for the auditors and for their clients. This paper documents a positive association between audit fees and the wedge between cash flow rights and control rights in a sample of Canadian firms during 2004. It extends current research by investigating whether dominant shareholdings affect audit pricing, and by examining audit pricing in Canada over a time period that witnessed significant changes in corporate governance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norhidayah Abdullah ◽  
Wee Ching Pok

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of separation of cash flow rights (CFR) and control rights (CR) and debt policy of Malaysian listed family firms. Design/methodology/approach – The sample of this study consists of 256 observations from companies listed in the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia for the period between year 2005 and 2009. The multivariate ordinary least square regressions have been conducted in order to examine the relationships between separation of CFR and CR and debt. Findings – The study reveals that the separation of CFR and CR does not lead to the increase of debt policy among Malaysian listed family-owned firms. Thus, the results suggest there is no expropriation of minority interests in Malaysian family-owned firms. The plausible reason is that Malaysia has better investor or shareholder protection laws compared to other emerging markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. Research limitations/implications – The first limitation is the underestimation of CFR and CR because the affiliated business of unlisted firms and foreign companies are excluded. The second limitation is the presence of 100 percent ownership in firms controlled by family-owned firms or in firms that are controlled by another firms which are under the controlled of family-owned firms, or both, will lead to equal proportion of CFR and CR. Thus, the degree of separation of CFR and CR of such firms are indeterminable. Originality/value – This paper investigates the expropriation of minority interests by Malaysian family-owned firms on which has not been explored.


2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-57
Author(s):  
Richard Fairchild ◽  
Alma Garro Paulin

Researchers have identified that corporate ownership structures appear to be quite different in developed and developing economies. For instance, Castañeda Ramos (1999) provides evidence of considerable separation of cash-flow rights and control rights accruing to inside and outside equityholders in publicly listed firms in Mexico. Insiders use mechanisms such as dual voting rights, majority rules and pyramids to maximise their control rights while holding minimal cash-flow rights. In contrast, there is a much closer alignment of cash-flow rights and control rights in developed countries such as UK or US. The purpose of this paper is to develop a game-theoretic model that explains these features. We argue that factors in emerging markets, such as large private benefits of control, extreme risk, low investor protection, inefficient capital markets, and governments sympathetic to incumbent management at the expense of outside investors, all contribute to insiders’ incentives to create a separation of cash flow and control rights. We present evidence from Mexico that supports our results


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin-Hua Yeh

Recent empirical literature on corporate governance has demonstrated that companies’ shares are generally concentrated in the hands of particular families or wealthy investors. Claessens et al. (2002) analyzed the ownership structure in East Asian eight countries, but misestimated the Taiwanese condition that made them not find the positive incentive or negative entrenchment effects in Taiwan. This study tries to clear the ultimate control in Taiwan, use the detailed data to better understand the ownership structure in Taiwan and investigates the determinants for deviation of control from cash flow rights. Based on the findings, the companies’ shares are common concentrated in the hands of the largest shareholder. We find that the deviation of control from cash flow rights is greater in the family-controlled companies than other type companies. Also the controlling shareholders use more pyramids and cross shareholding to increase their control rights that accompanies with deeply management participation. On the average, the controlling shareholders hold more than half board seats and usually occupy the chairman and general manger to enhance their control power in family-controlled companies. No matter in all sample or family-controlled companies, the controlling shareholders owns significantly less cash flow rights, occupy more board seats in deviation group companies than those without deviation. Corporate valuation is significantly lower in the companies with the divergence of control from cash flow rights than non-deviation companies.


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