Page info: *Author: Mathiesen, H. *Document version: 2.3. *Copyright 1997-2010, ViamInvest. Legal notice. 

 

Table: Empirical studies on ownership structure and performance[1]


Introduction: Want to find the empirical study by Demsetz and Lehn [1985]? Just click D below and move down alphabetically on the resulting web page. Note that this page is updated when new papers emerge. Also, a few studies have blank cells. This is temporary. They will eventually be completed.

 

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Author(s)

&Journal

Sample & Period[2]

Ownership

 variables(s)[3]  [4]

Performance variable(s)

Other variable(s): Controls & dependents[5]

Statistical methods

Main results

Preferred explanation

Seyhun [1986], Journal of Financial Economics

59,148 trading events by 769 public US firms.

1975-81.

1) Insider sales by officers, directors and above 10% blockholders. 2) Insider purchases by officers, directors and above 10% blockholders. 3) Outsider trading on public but delayed information on insider trades from the Security Exchange Committee. 4) Outsider trading on public but delayed information on insider trades from SEC's Official Summery.

1) Cumulative abnormal return CAR (adjusted for size effects) over the intervals (TD0, TD+100) and (TD-100, TD0) where TD is the insider trading date. 2) Cumulative abnormal return CAR further adjusted for transaction costs and the bid-ask spread.

1) Dummy for insider being a director. 2) Dummy for insiders that are both officers and directors. 3) Dummy for insider being the chairman of the board. 4) Dummy for insider being a 10% blockholder. 5) Dummy for insider being an officer. 6) Log of $ value of trade. 7) Log of proportion of firm traded. 8) Log of value of firm.

Event-study. GLS regression. For sales CAR is multiplied by -1 in order for CAR to represent insider gains on trading.

CAR increases significantly after insider purchases and it decreases significantly after insider sales. CAR decreases significantly before insider purchases and it increases significantly before insider sales. CAR increases significantly after outsider trading at both announcement dates, but vanish when transaction costs are added. GLS regressions: CAR increases significantly for: 1) Insiders that are both officers and directors. 2) Insider being the chairman. 3) Log value of trade. 4) % of firm traded. CAR decreases significantly for log of firm value.

The insider-investment argument.

Short and Keasey [1999], Journal of Corporate Finance

225 UK firms at the London Stock Exchange.

1988-92.

1) % of shares held by directors. 2) % of shares held by institutions with more than 5% ownership. 3) % external ownership.

Source: Annual company reports.

1) Return on equity. 2) Tobin’s Q by market value to book value.

Source: Datastream.

1) Size by sales. 2) Growth by sales growth. 3) Leverage by debt to total assets. 4) R&D / total assets.

Heteroskedasticity corrected OLS regression. Performance is regressed as a 3rd degree polynomial of director ownership.

Director ownership and cubic ownership is significantly positive and squared ownership is significantly negative. The polynomial reach its maximum at 16% and its minimum at 42% ownership. Significant controls: Size, growth, and R&D.

Morck et al.’s [1988] combined incentive alignment and entrenchment argument. UK entrenchment level is higher than US because of institutional differences.

Slovin and Sushka [1993], The Journal of Finance

Sample 1: 85 deaths of an officer or a member of the board of directors owing at least 5% of the stock.

Sample 2: 103 deaths of CEOs holding less than 5% of the stock.

Both samples consists of publicly listed US firms.

1973-89 both samples.

1) % shareholding by the deceased. 2) % shareholdings by non-deceased officers and directors. 3) % ownership by insiders [officers and directors] before and after the event. 4) % shareholdings by institutional investors. 5) Dummy for deceased being a founder. 6) Dummy for deceased being a CEO. 7) Age of the deceased. 8) Dummy for decline in % ownership by officers and directors. 9) Dummy for no decline in % ownership by insiders and deceased shares pass to multiple heirs.

Two-day cumulative abnormal return CAR, by the firm over the interval (AD-1, AD0) where AD is the announcement date.

1) Dummy for corporate control bid. 2) Dummy for hostile control bid.

Event-study. Control for variables by sample classification. WLS regression in order to correct for heteroscedasticity.

Sample 1: 60% of the events leads to decreased ownership by insiders and 52% receive bids for control within 10 years of the event.

Using classified samples CAR increases significantly if the shareholding of the deceased is above 10%. The rise in CAR is larger if ownership by the deceased is between 20 and 30%, if the deceased is the founder, a non-CEO, or if ownership by insiders decreases.

WLS regressions show a significant bell-shaped relation between CAR and the deceased shareholdings. However, none of the other ownership or control variables are significant although they have the expected sign.

Sample 2: No significant result.

Stulz’s [1988] combined takeover premium and entrenchment argument.

Song and Walkling [1993], Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis

459 US firms. 153 target firms, 153 industry-matched non-targets, 153 randomly selected non-targets.

1) % ownership by all officers and directors. 2) Interaction effect for contested and managerial ownership. 3) Interaction effect of successful and managerial ownership. 4) Interaction effect for contested, successful, and managerial ownership. 5) Institutional ownership.

Data from value line.

Cumulative abnormal return, CAR, by the target firm over the interval (A-5, R+5) where A is the announcement date of the acquisition activity and R is the announcement date of the final outcome.

OLS regression controls: 1) Dummy for contested. 2) Dummy for successfully acquired. 3) Interaction effect for successful and contested.

Logistic regression controls: 1) Size. 2) Leverage. 3) Liquidity. 4) Valuation ratio. 5) Return on equity. 6) Price / Earnings. 7) Growth.

Event study. Initially standard t-tests are applied to test for differences in the three samples. Logistic regression with probability of acquisition attempt as the dependent variable. OLS regression with CAR as dependent variable.

CAR increases significantly with managerial ownership in contested cases that are ultimately successful. Significant controls: Dummy for successfully acquired. Other results: The probability of acquisition attempts is significantly decreasing with managerial ownership at the target firm, and the result is due to variance among contested targets. Finally, managerial ownership is significantly lower in contested compared to uncontested acquisitions and in unsuccessful compared to successful cases.

The integrated takeover premium and entrenchment argument by Stulz [1988].

Sorenson [1974], Southern Economic Journal

60 US firms from 11 industries. 30 MC and 30 OC.

1948-66.

MC<5% single block of ownership.

OC³20%.

1) Return on equity. 2) Stock return assuming dividends are reinvested. 3) Dividends / earnings. 4) Growth in sales. 5) Growth in equity.

Classify the sample in industries by 11 three-digit SIC.

Variance analysis.

No average difference between MC and OC firms, but a few significant differences between industry groups.

The incentive argument.

Stano [1976], Bell Journal of Economics

354 of the largest US firms (Fortune 500).

1963-72.

MC £10% single block of common stock.

30%>WOC >10%.

SOC ³30%.

AOC=WOC+SOC

Stock return assuming dividends are reinvested, observed 1965-72.

1) Growth of earnings per share. 2) Growth of sales. 3) Growth attributable to mergers & acquisitions. 4) Beta risk. 5) Equity/assets. 6) Size by assets. 7) Monopoly power. 8) Industry.

Multiple regression analysis. Check for model specification error due to dependence between sales growth and ownership type.

SOC firms are significantly more profitable than MC firms. WOC are not. The final regression that this conclusion is based upon does only control for industry type.

The incentive alignment argument.

Steer and Cable [1978], The Journal of Industrial Economics

82 large UK firms.

15 in food, 8 in brewing, 12 in electrical, 23 in mechanical engineering and 19 in distributive trades. 1967-71.

OC ³15% of cohesive ownership or ³3% ownership by managers.

MC otherwise.

1) Return on equity. 2) Return on assets. 3) Return on sales.

1) Organizational form. 2) Organizational change. 3) # Executives / # board members. 4) Size by assets. 5) Growth. 6) Industry. 7) Sales / equity. 8) Debt / equity.

OLS regression. Test for multicollinearity.

OC firms are significantly more profitable (weak) than MC firms. Organizational form and change are significant (the main interest of Steer and Cable). Growth is significant. Other variables are insignificant.

The incentive alignment argument.

Strickland, Wiles, and Zenner [1996], Journal of Financial Economics

 

 

 

 

Event study on the effect of monitor actions by small shareholders.

Evidence that united small shareholder activism enhances shareholder value.

 

Stulz, Walkling and Song [1990], The Journal of Finance

104 successful tender offers in the US. 64 single bids and 40 multiple bids.

1968-1986.

Target ownership: 1) % managerial ownership by officers, directors and other insiders prior to announcement. 2) % ownership by institutional investors prior to announcement. 3) % ownership by bidder prior to announcement. 4) Bidder acquiring %.

Data from Value Line, S&P's Stock Guide and Rochester Merc- and Austin Databases.

Cumulative abnormal return, CAR by the target firm over the interval (A-5, R+5) where A is the announcement date of the acquisition activity and R is the announcement date of the final outcome.

1) Market value of target equity. 2) Market value of bidder equity. 3) CAR if negative. 4) CAR if positive.

Event study. Initially standard t-tests are applied to test for significance of CAR in the total sample and the two sub-samples both with regard to bidder CAR, target CAR and combined firm CAR. Then OLS regression with CAR as dependent variable.

Target CAR increases significantly with target managerial ownership in successful, multiple bids. Target CAR decreases significantly with institutional ownership in multiple bids and in total sample. Target CAR decreases significantly with bidder ownership in total sample.

Significant controls: CAR if positive in all samples; market value of target equity for multiple bids.

The takeover premium argument of Stulz's [1988] model.

Thomsen and Pedersen [1996], Management International Review

600 firms selected among the 100 largest non-financial companies in 6 European countries.

1990-1993.

Ownership concentration by logistic transformation of % voting ownership by largest owner.

Return on equity.

1) Size by total assets. 2) Standard deviation of return on equity. 3) Dummy for public utilities. 4) Dummy for media companies. 5) Dummies for nation effects.

OLS regression.

 

The natural selection’ argument.

Thomsen and Pedersen [1999], Journal of the Economics of Business

518 firms selected among the 100 largest non-financial companies in 12 EU countries.

1990-1993.

Ownership concentration by logistic transformation of % voting ownership by largest owner.

Return on equity.

1) Size by total assets. 2) Standard deviation of return on equity. 3) Dummy for public utilities. 4) Dummy for media companies. 5) Dummies for nation effects. 6) Dummy for dual class shares. 7) Size of economy by GDP. 8) Capital intensity by assets to sales. 9) Dummy for R&D above 1% of corporate turnover. 10) Stock market capitalization. 11) Bank sector concentration.

OLS regression.

Return on equity is insignificantly decreasing with ownership concentration. Significant controls: Capital intensity and return variability.

Ownership concentration is not regressed against performance. Significant controls: Firm size, standard deviation of return on equity, nation effect, GDP, stock market capitalization and bank sector concentration.

The natural selection’ argument.

Thonet and Poensgen [1979], The Journal of Industrial Economics

Not altogether clear but probably this:

62 of 297 large German industrial firms.

1961-70.

MC £25% of cohesive stock ownership.

OC ³25% of cohesive stock ownership and no other part with 25% of cohesive stock ownership.

1) Return on equity. 2) Stock return assuming dividends are reinvested. 3) Market value to book value.

1) Firm size by assets. 2) Industry concentration ratios by market shares.

Other dependents:

1) Sales growth. 2) Variance of return on equity. 3) Beta risk.

Multiple regression: OLS, and GLS. Corrects for heteroscedasticity due to size.

OC firms are significantly less profitable than MC firms in terms of return on equity and market value to book value. Size and concentration are not significant. No significant difference between MC and OC with regard to return on stocks, growth, variance on equity and beta risk.

The incentive alignment argument. Thonet and Poensgen do not try to explain why they can not confirm the incentive argument.

- Copyright 1997-2010, ViamInvest. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Legal notice.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



[1] Some of the studies have investigated other issues as well, such as, the relation between ownership structure and the risk of the firm’s performance.

[2] The reported period typically refers to the maximum period that a particular study applies. Often the performance variables are collected over the entire period, whereas the ownership variables and control variables are collected at one year in the investigated period. All studies use publicly traded firms (unless otherwise described), because they are easier to get information about.

[3] Abbreviations: Management control (MC); Ownership control (OC); Owner managed (OM); External control (EC); Strong owner control (SOC); Weak owner control (WOC); All owner control (AOC); Financial control (FC); Majority held (MH); Diffusely held (DH).

[4] The ownership variable is typically measured as concentration of ownership on a particular set of owners, e.g. ownership by managers or institutional investors.

[5] This colon includes 1) independent control variables, 2) dependent variables that are not performance or ownership variables, and 3) variables used for sample classification.