This paper examines whether firms' auditor choice affects their ability to access foreign equity capital. Using the equity holdings of 34,837 foreign mutual funds from 28 countries, we find evidence that appointing a Big 4 auditor increases the level of foreign mutual fund ownership in firms....

This paper investigates whether multinational firms are less or more efficient in innovation activities than domestic firms. Using patents and citations scaled by R&D expenses and R&D capital as measures of innovation efficiency, we find that multinational firms have lower levels of innovation...

This study examines the market value of total, mandatory, and discretionary REIT dividends and supports dividend relevance. Consistent with agency cost theory, the results show dividends paid by REITs with greater potential agency conflicts have greater market value. Discretionary dividends paid...

Using Morningstar mutual fund stewardship grade data, we find that the governance mechanisms of mutual funds play a key role in their monitoring of portfolio firms and in their investment decisions. Mutual funds with better governance practices tend to vote responsibly on corporate governance...

The paper finds evidence that corporate governance mechanisms matter for mutual funds, especially funds with better governance standards. Using new and unexplored mutual fund governance data, we show that corporate governance mechanisms play a role in both the investment decisions and the...

This paper investigates whether multinational firms are less or more efficient in innovation activities than domestic firms. Using patents and citations scaled by R&D expenses and R&D capital as measures of innovation efficiency, we find that multinational firms have lower levels of innovation...

Real estate mutual funds have grown dramatically in number, size, scope and assets under management over the last 15 years, but little assessment is evident. The present study addresses this limitation. Better prior period performance is associated with greater shares of fund inflows for a...

This study explores whether a firm’s auditor choice affects its ability to access foreign equity capital. Using the equity holdings of 35,665 foreign mutual funds from 30 countries for the period 1998–2009, we find evidence that appointing a Big 4 auditor is associated with the increased...