Abe de Jong (1970) is Professor in Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance at RSM Erasmus University. He obtained a PhD in finance at Tilburg University (1999). His research and teaching interests are in the area of empirical corporate finance and include capital structure choice, dividend...

We examine the relationship between exchange-rate changes and stock returns for a sample of Dutch firms over 1994-1998. We find that over 50% of the firms are significantly exposed to exchange-rate risk. Furthermore, all firms with significant exchange-rate exposure benefit from a depreciation...

We present a new method for visualizing similarities between objects. The method is called VOS, which is an abbreviation for visualization of similarities. The aim of VOS is to provide a low-dimensional visualization in which objects are located in such a way that the distance between any pair...

In this paper we present the results of an international survey among 313 CFOs on capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, and corporate governance. We extend previous results of Graham and Harvey (2001) by broadening their sample internationally, by including corporate governance,...

In a recent article in JASIST, L. Leydesdorff and L. Vaughan (2006) asserted that raw cocitation data should be analyzed directly, without first applying a normalization such as the Pearson correlation. In this communication, it is argued that there is nothing wrong with the widely adopted...

We examine 865 acquisitions by Dutch industrial firms over the period 1993–2004. Theoretical work based on principal–agent problems predicts that managers of exchange-listed corporations may pursue acquisitions even when these do not add value for the shareholders. Corporate governance...

We study annual general meetings of shareholders in the Netherlands. The Dutch corporate governance system is characterized by relatively concentrated shareholdings and large stakes owned by pension funds, banks and insurance companies. The legal protection of shareholders is poor due to...

This paper examines the influence of institutional differences on risk management practices in the US and the Netherlands. This comparison is interesting because the Dutch firms' institutional setting differs from the US setting with respect to shareholder orientation, international trade,...

The Dutch East India Company or VOC in 1602 showed many characteristics of modern corporations, including limited liability, freely transferable shares, and well-defined managerial functions. However, we challenge the notion of the VOC as the precursor of modern corporations to argue that the...

Early Modern Dutch corporate finance had two notable features, a remarkable ease of raising large amounts of capital and a flexible legal framework. Having pioneered new corporate forms with two intercontinental trading companies, Dutch business adopted such forms on a wider scale only during...