We examine the determinants of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) focusing on institutional and social factors. Using panel data on 59 countries from 1995 to 2008, we find that host countries with free and open markets and greater cultural distance from Japan attract Japanese FDI. Good...

This paper investigates the impact of social ties on the effectiveness of boards of directors. When the chief executive officer (CEO) and a number of directors belong to the same social networks, the CEO is less likely to be dismissed for poor performance. The results are robust to different...

The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of board of directors on market performance of large Malaysian listed companies. Using data from corporate annual reports for the financial year 2010, the regression results show that the proportion of independent directors on the board and...

This study explores the roles of the board of directors (BOD) (as a proxy for board performance) in Malaysian listed companies and examines the relationship between board roles and firm performance. Four board roles (strategy, service, monitoring, and resource dependence) are considered in this...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test two agency-based hypotheses regarding the effect of ownership concentration on dividend policy using a large sample of Japanese firms. Design/methodology/approach – Level regressions associating payout rates to ownership concentration are run....

This paper assesses conflicts of interest between banks and their client firms via the merger transaction by examining the wealth gain of merger acquirers who were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1990–2004. The paper reports two main findings. First, acquiring firms did not gain from...

In this study, we examine the perceptions of individual shareholders during Swiss annual general meetings (AGMs). Using AGMs as a corporate governance device has become ineffective; a panel of experts has called on small shareholders to increase their involvement in order to improve meeting...

The Japanese system of corporate governance andin particular the role played by banks andother financial institutions have been thesubject of considerable research andcontroversy in recent years. We estimate theimpact of equity ownership by financialinstitutions on firm performance in Japan...

Several previous research studies have reported mixed results concerning the direct relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. Actually, the presence of innovation as a mediating variable within this relationship has not yet been fully established. Hence, this article's...