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....

Our study investigates the effect of Japanese keiretsu group membership on firm risk and return. Like prior studies, our results show that keiretsu membership has a negative effect on firm profitability. In contrast to prior studies, however, we find that most of our risk measures are positively...