Departing from the traditional cash flow rights-dividend policy framework, this study investigates whether the level of control rights and the types of control of the ultimate controlling shareholders (UCSs) of listed firms in China influence their cash dividend policy. We find that the level of...

There is no question that Switzerland embraces capitalism and has a market-oriented economy. At the same time, a grassroots-oriented political system has allowed for the emergence of a uniquely Swiss stakeholder-oriented business regime.Hence, Swiss corporate law generally embraces the...

Within less than twenty years the idea of shareholder stewardship has become a global phenomenon. In 2010, the United Kingdom hastily released the world’s first stewardship code to cure what was perceived to be the UK’s primary corporate governance malady: rationally passive institutional...

Although large shareholders have sufficient influence to engage privately with management, extant literature provides inconclusive evidence on the relation between large equity positions and corporate disclosure. This study examines whether large shareholders’ portfolio diversification affects...

We explore the effect of the presence of female directors in boards of directors on the economic impact of bank mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Using a unique, hand-collected dataset on 1,130 M&As announced by U.S. banks between 2003 and 2018, we find a significant negative relationship between...

We examine the expected economic benefits of mergers and acquisitions. We conclude that both signaling and revelation biases are responsible for the commonly reported finding that on average takeovers are harmful to bidder shareholder wealth. After accounting for these two biases that lead to a...

We investigate how shareholder trading practices might be linked to corporate investment horizons. We examine two possible linkages and analyze a range of data relevant to them. The first is excess volatility, which occurs when stock prices react not only to news about economic fundamentals, but...

In most European jurisdictions it is discussed whether shareholders must observe a duty of loyalty towards the company and/or towards other shareholders. This paper traces the origin and evolution of a more general duty of loyalty in Germany, Denmark, the UK and the USA. Even though the duty is...

This article reviews recent research into corporate voting and elections. Regulatory reforms have given shareholders more voting power in the election of directors and in executive compensation issues. Shareholders use voting as a channel of communication with boards of directors, and protest...

Using a 2004 Chinese securities regulation that requires equity offering proposals to obtain the separate approval of voting minority shareholders, we examine whether giving minority shareholders increased control over corporate decisions helps reduce value-decreasing corporate decisions for...