Shareholder agreements are contracts that govern the relationship among different shareholders in a firm. This article uses a unique dataset to analyze shareholder agreements in listed companies and shows how they affect firm valuation. While shareholder agreements may be used to expropriate...

We identify two opposing effects of issuing equity with tag-along rights that secure an equal price in the event of a takeover. First, the anti-self dealing effect commits controlling owners to sell only to new owners that increase shareholder value. Second, the rent transfer effect shifts rents...

The legal environment is one important determinant of corporate governance. However,  within  legal families,  also cultural  differences can explain the level of corporate governance to some extent. We analyze this relationship for the case of Switzerland.  Swiss firms  are mainly located...

We analyze the valuation effect of board industry experience and channels through which industry experience of outside directors affects firm value. Firms with more experienced outside directors are valued at a premium compared to firms with less experienced outside directors. Additional tests...

This article provides a framework for analysing the character and degree of ownership engagement by institutional investors.It argues that the general term “institutional investor” in itself doesn’t say very much about the quality or degree of ownership engagement. It is therefore an...

The paper presents the actual ownership structure of public companies in Bulgaria on the basis of a survey of 104 of the companies traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. It discusses as well the problems of disclosure of ownership information, focusing on the transposition of the EC Large...

South Africa (SA) has pursued corporate governance reforms in the form of the 1994 and 2002 King Reports. This paper examines the association between the presence of independent non-executive directors (INEDs) and market valuation of a sample of 169 firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock...

This study investigates the relevance among corporate governance mechanism, institutional ownership and share repurchase decisions. Examining 220 exchange-listed companies in Taiwan during 2004 to 2006, the main findings are as follows. First, corporate governance mechanisms affect share...

This paper examines the value of political participation by private entrepreneurs in China. Using a unique sample of all initial public offerings by entrepreneurial firms during 1994-2007 and political participation by the controlling entrepreneurs, we test the hypothesis that firms with...