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 in two...

This paper outlines the foundations of corporate governance. The discussion includes a review on the modern corporation, transaction costs theory, agency costs theory, legal investor protection, investor protection by corporate governance and its various mechanisms, as well as an overview of the...

This paper attempts to make of the standard incremental cash flow model (SICFM) a functional vehicle for coping with conflicts of interest. After outlining the model, residual rights to cash flows are linked to residual risks. Then, the underlying information sets to cash flows are brought to...

This paper sets forth another contribution to the long standing debate over cost of capital, firstly by introducing a multiplicative model that translates the inner structure of the weighted average cost of capital rate and, secondly, adjusting such rate for governance risk. The conventional...

In this paper, we set forth a scoreboard for dealing with those risks that arise from the governance of any organization. Firstly, we introduce the subject of governance risks and, secondly, we move on to a cardinal index that not only measures up governance performance but also provides with a...

This paper analyses ownership and control structures of Dutch listed companies. Legislation effective since 1992 mandates all shareholders with holdings of 5 percent or more in Dutch companies to disclose their holdings. Our analysis shows that the average ownership stakes of the largest and the...

This study examines the governance attributes of post-IPO (initial public offering) retained ownership of private equity in business group constituent firms in contrast to their unaffiliated counterparts, in 202 newly listed firms in 22 emerging African economies. We adopt an actor centred...

Applying universal ownership theory and drawing on multiple-case studies, this article analyzes what drives institutional investors to engage with government entities and what challenges they find in the process. We relied on document analysis and conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with...

We report on the current state and important older findings of empirical studies on corporate credit ratings and their relationship to ratings of other entities. Specifically, we consider the results of three lines of research: The correlation of credit ratings and corporate default, the...

We analyze the impact of a 75 pct. Break-Through rule on 1,035 European firms with dual class shares. In 3-5 pct. of the firms the controlling owners incur a direct loss of control, whereas in additional 11-17 pct. of the firms the controlling owners are likely to incur a control loss. Firms in...