Ownership structure and firm performance in non-listed firms: Evidence from Spain

This study provides new evidence regarding the way in which ownership concentration influences nonlisted firm performance focusing on the conflict between majority and minority shareholders, and differentiating between the behavior of family and non-family firms, using data from 586 non-listed Spani...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Arosa de la Torre, Blanca, Iturralde Jainaga, Txomin, Maseda García, Amaia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/74242
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/74242
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:ownership
SMEs
non-listed firms
family firms
performance
Descripción
Sumario:This study provides new evidence regarding the way in which ownership concentration influences nonlisted firm performance focusing on the conflict between majority and minority shareholders, and differentiating between the behavior of family and non-family firms, using data from 586 non-listed Spanish firms. In first-generation family firms our research shows that agency theory can be used to explain the role of ownership concentration in balancing conflicts between shareholder groups. A greater concentration of firm ownership in the first generation may bring the monitoring and expropriation hypotheses into play, whereas firms in which subsequent generations have joined may show a greater spread of ownership. In first generation family firms, the classic owner-manager conflict ismitigated due to the large shareholder’s greater incentives to monitor the manager. However, a second type of conflict appears. The large shareholder may use its controlling position in the firm to extract private benefits at the expense of the small shareholders. The empirical evidence shows that for family firms, the relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance differs depending on which generation of the family manages the firms.