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Diversification, corporate governance and firm value in small markets: evidence from New Zealand

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  • Nawaf Al-Maskati
  • André J. Bate
  • Gurmeet S. Bhabra
  • Robert Faff

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="acfi12069-abs-0001"> We find that diversified firms in New Zealand are associated with a value discount of 19–42 per cent relative to single-segment (undiversified) firms. Although several competing explanations have been offered in the literature, we find that the strength of corporate governance explains between 15–21 per cent of this discount. Specifically, board size, busyness of directors, CEO ownership and whether or not compensation of directors includes equity-based components collectively explain a large part of the reported discount. Our results from companies trading in New Zealand complement recent findings in the US by not only confirming the existence of a diversification discount but also emphasizing the role of poor governance in destroying shareholder wealth by pursuing a value-destroying corporate strategy. All our results hold after controlling for potential endogeneity in the decision to diversify and the choice of corporate governance structure by employing two-way fixed-effects and dynamic-panel generalized method of moments regression techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Nawaf Al-Maskati & André J. Bate & Gurmeet S. Bhabra & Robert Faff, 2015. "Diversification, corporate governance and firm value in small markets: evidence from New Zealand," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 55(3), pages 627-657, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:55:y:2015:i:3:p:627-657
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/acfi.2015.55.issue-3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Vasanthan Subramaniam, 2018. "Family Ownership and Dividend Policy: Empirical Evidence from Malaysia," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(5), pages 112-112, March.
    2. Sin-Huei Ng & Tze San Ong & Boon Heng Teh, 2019. "An Agency Perspective on Firm Diversification, Efficiency and Performance: Evidence From Malaysia," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(6), pages 24-41, October.
    3. Li, Michelle & Roberts, Helen, 2023. "Zero leverage and dividend policy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    4. Vasanthan Subramaniam & Shaista Wasiuzzaman, 2019. "Corporate diversification and dividend policy: empirical evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 735-758, September.
    5. Robert W Faff & Stephen Gray & Kelvin Jui Keng Tan, 2016. "A contemporary view of corporate finance theory, empirical evidence and practice," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(4), pages 662-686, November.
    6. de Andrés, Pablo & de la Fuente, Gabriel & Velasco, Pilar, 2016. "Are real options a missing piece in the diversification-value puzzle?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 261-271.
    7. Guang‐Zheng Chen & Edmund C. Keung, 2018. "Corporate diversification, institutional investors and internal control quality," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(3), pages 751-786, September.
    8. Warwick Anderson & Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya & Cameron Morrill & Helen Roberts, 2020. "Dividend payout and executive compensation: theory and evidence from New Zealand," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1007-1022, April.
    9. Askarany, Davood & Spraakman, Gary, 2020. "Regional diversification and financial performance through an excess-capacity theory lens: A new explanation for mixed results," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    10. Bakar, Intan Suryani Abu & Khan, Arifur & Mather, Paul & Tanewski, George, 2018. "Corporate boards and performance pricing in private debt contracts," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 144-162.
    11. Zhiwen Su & Mingyu Zhang & Jianjun Sun & Wenbing Wu, 2023. "Agribusiness diversification and technological innovation efficiency: A U‐shaped relationship," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 322-346, March.
    12. Alex Johanes Simamora, 2020. "ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard and Firm Value," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 10(3), pages 66-80.
    13. Stewart Jones & Nurul Alam, 2019. "A machine learning analysis of citation impact among selected Pacific Basin journals," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(4), pages 2509-2552, December.

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