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Expropriation of minority shareholders and payout policy

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  • De Cesari, Amedeo

Abstract

This paper studies the payout policy of Italian firms controlled by large majority shareholders (controlled firms). The paper reports that a firm's share of dividends in total payout (dividends plus repurchases) is negatively related to the size of the cash flow stake of the firm's controlling shareholder and positively associated with the wedge between the controlling shareholder's control rights and cash flow rights. These findings are consistent with the substitute model of payout. One of the implications of this model is that controlled firms with weak corporate governance set-ups, in which controlling shareholders have strong incentives to expropriate minority shareholders, tend to prefer dividends over repurchases when disgorging cash.

Suggested Citation

  • De Cesari, Amedeo, 2012. "Expropriation of minority shareholders and payout policy," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 207-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:44:y:2012:i:4:p:207-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2012.09.002
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    Cited by:

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    3. Alexandra Horobet & Lucian Belascu & Ștefania Cristina Curea & Alma Pentescu, 2019. "Ownership Concentration and Performance Recovery Patterns in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-31, February.
    4. Bukalska Elżbieta & Zabediuk Myroslava & Mostovenko Nataliia, 2023. "Conflict of interests among shareholders – does it refer to dividend decisions?," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 23(1), pages 16-41, June.
    5. Hamdi Ben-Nasr, 2015. "Government Ownership and Dividend Policy: Evidence from Newly Privatised Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5-6), pages 665-704, June.
    6. Imran Yousaf & Shoaib Ali & Arshad Hassan, 2019. "Effect of family control on corporate dividend policy of firms in Pakistan," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Yusuf, Fatima & Yousaf, Amna & Saeed, Abubakr, 2018. "Rethinking agency theory in developing countries: A case study of Pakistan," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 281-292.
    8. Liu, Lihua & Shu, Haicheng, 2022. "Mandatory dividend policy and perk consumption: Evidence from state-owned business groups in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Tong Li & Nengsheng Luo, 2024. "Dividend Payments and Persistence of Firms’ Green Innovation: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-29, September.
    10. Grosman, Anna & Amore, Mario Daniele, 2021. "Share Repurchases and Board Independence," MPRA Paper 109811, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Alfredo Coelho & Victor Manuel Castillo-Girón, 2020. "The Medium of Exchange in Mergers and Acquisitions: The Cases of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, November.
    12. Laetitia Lepetit & Céline Meslier-Crouzille & Leo Indra Wardhana, 2015. "Do Asymmetric Information and Ownership Structure Matter for Dividend Payout Decisions? Evidence from European Banks," Working Papers hal-01186722, HAL.
    13. Shouyu Yao & Yuying Pan & Lu Wang & Ahmet Sensoy & Feiyang Cheng, 2023. "Building Eco-friendly Corporations: The Role of Minority Shareholders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 933-966, February.
    14. Veltri, Stefania & Ferraro, Olga, 2018. "Does other comprehensive income matter in credit-oriented systems? Analyzing the Italian context," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 18-31.
    15. Enrico Onali, 2014. "Moral Hazard, Dividends, and Risk in Banks," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 128-155, January.
    16. Onali, Enrico & Galiakhmetova, Ramilya & Molyneux, Philip & Torluccio, Giuseppe, 2016. "CEO power, government monitoring, and bank dividends," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 89-117.
    17. Ling Jong & Poh-Ling Ho, 2018. "Inside the family firms: The impact of family and institutional ownership on executive remuneration," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1432095-143, January.
    18. Michael J. Peel, 2014. "Addressing unobserved endogeneity bias in accounting studies: control and sensitivity methods by variable type," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(5), pages 545-571, October.
    19. Liew, Chee Yoong & Devi, S.Susela, 2020. "Family Firms, Banks and Firm Value: Evidence from Malaysia," MPRA Paper 99704, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dividend; Repurchase; Controlling shareholder; Minority shareholder; Family firm;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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