IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v33y2009i10p1817-1828.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Propping and tunneling: Empirical evidence from Japanese keiretsu

Author

Listed:
  • Dow, Sandra
  • McGuire, Jean

Abstract

We examine the response of horizontal and vertical keiretsu to the changing economic and regulatory climate in Japan from 1987 to 2001. We find evidence of profit tunneling of more weakly affiliated keiretsu firms during strong economic times. We observe propping of weakly aligned firms during recession. Many horizontal keiretsu firms strengthened their degree of adhesion to the horizontal keiretsu in response to increasingly tightened credit conditions post-1991. The motivation behind strengthened affiliation appears primarily linked to the goal of overcoming financial constraints by accessing the internal capital market of the business group.

Suggested Citation

  • Dow, Sandra & McGuire, Jean, 2009. "Propping and tunneling: Empirical evidence from Japanese keiretsu," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1817-1828, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:33:y:2009:i:10:p:1817-1828
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-4266(09)00119-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simon Johnson, 2000. "Tunneling," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 22-27, May.
    2. Marianne Bertrand & Paras Mehta & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2002. "Ferreting out Tunneling: An Application to Indian Business Groups," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 121-148.
    3. Masahiro Kawai, 2005. "Reform of the Japanese banking system," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 307-335, December.
    4. Gopalan, Radhakrishnan & Nanda, Vikram & Seru, Amit, 2007. "Affiliated firms and financial support: Evidence from Indian business groups," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 759-795, December.
    5. Kaplan, Steven N. & Minton, Bernadette A., 1994. "Appointments of outsiders to Japanese boards: Determinants and implications for managers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 225-258, October.
    6. Takeo Hoshi & Anil K. Kashyap, 2004. "Japan's Financial Crisis and Economic Stagnation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 3-26, Winter.
    7. Joe Peek & Eric S. Rosengren, 2005. "Unnatural Selection: Perverse Incentives and the Misallocation of Credit in Japan," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1144-1166, September.
    8. Jae‐Seung Baek & Jun‐Koo Kang & Inmoo Lee, 2006. "Business Groups and Tunneling: Evidence from Private Securities Offerings by Korean Chaebols," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(5), pages 2415-2449, October.
    9. Hoshi, Takeo & Kashyap, Anil & Scharfstein, David, 1990. "The role of banks in reducing the costs of financial distress in Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 67-88, September.
    10. Riyanto, Yohanes E. & Toolsema, Linda A., 2008. "Tunneling and propping: A justification for pyramidal ownership," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 2178-2187, October.
    11. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    12. Jean McGuire & Sandra Dow, 2009. "Japanese keiretsu: Past, present, future," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 333-351, June.
    13. Lee, Sangwoo & Park, Kwangwoo & Shin, Hyun-Han, 2009. "Disappearing internal capital markets: Evidence from diversified business groups in Korea," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 326-334, February.
    14. Hicheon Kim & Robert E. Hoskisson & William P. Wan, 2004. "Power dependence, diversification strategy, and performance in keiretsu member firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(7), pages 613-636, July.
    15. Woo, David, 2003. "In Search of "Capital Crunch": Supply Factors behind the Credit Slowdown in Japan," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(6), pages 1019-1038, December.
    16. Bertrand, Marianne & Johnson, Simon & Samphantharak, Krislert & Schoar, Antoinette, 2008. "Mixing family with business: A study of Thai business groups and the families behind them," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 466-498, June.
    17. Djankov, Simeon & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2008. "The law and economics of self-dealing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 430-465, June.
    18. Johnson, Simon & Boone, Peter & Breach, Alasdair & Friedman, Eric, 2000. "Corporate governance in the Asian financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 141-186.
    19. Cheung, Yan-Leung & Rau, P. Raghavendra & Stouraitis, Aris, 2006. "Tunneling, propping, and expropriation: evidence from connected party transactions in Hong Kong," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 343-386, November.
    20. Edith Ginglinger & Jean-Francois L'her, 2006. "Ownership structure and open market stock repurchases in France," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 77-94.
    21. Randall K. Morck, 2005. "A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morc05-1.
    22. Nobuyuki Isagawa, 2007. "A Theory Of Unwinding Of Cross‐Shareholding Under Managerial Entrenchment," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 30(2), pages 163-179, June.
    23. Stijn Claessens & Simeon Djankov & Joseph P. H. Fan & Larry H. P. Lang, 2002. "Disentangling the Incentive and Entrenchment Effects of Large Shareholdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2741-2771, December.
    24. Randall Morck & Masao Nakamura, 2005. "A Frog in a Well Knows Nothing of the Ocean: A History of Corporate Ownership in Japan," NBER Chapters, in: A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers, pages 367-466, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    26. Friedman, Eric & Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Propping and tunneling," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 732-750, December.
    27. Gugler, Klaus & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin, 2003. "Corporate governance and dividend pay-out policy in Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 731-758, August.
    28. Takeo Hoshi, 2006. "Economics Of The Living Dead," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 57(1), pages 30-49, March.
    29. Larry H. P. Lang & Mara Faccio & Leslie Young, 2001. "Dividends and Expropriation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 54-78, March.
    30. Christina L. Ahmadjian & James R. Lincoln, 2001. "Keiretsu, Governance, and Learning: Case Studies in Change from the Japanese Automotive Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(6), pages 683-701, December.
    31. Kee‐Hong Bae & Jun‐Koo Kang & Jin‐Mo Kim, 2002. "Tunneling or Value Added? Evidence from Mergers by Korean Business Groups," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2695-2740, December.
    32. Rousseau, Peter L. & Kim, Jong Hun, 2008. "A flight to Q? Firm investment and financing in Korea before and after the 1997 financial crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1416-1429, July.
    33. Kunal Banerji & Rakesh B Sambharya, 1996. "Vertical Keiretsu and International Market Entry: The Case of the Japanese Automobile Ancillary Industry," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(1), pages 89-113, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    2. Randall Morck, 2011. "Finance and Governance in Developing Economies," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 375-406, December.
    3. Byun, Hae-Young & Choi, Sunhwa & Hwang, Lee-Seok & Kim, Robert G., 2013. "Business group affiliation, ownership structure, and the cost of debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 311-331.
    4. Kang, Hyung Cheol & Anderson, Robert M. & Eom, Kyong Shik & Kang, Sang Koo, 2017. "Controlling shareholders' value, long-run firm value and short-term performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 340-353.
    5. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Andros Gregoriou, 2010. "‘Family’ Ownership, Tunnelling And Earnings Management: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 705-730, September.
    6. Cheung, Yan-Leung & Qi, Yuehua & Raghavendra Rau, P. & Stouraitis, Aris, 2009. "Buy high, sell low: How listed firms price asset transfers in related party transactions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 914-924, May.
    7. Khosa,Amrinder & Ahmed,Kamran & Henry,Darren, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Related Party Transactions, and Firm Valuation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108492195, January.
    8. Buchuk, David & Larrain, Borja & Muñoz, Francisco & Urzúa I., Francisco, 2014. "The internal capital markets of business groups: Evidence from intra-group loans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(2), pages 190-212.
    9. Shahid Hussain & Nabeel Safdar, 2018. "Tunneling: Evidence from Family Business Groups of Pakistan," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 10(2), pages 97-122, June.
    10. Yan-Leung Cheung & In-Mu Haw & Weiqiang Tan & Wenming Wang, 2014. "Board Structure and Intragroup Propping: Evidence from Family Business Groups in Hong Kong," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 43(3), pages 569-601, September.
    11. Heitor Almeida & Sang Yong Park & Marti Subrahmanyam & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2009. "The Structure and Formation of Business Groups: Evidence from Korean Chaebols," NBER Working Papers 14983, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, 2017. "East Asian Financial and Economic Development," NBER Working Papers 23845, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Faccio, Mara & Morck, Randall & Deniz Yavuz, M., 2021. "Business groups and the incorporation of firm-specific shocks into stock prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 852-871.
    14. Basu, Debarati & Sen, Kaustav, 2015. "Financial decisions by business groups in India: Is it “fair and square”?," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 121-137.
    15. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Viswanathan Nagarajan & Pitabas Mohanty & Apalak Khatua, 2023. "Financing effects of corporate diversification: A review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2555-2585, October.
    17. Liu, Yunxiao & Kim, Woochan & Sung, Taeyoon, 2021. "Investment efficiency of firms outside the business group," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Aggarwal, Raj & Dow, Sandra M., 2012. "Dividends and strength of Japanese business group affiliation," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 214-230.
    19. Chauhan, Yogesh & Dey, Dipanjan Kumar & Jha, Rajneesh Ranjan, 2016. "Board structure, controlling ownership, and business groups: Evidence from India," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 63-83.
    20. Randall Morck, 2009. "The Riddle of the Great Pyramids," NBER Working Papers 14858, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:33:y:2009:i:10:p:1817-1828. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.