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Corporate governance and payout policy: Evidence from Korean business groups

Author

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  • Hwang, Lee-Seok
  • Kim, Hakkon
  • Park, Kwangwoo
  • Park, Rae Soo

Abstract

Using a unique, comprehensive data set from a survey on corporate governance practices among Korean listed firms, this paper shows that business group (chaebol) firms have overall stronger governance practices but weaker shareholder rights and lower dividend payout ratios than independent firms do. We also find that the adverse effect of chaebol firms' weak shareholder rights on dividend payout ratios appears to exemplify with the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. In addition, our regression results show that the positive correlation between corporate governance practices and dividend payout ratios is weaker among chaebol firms. Finally, we find that improving corporate governance enhances payout policies over time but is statistically significant only for independent firms. Our results suggest that the entrenched control by chaebol firm owners that stems from their control rights much above the cash flow rights puts less weight on protecting minority shareholders, resulting in smaller distributions of dividend payments.

Suggested Citation

  • Hwang, Lee-Seok & Kim, Hakkon & Park, Kwangwoo & Park, Rae Soo, 2013. "Corporate governance and payout policy: Evidence from Korean business groups," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 179-198.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:24:y:2013:i:c:p:179-198
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2013.04.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Chun, Hong-min, 2019. "CEO pay disparity, chaebol affiliations, and implied cost of equity capital," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    2. Choi, Yoon K. & Han, Seung Hun & Kwon, Yonghyun, 2024. "Relative performance evaluation with business group affiliation as a source of common risk," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Bereskin, Frederick L. & Kim, Bushik & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl, 2015. "Do credit rating concerns lead to better corporate governance? Evidence from Korea," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PB), pages 592-608.
    4. Flavin, Thomas & O'Connor, Thomas, 2017. "Reputation building and the lifecycle model of dividends," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA), pages 177-190.
    5. Yong-Shik Kim, 2023. "The Association between Voluntary Carbon Disclosure and Accounting Comparability: Examining the Moderating Effect of Korean Business Groups," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Dang-Khoa Duong & Thi Thanh-Phuong Phan & Kim-Hung Pho & Michael McAleer, 2020. "Impact of Board Characteristics and State Ownership on Dividend Policy in Vietnam," Advances in Decision Sciences, Asia University, Taiwan, vol. 24(4), pages 1-34, December.
    7. Thomas J.Flavin & Abhinav Goyal & Thomas O'Connor, 2020. "Role of corporate governance and lifecycle in determining payout precommitment in an emerging economy," Economics Department Working Paper Series n297-20.pdf, Department of Economics, National University of Ireland - Maynooth.
    8. Thomas Flavin & Abhinav Goyal & Thomas O'Connor, 2021. "Corporate governance, life cycle, and payout precommitment: An emerging market study," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 44(1), pages 179-209, April.
    9. Ducret, Romain & Isakov, Dušan, 2023. "Business group heterogeneity and firm outcomes: Evidence from Korean chaebols," FSES Working Papers 531, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    10. LIN, Dan & KUO, Hsien-Chang & WANG, Lie-Huey, 2016. "Analysis Of The Relationship Between Disclosure Quality And Dividend Payouts From The Agency Theory Perspective," Studii Financiare (Financial Studies), Centre of Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slavescu", vol. 20(1), pages 6-20.
    11. Okechukwu Enyeribe Njoku & Younghwan Lee, 2024. "Revisiting the Effect of Dividend Policy on Firm Performance and Value: Empirical Evidence from the Korean Market," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-36, February.
    12. Hyunjung Choi & Jungeun Cho, 2021. "Related-Party Transactions, Chaebol Affiliations, and the Value of Cash Holdings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-13, January.
    13. Lee, Sang-Yeob & Hong, Woo-Hyung, 2020. "Does tax really matter for corporate payout policy: Evidence from a policy experiment in South Korea," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Olfa Ben Salah & Anis Jarboui, 2023. "Impact of Dividend Policy on Earnings Management and The Moderating Effect of The Board of Directors and The Audit Committees: The French Case," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 408-427, September.
    15. Choi, Hyunjung & Cho, Jungeun, 2021. "Related-party transactions and post-earnings announcement drift: Evidence from the Korean stock market," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    16. Ali Amin & Rizwan Ali & Ramiz ur Rehman, 2022. "Cost Stickiness, Firm’s Dividend Payouts, and Family Ownership," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 116-133, Jan-June.
    17. Mulyani, Evy & Singh, Harminder & Mishra, Sagarika, 2016. "Dividends, leverage, and family ownership in the emerging Indonesian market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 16-29.
    18. Kang, Sanggyu & Chung, Chune Young & Kim, Dong-Soon, 2019. "The effect of institutional blockholders' short-termism on firm innovation: Evidence from the Korean market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dividends; Payout policies; Corporate governance; Business group;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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