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Corporate governance effect on financial distress likelihood: Evidence from Spain

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  • Manzaneque, Montserrat
  • Priego, Alba María
  • Merino, Elena

Abstract

The paper explores some mechanisms of corporate governance (ownership and board characteristics) in Spanish listed companies and their impact on the likelihood of financial distress. An empirical study was conducted between 2007 and 2012 using a matched-pairs research design with 308 observations, with half of them classified as distressed and non-distressed. Based on the previous study by Pindado, Rodrigues, and De la Torre (2008), a broader concept of bankruptcy is used to define business failure. Employing several conditional logistic models, as well as to other previous studies on bankruptcy, the results confirm that in difficult situations prior to bankruptcy, the impact of board ownership and proportion of independent directors on business failure likelihood are similar to those exerted in more extreme situations. These results go one step further, to offer a negative relationship between board size and the likelihood of financial distress. This result is interpreted as a form of creating diversity and to improve the access to the information and resources, especially in contexts where the ownership is highly concentrated and large shareholders have a great power to influence the board structure. However, the results confirm that ownership concentration does not have a significant impact on financial distress likelihood in the Spanish context. It is argued that large shareholders are passive as regards an enhanced monitoring of management and, alternatively, they do not have enough incentives to hold back the financial distress. These findings have important implications in the Spanish context, where several changes in the regulatory listing requirements have been carried out with respect to corporate governance, and where there is no empirical evidence regarding this respect.

Suggested Citation

  • Manzaneque, Montserrat & Priego, Alba María & Merino, Elena, 2016. "Corporate governance effect on financial distress likelihood: Evidence from Spain," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 111-121.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:spacre:v:19:y:2016:i:1:p:111-121
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rcsar.2015.04.001
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    6. Sumaira Ashraf & Elisabete G. S. Félix & Zélia Serrasqueiro, 2022. "Does board committee independence affect financial distress likelihood? A comparison of China with the UK," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 723-761, June.
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    9. Alberto Tron & Maurizio Dallocchio & Salvatore Ferri & Federico Colantoni, 2023. "Corporate governance and financial distress: lessons learned from an unconventional approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(2), pages 425-456, June.
    10. Mst. Maksuda Begum & Niluthpaul Sarker & Shamsun Nahar, 2023. "The Impact of Corporate Governance Attributes on Financial Distress among the Listed Firms in Pharmaceuticals Industry of Bangladesh," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(6), pages 155-167, November.
    11. Bravo-Urquiza, Francisco & Moreno-Ureba, Elena, 2021. "Does compliance with corporate governance codes help to mitigate financial distress?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    12. Carla Morrone & Alberto Tron & Federico Colantoni & Salvatore Ferri, 2023. "The Different Impact of Top Executives’ Turnover on Healthy and Restructured Companies," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, February.
    13. Ayoola Tajudeen John & Obokoh Lawrence Ogechukwu, 2018. "Corporate Governance and Financial Distress in the Banking Industry: Nigerian Experience," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(1), pages 182-193.
    14. Aysegul ERTUGRUL, 2023. "Investigation of the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Capital Structure in Insurance Companies with Panel Regression Analysis," Journal of BRSA Banking and Financial Markets, Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, vol. 17(1), pages 107-130.
    15. Nawaf Almaskati & Ron Bird & Yue Lu & Danny Leung, 2019. "The Role of Corporate Governance and Estimation Methods in Predicting Bankruptcy," Working Papers in Economics 19/16, University of Waikato.
    16. Yinghua Song & Minzhe Jiang & Shixuan Li & Shengzhe Zhao, 2024. "Class‐imbalanced financial distress prediction with machine learning: Incorporating financial, management, textual, and social responsibility features into index system," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 593-614, April.
    17. Balagobei, S, 2022. "Corporate Governance and Financial Distress: Empirical Evidence from listed Consumer Services Firms in Sri Lanka ," GATR Journals afr211, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Board of directors; Conditional logistic regression; Corporate governance; Financial distress; Ownership concentration; Consejo de administración; Regresión logística condicional; Gobierno corporativo; Fracaso empresarial; Concentración de la propiedad;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • M4 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting

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