IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ausman/v36y2011i3p371-386.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate governance and alternative performance measures: evidence from Australian firms

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Kien Pham
  • Jo-Ann Suchard
  • Jason Zein

Abstract

We examine the extent to which individual monitoring mechanisms enhance firm performance and shareholder value. We use a sample of Australian firms, from 1994 to 2003, to analyse the relationship between firm performance and corporate governance. This provides a long time series of governance data by international standards and allows us to study governance–performance dynamics over an extensive period. We use Stern Stewart & Co’s economic value added (EVA) as an alternative performance measure and provide a comparison to Tobin’s Q. However, similar to the international evidence, we do not find a significant relationship between either of the performance measures and corporate governance. Using various econometric techniques we show that our results are also robust to endogeneity biases that can arise in the governance–performance relation.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Kien Pham & Jo-Ann Suchard & Jason Zein, 2011. "Corporate governance and alternative performance measures: evidence from Australian firms," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 36(3), pages 371-386, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:36:y:2011:i:3:p:371-386
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896211413035
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0312896211413035
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0312896211413035?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geoffrey C. Kiel & Gavin J. Nicholson, 2003. "Board Composition and Corporate Performance: how the Australian experience informs contrasting theories of corporate governance," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(3), pages 189-205, July.
    2. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    3. Ben‐Hsien Bao & Da‐Hsien Bao, 1998. "Usefulness of Value Added and Abnormal Economic Economic Earnings: An Empirical Examination," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1‐2), pages 251-264, January.
    4. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas & Newey, Whitney & Rosen, Harvey S, 1988. "Estimating Vector Autoregressions with Panel Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(6), pages 1371-1395, November.
    5. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    6. McConnell, John J. & Servaes, Henri, 1990. "Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 595-612, October.
    7. Barnhart, Scott W & Rosenstein, Stuart, 1998. "Board Composition, Managerial Ownership, and Firm Performance: An Empirical Analysis," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1-16, November.
    8. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, September.
    9. Glen, Jack & Lee, Kevin & Singh, Ajit, 2001. "Persistence of profitability and competition in emerging markets," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 247-253, August.
    10. Garvey, GT & Milbourn, TT, 2000. "EVA versus earnings: Does it matter which is more highly correlated with stock returns?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 209-245.
    11. Rogerson, William P, 1997. "Intertemporal Cost Allocation and Managerial Investment Incentives: A Theory Explaining the Use of Economic Value Added as a Performance Measure," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(4), pages 770-795, August.
    12. Demsetz, Harold & Villalonga, Belen, 2001. "Ownership structure and corporate performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 209-233, September.
    13. Clifford G. Holderness & Randall S. Kroszner & Dennis P. Sheehan, 1999. "Were the Good Old Days That Good? Changes in Managerial Stock Ownership Since the Great Depression," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 435-469, April.
    14. Martin Conyon & Simon Peck, 1998. "Board size and corporate performance: evidence from European countries," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 291-304.
    15. Hanson, Robert C. & Song, Moon H., 2000. "Managerial ownership, board structure, and the division of gains in divestitures," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 55-70, March.
    16. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    17. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    18. Himmelberg, Charles P. & Hubbard, R. Glenn & Palia, Darius, 1999. "Understanding the determinants of managerial ownership and the link between ownership and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 353-384, September.
    19. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    20. Ben-Hsien Bao & Da-Hsien Bao, 1998. "Usefulness of Value Added and Abnormal Economic Economic Earnings: An Empirical Examination," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1&2), pages 251-264.
    21. Machuga, Susan M & Pfeiffer, Ray J, Jr & Verma, Kiran, 2002. "Economic Value Added, Future Accounting Earnings, and Financial Analysts' Earnings Per Share Forecasts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 59-73, January.
    22. Adelina Gschwandtner, 2005. "Profit persistence in the 'very' long run: evidence from survivors and exiters," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(7), pages 793-806.
    23. Emma L. Schultz & David T. Tan & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2010. "Endogeneity and the corporate governance - performance relation," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 35(2), pages 145-163, August.
    24. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    25. Melinda Muth & Lex Donaldson, 1998. "Stewardship Theory and Board Structure: a contingency approach," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 5-28, January.
    26. Mak, Y.T. & Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2005. "Size really matters: Further evidence on the negative relationship between board size and firm value," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 301-318, June.
    27. Dennis G. Uyemura & Charles C. Kantor & Justin M. Pettit, 1996. "Eva® For Banks: Value Creation, Risk Management, And Profitability Measurement," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 9(2), pages 94-109, June.
    28. Kenneth Lehn & Anil K. Makhija, 1997. "Eva, Accounting Profits, And Ceo Turnover: An Empirical Examination, 1985–1994," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 10(2), pages 90-97, June.
    29. Biddle, Gary C. & Bowen, Robert M. & Wallace, James S., 1997. "Does EVA(R) beat earnings? Evidence on associations with stock returns and firm values," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 301-336, December.
    30. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    31. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman, 2015. "Which governance characteristics affect the incidence of divestitures in Australia?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 40(2), pages 351-374, May.
    2. Ali, Searat & Liu, Benjamin & Su, Jen Je, 2017. "Corporate governance and stock liquidity dimensions: Panel evidence from pure order-driven Australian market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 275-304.
    3. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman & Alex Tong & Ruoyun Zhao, 2016. "Board size and firm value: evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 851-873, December.
    4. Karen Benson & Peter M Clarkson & Tom Smith & Irene Tutticci, 2015. "A review of accounting research in the Asia Pacific region," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 40(1), pages 36-88, February.
    5. Arunima Haldar & S. V. D. Nageswara Rao & Kirankumar S. Momaya, 2016. "Can Flexibility in Corporate Governance Enhance International Competitiveness? Evidence from Knowledge-Based Industries in India," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 17(4), pages 389-402, December.
    6. Badru, Bazeet O. & Ahmad-Zaluki, Nurwati A. & Wan-Hussin, Wan Nordin, 2017. "Board characteristics and the amount of capital raised in the Malaysian IPO market," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 42, pages 37-55.
    7. Chowdhury, Biplob & Dungey, Mardi & Pham, Thu Phuong, 2014. "The impact of post-IPO changes in corporate governance mechanisms on firm performance: evidence from young Australian firms," Working Papers 2014-11, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, revised 24 Sep 2014.
    8. Nguyen, Tuan & Locke, Stuart & Reddy, Krishna, 2014. "A dynamic estimation of governance structures and financial performance for Singaporean companies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-11.
    9. Franken, Jason R.V. & Cook, Michael L., 2013. "Impact of Board Structure and Process on Cooperative Performance," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149420, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Ron Bird & Peng Huang & Yue Lu, 2018. "Board independence and the variability of firm performance: Evidence from an exogenous regulatory shock," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 43(1), pages 3-26, February.
    11. Nguyen Van Tuan & Nguyen Anh Tuan, 2016. "Corporate Governance Structures And Performance Of Firms In Asian Markets: A Comparative Analysis Between Singapore And Vietnam," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 7(2).
    12. Kanapathippillai, Sutharson & Johl, Shireenjit K. & Wines, Graeme, 2016. "Remuneration committee effectiveness and narrative remuneration disclosure," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 384-402.
    13. Jacqueline Christensen & Pamela Kent & James Routledge & Jenny Stewart & Gary Monroe, 2015. "Do corporate governance recommendations improve the performance and accountability of small listed companies?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 55(1), pages 133-164, March.
    14. David T. Tan & Larelle Chapple & Kathleen D. Walsh, 2017. "Corporate fraud culture: Re-examining the corporate governance and performance relation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 597-620, June.
    15. Nguyen, Tuan & Locke, Stuart & Reddy, Krishna, 2015. "Does boardroom gender diversity matter? Evidence from a transitional economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 184-202.
    16. Pamela Kent & Tamara Zunker, 2017. "A stakeholder analysis of employee disclosures in annual reports," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(2), pages 533-563, June.
    17. Muniandy, Puspa & Tanewski, George & Johl, Shireenjit K., 2016. "Institutional investors in Australia: Do they play a homogenous monitoring role?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 266-288.
    18. Nadarajah, Sivathaasan & Ali, Searat & Liu, Benjamin & Huang, Allen, 2018. "Stock liquidity, corporate governance and leverage: New panel evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 216-234.
    19. Alessandra Capezio & Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2016. "Women in the boardroom and fraud: Evidence from Australia," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(4), pages 719-734, November.
    20. Nguyen, Tuan & Locke, Stuart & Reddy, Krishna, 2015. "Ownership concentration and corporate performance from a dynamic perspective: Does national governance quality matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 148-161.
    21. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Chen, Xiaoyan & Ling, Xin & Smith, Tom & Zhu, Yushu, 2016. "Emerging trends in Asia-Pacific finance research: A review of recent influential publications and a research agenda," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 66-76.
    22. Nirosha Hewa Wellalage & Stuart Locke, 2018. "Do female directors create value for the shareholders? Case study of New Zealand publicly listed companies," International Journal of Corporate Governance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 347-371.
    23. Balasingham Balachandran & Sutharson Kanapathippillai & Chandrasekhar Krishnamurti & Michael Theobald & Eswaran Velayutham, 2017. "The issuance of warrants in rights offerings: Agency costs and signaling effects," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 42(4), pages 608-636, November.
    24. Tuan Nguyen & An Nguyen & Stuart Locke & Krishna Reddy, 2017. "Does the human capital of board directors add value to firms? Evidence from an Asian market," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1385439-138, January.
    25. Sutharson Kanapathippillai & Dessalegn Mihret & Shireenjit Johl, 2019. "Remuneration Committees and Attribution Disclosures on Remuneration Decisions: Australian Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(4), pages 1063-1082, September.

    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. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    2. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman & Alex Tong & Ruoyun Zhao, 2016. "Board size and firm value: evidence from Australia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 851-873, December.
    3. Aziz Jaafar & Lynn Hodgkinson & Mao-Feng Kao, 2019. "Ownership Structure, Board of Directors and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Working Papers 19011, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    4. Francesco Perrini & Ginevra Rossi & Barbara Rovetta, 2008. "Does Ownership Structure Affect Performance? Evidence from the Italian Market," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 312-325, July.
    5. Sheeba Kapil & Rakesh K Mishra, 2019. "Corporate Governance structure and firm performance in Indian context: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Working Papers 1937, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
    6. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    7. Jean-Christophe Duhamel & Réda Sefsaf, 2017. "Valeur de la gouvernance d'entreprise et gouvernance des valeurs de l'entreprise. Recherche sur les effets des codes de gouvernance et les stratégies de communication en matière de gouvernance," Working Papers halshs-01633982, HAL.
    8. James, Hui & Benson, Bradley W. & Wu, Chen (Ken), 2017. "Does CEO ownership affect payout policy? Evidence from using CEO scaled wealth-performance sensitivity," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 328-345.
    9. Franco Ernesto Rubino & Paolo Tenuta & Domenico Rocco Cambrea, 2017. "Board characteristics effects on performance in family and non-family business: a multi-theoretical approach," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 623-658, September.
    10. Krishna Reddy & Stuart Locke & Frank Scrimgeour, 2010. "The efficacy of principle‐based corporate governance practices and firm financial performance," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3), pages 190-219, June.
    11. Benson, Bradley W. & Chen, Yu & James, Hui L. & Park, Jung Chul, 2020. "So far away from me: Firm location and the managerial ownership effect on firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Akbar, Muhammad & Hussain, Shahzad & Ahmad, Tanveer & Hassan, Shoib, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance in Pakistan: Dynamic Panel Estimation," CAFE Working Papers 6, Centre for Accountancy, Finance and Economics (CAFE), Birmingham City Business School, Birmingham City University.
    13. Eloisa Perez-de Toledo & Maria Pilar Giraldez-Puig & Jose Manuel Hurtado-Gonzalez, 2016. "The effect of environmental jolts on board governance practices and its impact on firm value," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 75-95, February.
    14. Bulan, Laarni & Sanyal, Paroma & Yan, Zhipeng, 2010. "A few bad apples: An analysis of CEO performance pay and firm productivity," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 273-306, July.
    15. Bradley W. Benson & Wallace N. Davidson III & Hongxia Wang & Dan L. Worrell, 2011. "Deviations from Expected Stakeholder Management, Firm Value, and Corporate Governance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 39-81, March.
    16. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2017. "Ownership concentration, state ownership and firm performance: Empirical evidence from the Vietnamese stock market," OSF Preprints zgvsw, Center for Open Science.
    17. Martin Kyere & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Corporate governance and firms financial performance in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1871-1885, April.
    18. Mohammad Ziaul Hoque & MD. Rabiul Islam & Mohammad Nurul Azam, 2013. "Board Committee Meetings and Firm Financial Performance: An Investigation of Australian Companies," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 13(4), pages 503-528, December.
    19. Vincenzo Scafarto & Federica Ricci & Elisabetta Magnaghi & Salvatore Ferri, 2021. "Board structure and intellectual capital efficiency: does the family firm status matter?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 841-878, September.
    20. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 2006. "The Interrelationship Between Managerial Ownership and Board Structure," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1006-1033, September.

    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:sae:ausman:v:36:y:2011:i:3:p:371-386. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.agsm.edu.au .

    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.