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Do Foreign Owners Favor Short-Term Profit? Evidence from Germany

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  • Verena Dill
  • Uwe Jirjahn
  • Stephen C. Smith

Abstract

Comparing domestic- and foreign-owned firms in Germany, this paper finds that foreign-owned firms are more likely to focus on short-term profit. This influence is particularly strong if the local managers of the German subsidiary are not sent from the foreign parent company. Moreover, the physical distance between the foreign parent company and its German subsidiary increases the probability of focusing on short-term profit. These findings conform to the hypothesis that foreign owners facing an information disadvantage concerning the local conditions of their subsidiaries are more likely to favor short-term profit. However, we do not identify differences in “short- termism” between investors from “Anglo-Saxon” and other foreign countries; rather, results point in the direction of more general features of international business investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn & Stephen C. Smith, 2013. "Do Foreign Owners Favor Short-Term Profit? Evidence from Germany," Research Papers in Economics 2013-01, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:trr:wpaper:201301
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kleinknecht, Robert & Haq, Hammad Ul & Muller, Alan R. & Kraan, Karolus O., 2020. "An attention-based view of short-termism: The effects of organizational structure," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 244-254.
    2. Uwe JIRJAHN & Stephen C. SMITH, 2018. "Nonunion Employee Representation: Theory And The German Experience With Mandated Works Councils," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 201-233, March.
    3. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2024. "Corporate Globalization and Worker Representation," IZA Discussion Papers 16727, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Uwe Jirjahn, 2021. "Foreign ownership and intra-firm union density in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(4), pages 1052-1079, November.
    5. repec:bla:annpce:v:89:y:2018:i:1:p:201-233 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Trustmore Bekapi, 2023. "Impact of Institutional Investors and Board Independence on Corporate Short-Termism: Longitudinal Evidence from Zimbabwe," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(9), pages 1531-1552, September.
    7. Jirjahn, Uwe, 2021. "Membership in Employers' Associations and Collective Bargaining Coverage in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 14783, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Uwe Jirjahn, 2015. "Research on Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Germany: The Contribution of Labor Economics," Research Papers in Economics 2015-10, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    9. Joura, Essam & Xiao, Qin & Ullah, Subhan, 2021. "The impact of Say-on-Pay votes on firms' strategic policies: Insights from the Anglo-Saxon economy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Weiwei Chen & Benjamin Melamed & Oleg Sokolinskiy & Ben Sopranzetti, 2017. "Cash Conversion Systems in Corporate Subsidiaries," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 604-619, October.
    11. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn, 2017. "Foreign owners and the quality of industrial relations in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 38(1), pages 5-25, February.
    12. Uwe Jirjahn, 2017. "Globalisierung und betriebliche Mitbestimmung," Research Papers in Economics 2017-05, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    13. Uwe Jirjahn, 2023. "Membership in employers’ associations and collective bargaining coverage in Germany," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(3), pages 798-826, August.
    14. Verena Dill & Uwe Jirjahn, 2014. "Foreign Owners and Perceived Job Insecurity in Germany: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data," Research Papers in Economics 2014-09, University of Trier, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign Ownership; Short-Termism; Asymmetric Information; Globalization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M16 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - International Business Administration
    • P10 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - General

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