IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v42y2017icp900-911.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate risk-taking, returns and the nature of major shareholders: Evidence from prospect theory

Author

Listed:
  • Díez-Esteban, José María
  • García-Gómez, Conrado Diego
  • López-Iturriaga, Félix Javier
  • Santamaría-Mariscal, Marcos

Abstract

This paper analyses the relation between corporate risk-taking and firm performance for a sample of international listed firms over the period 2001–2013. We consider the approaches on individual behavior (specifically prospect theory) to propose a U-shaped relation between corporate risk-taking and firm returns. We find that firms adopt an attitude of risk-seeking when the expected performance is below a target performance (to avoid an anticipated loss) and an attitude of risk averse when the performance exceeds that target. This relation is affected by the economic context and the nature of the major shareholder: Firms controlled by families or institutional investors react more conservatively (taking or avoiding risk) to changes in corporate results. We are aware that our results, are affected by both the theoretical model and the temporal and spatial framework used.

Suggested Citation

  • Díez-Esteban, José María & García-Gómez, Conrado Diego & López-Iturriaga, Félix Javier & Santamaría-Mariscal, Marcos, 2017. "Corporate risk-taking, returns and the nature of major shareholders: Evidence from prospect theory," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 900-911.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:42:y:2017:i:c:p:900-911
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.07.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531917301873
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.07.025?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
    ---><---

    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. Wang, Huijun & Yan, Jinghua & Yu, Jianfeng, 2017. "Reference-dependent preferences and the risk–return trade-off," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 395-414.
    2. Elyasiani, Elyas & Jia, Jingyi, 2010. "Distribution of institutional ownership and corporate firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 606-620, March.
    3. Chava, Sudheer & Purnanandam, Amiyatosh, 2010. "CEOs versus CFOs: Incentives and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 263-278, August.
    4. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond & Frank Windmeijer, 2000. "Estimation in dynamic panel data models: improving on the performance of the standard GMM estimator," IFS Working Papers W00/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    5. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond, 2000. "GMM Estimation with persistent panel data: an application to production functions," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-340.
    6. Timothy B. Palmer & Robert M. Wiseman, 1999. "Decoupling risk taking from income stream uncertainty: a holistic model of risk," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(11), pages 1037-1062, November.
    7. Mara Faccio & Maria-Teresa Marchica & Roberto Mura, 2011. "Large Shareholder Diversification and Corporate Risk-Taking," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(11), pages 3601-3641.
    8. Daniel Ferreira & Emanuel Ornelas & John L. Turner, 2015. "Unbundling Ownership and Control," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    10. Hutchinson, Marion & Seamer, Michael & Chapple, Larelle (Ellie), 2015. "Institutional Investors, Risk/Performance and Corporate Governance," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 31-52.
    11. Amihud, Yakov & Li, Kefei, 2006. "The Declining Information Content of Dividend Announcements and the Effects of Institutional Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 637-660, September.
    12. Kose John & Lubomir Litov & Bernard Yeung, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Risk‐Taking," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1679-1728, August.
    13. Edward H. Bowman, 1984. "Content Analysis of Annual Reports for Corporate Strategy and Risk," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 61-71, February.
    14. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Marcus, Alan J. & Saunders, Anthony & Tehranian, Hassan, 2007. "The impact of institutional ownership on corporate operating performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1771-1794, June.
    15. Manuel Arellano & Olympia Bover, 1990. "La econometría de datos de panel," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 14(1), pages 3-45, January.
    16. Sung C. Bae & Kiyoung Chang & Eun Kang, 2012. "Culture, Corporate Governance, And Dividend Policy: International Evidence," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(2), pages 289-316, June.
    17. Nickel, Manuel Núñez & Rodriguez, Manuel Cano, 2002. "A review of research on the negative accounting relationship between risk and return: Bowman's paradox," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-18, February.
    18. Miwa, Kotaro, 2016. "Investor sentiment, stock mispricing, and long-term growth expectations," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 414-423.
    19. Amit Goyal & Pedro Santa-Clara, 2003. "Idiosyncratic Risk Matters!," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 975-1008, June.
    20. Stephen Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to microdata methods and practice," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/02, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    21. Charles W. L. Hill & Scott A. Snell, 1988. "External control, corporate strategy, and firm performance in research‐intensive industries," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(6), pages 577-590, November.
    22. Péter Harbula, 2007. "The ownership Structure, Governance, and Performance of French Companies," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 19(1), pages 88-101, January.
    23. Dan J. Laughhunn & John W. Payne & Roy Crum, 1980. "Managerial Risk Preferences for Below-Target Returns," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(12), pages 1238-1249, December.
    24. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    25. Alberto de Miguel & Julio Pindado & Chabela de la Torre, 2004. "Ownership structure and firm value: new evidence from Spain," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1199-1207, December.
    26. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb, 2003. "Founding-Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from the S&P 500," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 1301-1327, June.
    27. Short, Helen & Zhang, Hao & Keasey, Kevin, 2002. "The link between dividend policy and institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 105-122, March.
    28. Krishna Udayasankar, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Size," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 167-175, December.
    29. Luis R. Gomez‐Mejia & Marianna Makri & Martin Larraza Kintana, 2010. "Diversification Decisions in Family‐Controlled Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 223-252, March.
    30. Josep A. Tribo & Pascual Berrone & Jordi Surroca, 2007. "Do the Type and Number of Blockholders Influence R&D Investments? New evidence from Spain," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(5), pages 828-842, September.
    31. Sinha, Tapen, 1994. "Prospect theory and the risk return association: Another look," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 225-231, July.
    32. Paul H. Cootner & Daniel M. Holland, 1970. "Rate of Return and Business Risk," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 1(2), pages 211-226, Autumn.
    33. 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.
    34. Jiatao Li & J. Richard Harrison, 2008. "National Culture and the Composition and Leadership Structure of Boards of Directors," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(5), pages 375-385, September.
    35. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    36. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    37. Stephen R. Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to micro data methods and practice," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 1(2), pages 141-162, August.
    38. Andreas Charitou & Evi Neophytou & Chris Charalambous, 2004. "Predicting corporate failure: empirical evidence for the UK," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 465-497.
    39. Deephouse, David L. & Wiseman, Robert M., 2000. "Comparing alternative explanations for accounting risk-return relations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 463-482, August.
    40. Erkens, David H. & Hung, Mingyi & Matos, Pedro, 2012. "Corporate governance in the 2007–2008 financial crisis: Evidence from financial institutions worldwide," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 389-411.
    41. Paul Downward & Andrew Mearman, 2007. "Retroduction as mixed-methods triangulation in economic research: reorienting economics into social science," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 31(1), pages 77-99, January.
    42. Donghui Li & Fariborz Moshirian & Peter Kien Pham & Jason Zein, 2006. "When Financial Institutions Are Large Shareholders: The Role of Macro Corporate Governance Environments," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2975-3007, December.
    43. Fiegenbaum, Avi, 1990. "Prospect theory and the risk-return association : An empirical examination in 85 industries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 187-203, October.
    44. Li, Kai & Griffin, Dale & Yue, Heng & Zhao, Longkai, 2013. "How does culture influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-22.
    45. Roberto Barontini & Lorenzo Caprio, 2006. "The Effect of Family Control on Firm Value and Performance: Evidence from Continental Europe," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 12(5), pages 689-723, November.
    46. Frugier, Alain, 2016. "Returns, volatility and investor sentiment: Evidence from European stock markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 45-55.
    47. Jochen Bigus, 2015. "Loss Aversion, Audit Risk Judgments, and Auditor Liability," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 581-606, September.
    48. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    49. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    50. Li, Yan & Yang, Liyan, 2013. "Prospect theory, the disposition effect, and asset prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(3), pages 715-739.
    51. Ferreira, Miguel A. & Matos, Pedro, 2008. "The colors of investors' money: The role of institutional investors around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 499-533, June.
    52. Wei, Steven X. & Zhang, Chu, 2005. "Idiosyncratic risk does not matter: A re-examination of the relationship between average returns and average volatilities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 603-621, March.
    53. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2004. "The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 25-46, Summer.
    54. 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.
    55. Morck, Randall & Yeung, Bernard, 2004. "Special issues relating to corporate governance and family control," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3406, The World Bank.
    56. Pin-Huang Chou & Robin Chou & Kuan-Cheng Ko, 2009. "Prospect theory and the risk-return paradox: some recent evidence," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 193-208, October.
    57. Nguyen, Pascal, 2011. "Corporate governance and risk-taking: Evidence from Japanese firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 278-297, June.
    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. Díez-Esteban, José María & Farinha, Jorge Bento & García-Gómez, Conrado Diego, 2016. "The role of institutional investors in propagating the 2007 financial crisis in Southern Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 439-454.
    2. José María Díez-Esteban & Jorge Bento Farinha & Conrado Diego García-Gómez, 2019. "How does national culture affect corporate risk-taking?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(1), pages 49-68, March.
    3. José María Díez-Esteban & Jorge Bento Farinha & Conrado Diego García-Gómez & Cesario Mateus, 2022. "Does board composition and ownership structure affect banks’ systemic risk? European evidence," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(2), pages 155-172, June.
    4. Mauricio Jara‐Bertin & Félix J. López‐Iturriaga & Óscar López‐de‐Foronda, 2008. "The Contest to the Control in European Family Firms: How Other Shareholders Affect Firm Value," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 146-159, May.
    5. Ruiz-Mallorquí, María Victoria & Santana-Martín, Domingo J., 2011. "Dominant institutional owners and firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 118-129, January.
    6. María Consuelo Pucheta-Martínez & Inmaculada Bel-Oms & Gustau Olcina-Sempere, 2018. "Female Institutional Directors on Boards and Firm Value," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 343-363, October.
    7. Kien S. Nguyen, 2020. "Volatility and Specific Risk Toward Family’s Performance in an Emerging Country," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 27(3), pages 363-386, September.
    8. Pindado, Julio & Requejo, Ignacio & de la Torre, Chabela, 2014. "Family control, expropriation, and investor protection: A panel data analysis of Western European corporations," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 58-74.
    9. Ooi, Chai-Aun & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2022. "Muslim CEOs, risk-taking and firm performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Felix J. Lopez-Iturriaga & Emilio Lopez-Millan, 2015. "Institutional Framework, Corporate Ownership Structure, and R&D Investment: An International Analysis," HSE Working papers WP BRP 36/MAN/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    11. Chari, Murali D.R. & David, Parthiban & Duru, Augustine & Zhao, Yijiang, 2019. "Bowman's risk-return paradox: An agency theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 357-375.
    12. Fabrizio Rossi & Richard J. Cebula, 2015. "Ownership Structure and R&D: An Empirical Analysis of Italian listed companies," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 68(275), pages 297-326.
    13. Arosa, Blanca & Iturralde, Txomin & Maseda, Amaia, 2010. "Ownership structure and firm performance in non-listed firms: Evidence from Spain," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 88-96, June.
    14. Ranjan Das Gupta & Rajesh Pathak, 2018. "Firm’s Risk-Return Association Facets and Prospect Theory Findings—An Emerging versus Developed Country Context," Risks, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-32, December.
    15. Thomas Keil & Markku Maula & Evangelos Syrigos, 2017. "CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation, Entrenchment, and Firm Value Creation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(4), pages 475-504, July.
    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. Audretsch, David B. & Hülsbeck, Marcel & Lehmann, Erik E., 2013. "Families as active monitors of firm performance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 118-130.
    18. Paul McGuinness & Kevin Lam & João Vieito, 2015. "Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining corporate dividend policy and governance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 989-1038, December.
    19. Isakov, Dušan & Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, 2014. "Are founding families special blockholders? An investigation of controlling shareholder influence on firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-16.
    20. Julio Pindado & Ignacio Requejo & Chabela la Torre, 2015. "Does Family Control Shape Corporate Capital Structure? An Empirical Analysis of Eurozone Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7-8), pages 965-1006, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    G15; G32; G34; Corporate risk-taking; firm performance; prospect theory; family firms; institutional investors;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:riibaf:v:42:y:2017:i:c:p:900-911. 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/ribaf .

    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.