IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v57y2021ics0275531921000416.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutional context as a moderator of the relationship between board structure and acquirer returns

Author

Listed:
  • Acero, Isabel
  • Alcalde, Nuria

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the supervisory role of the board of directors in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We focus our study on the European case, for which there is no previous exhaustive evidence on this topic. Using information on 985 mergers and acquisitions carried out over the period 2003–2016 by companies in the major European countries, we analyze the influence of supervisory capacity of the board (small size, higher proportion of outsiders and separated Chairperson-CEO positions) on acquirer returns, differentiating between Anglo-Saxon and continental European contexts. Our results confirm that the effectiveness of corporate governance practices depends strongly on their fit with the broader institutional context. Specifically, we find that a smaller size of the board of directors and the separation of the positions of Chairperson and CEO lead to higher acquirer returns in European Anglo-Saxon countries. By contrast, we do not find evidence that any proxy of supervisory capacity of the board significantly improves acquirer returns in the rest of countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Acero, Isabel & Alcalde, Nuria, 2021. "Institutional context as a moderator of the relationship between board structure and acquirer returns," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:57:y:2021:i:c:s0275531921000416
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2021.101420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531921000416
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2021.101420?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. Jensen, Michael C. & Ruback, Richard S., 1983. "The market for corporate control : The scientific evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-4), pages 5-50, April.
    2. Humphery-Jenner, Mark, 2012. "The impact of the EU takeover directive on takeover performance and empire building," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 254-272.
    3. Marina Martynova & Luc Renneboog, 2011. "The Performance of the European Market for Corporate Control: Evidence from the Fifth Takeover Wave," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 17(2), pages 208-259, March.
    4. Roll, Richard, 1986. "The Hubris Hypothesis of Corporate Takeovers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 197-216, April.
    5. Slusky, Alexander R & Caves, Richard E, 1991. "Synergy, Agency, and the Determinants of Premia Paid in Mergers," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(3), pages 277-296, March.
    6. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    7. Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 20-43, July.
    8. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Agency Problems and Residual Claims," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 327-349, June.
    9. Carline, Nicholas F. & Linn, Scott C. & Yadav, Pradeep K., 2009. "Operating performance changes associated with corporate mergers and the role of corporate governance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1829-1841, October.
    10. 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.
    11. Cesare Fracassi & Geoffrey Tate, 2012. "External Networking and Internal Firm Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 153-194, February.
    12. Dahya, Jay & Golubov, Andrey & Petmezas, Dimitris & Travlos, Nickolaos G., 2019. "Governance mandates, outside directors, and acquirer performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 218-238.
    13. Uribe-Bohorquez, María-Victoria & Martínez-Ferrero, Jennifer & García-Sánchez, Isabel-María, 2018. "Board independence and firm performance: The moderating effect of institutional context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 28-43.
    14. Stefan Beiner & Wolfgang Drobetz & Markus M. Schmid & Heinz Zimmermann, 2006. "An Integrated Framework of Corporate Governance and Firm Valuation," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 12(2), pages 249-283, March.
    15. 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.
    16. La Porta, Rafael & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1131-1150, July.
    17. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    18. Kolasinski, Adam C. & Li, Xu, 2013. "Can Strong Boards and Trading Their Own Firm’s Stock Help CEOs Make Better Decisions? Evidence from Acquisitions by Overconfident CEOs," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 1173-1206, August.
    19. Maria L. Goranova & Richard L. Priem & Hermann A. Ndofor & Cheryl A. Trahms, 2017. "Is there a “Dark Side” to Monitoring? Board and Shareholder Monitoring Effects on M&A Performance Extremeness," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2285-2297, November.
    20. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    21. Mateev, Miroslav & Andonov, Kristiyan, 2018. "Do European bidders pay more in cross-border than in domestic acquisitions? New evidence from Continental Europe and the UK," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 529-556.
    22. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2012. "When It Pays to Pay Your Investment Banker: New Evidence on the Role of Financial Advisors in M&As," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 271-312, February.
    23. 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.
    24. Katalin Takacs Haynes & Amy Hillman, 2010. "The effect of board capital and CEO power on strategic change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(11), pages 1145-1163, November.
    25. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    26. Faccio, Mara & McConnell, John J. & Stolin, David, 2006. "Returns to Acquirers of Listed and Unlisted Targets," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 197-220, March.
    27. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:2:p:537-600 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Walters, Bruce A. & Kroll, Mark J. & Wright, Peter, 2007. "CEO tenure, boards of directors, and acquisition performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 331-338, April.
    29. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐de‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 2000. "Agency Problems and Dividend Policies around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 1-33, February.
    30. Angelo Baglioni & Luca Colombo, 2013. "The efficiency view of corporate boards: theory and evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 497-510, February.
    31. Igor Filatotchev & Gregory Jackson & Chizu Nakajima, 2013. "Corporate governance and national institutions: A review and emerging research agenda," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 965-986, December.
    32. Gregory Jackson & Richard Deeg, 2019. "Comparing capitalisms and taking institutional context seriously," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(1), pages 4-19, February.
    33. Brown, Stephen J. & Warner, Jerold B., 1980. "Measuring security price performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 205-258, September.
    34. Martynova, Marina & Renneboog, Luc, 2011. "Evidence on the international evolution and convergence of corporate governance regulations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1531-1557.
    35. Baysinger, Barry D & Butler, Henry N, 1985. "Corporate Governance and the Board of Directors: Performance Effects of Changes in Board Composition," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 101-124, Spring.
    36. 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.
    37. Byrd, John W. & Hickman, Kent A., 1992. "Do outside directors monitor managers? *1: Evidence from tender offer bids," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 195-221, October.
    38. Jeongil Seo & Daniel L. Gamache & Cynthia E. Devers & Mason A. Carpenter, 2015. "The role of CEO relative standing in acquisition behavior and CEO pay," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(12), pages 1877-1894, December.
    39. Brian K. Boyd, 1995. "CEO duality and firm performance: A contingency model," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 301-312.
    40. Dennis C. Mueller & Mark L. Sirower, 2003. "The causes of mergers: tests based on the gains to acquiring firms' shareholders and the size of premia," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 373-391.
    41. A. Craig MacKinlay, 1997. "Event Studies in Economics and Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 13-39, March.
    42. Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2003. "Boards of directors as an endogenously determined institution: a survey of the economic literature," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 9(Apr), pages 7-26.
    43. Paul Guest, 2009. "The impact of board size on firm performance: evidence from the UK," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 385-404.
    44. Etienne Redor, 2016. "Board attributes and shareholder wealth in mergers and acquisitions: a survey of the literature," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 789-821, December.
    45. Marc Goergen & Luc Renneboog, 2004. "Shareholder Wealth Effects of European Domestic and Cross‐border Takeover Bids," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 10(1), pages 9-45, March.
    46. José Manuel Campa & Ignacio Hernando, 2004. "Shareholder Value Creation in European M&As," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 10(1), pages 47-81, March.
    47. Buhner, Rolf, 1991. "The success of mergers in Germany," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 513-532, December.
    48. Fama, Eugene F, et al, 1969. "The Adjustment of Stock Prices to New Information," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, February.
    49. Dennis C. Mueller, 1969. "A Theory of Conglomerate Mergers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(4), pages 643-659.
    50. Jarrell, Gregg A & Brickley, James A & Netter, Jeffry M, 1988. "The Market for Corporate Control: The Empirical Evidence Since 1980," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 49-68, Winter.
    51. Ronald W. Masulis & Cong Wang & Fei Xie, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Acquirer Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1851-1889, August.
    52. Taher Hamza, 2011. "Determinants of short-term value creation for the bidder: evidence from France," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(2), pages 157-186, May.
    53. Choi, Jongmoo Jay & Park, Sae Woon & Yoo, Sean Sehyun, 2007. "The Value of Outside Directors: Evidence from Corporate Governance Reform in Korea," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 941-962, December.
    54. Desai, Ashay & Kroll, Mark & Wright, Peter, 2005. "Outside board monitoring and the economic outcomes of acquisitions: a test of the substitution hypothesis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 926-934, July.
    55. Etienne Redor, 2016. "Board attributes and shareholder wealth in mergers and acquisitions: a survey of the literature," Post-Print hal-01403410, HAL.
    56. Pablo De Andres & Valentin Azofra & Felix Lopez, 2005. "Corporate Boards in OECD Countries: size, composition, functioning and effectiveness," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), pages 197-210, March.
    57. Pham, Nga & Oh, K.B. & Pech, Richard, 2015. "Mergers and acquisitions: CEO duality, operating performance and stock returns in Vietnam," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 298-316.
    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. Etienne Redor, 2016. "Board attributes and shareholder wealth in mergers and acquisitions: a survey of the literature," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 789-821, December.
    2. Agha, Mahmoud & Hossain, Md Mosharraf, 2022. "Are board monitoring and CEO incentives substitutes for each other? Evidence from Australian market reaction to acquisition announcements," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, June.
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. Martynova, M., 2006. "The market for corporate control and corporate governance regulation in Europe," Other publications TiSEM 8651e281-4914-41f2-ac14-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Johannes Kolb, 2019. "Do investment banks create value for their clients? Empirical evidence from European acquisitions," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(1), pages 80-115, January.
    8. Salim Chahine & Assem Safieddine, 2011. "Is corporate governance different for the Lebanese banking system?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(2), pages 207-226, May.
    9. García, C. José & Herrero, Begoña, 2022. "Corporate entrepreneurship and governance: Mergers and acquisitions in Europe," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    10. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2013. "Empirical mergers and acquisitions research: a review of methods, evidence and managerial implications," Chapters, in: Adrian R. Bell & Chris Brooks & Marcel Prokopczuk (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Empirical Finance, chapter 12, pages 287-313, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Winson Chan & David Emanuel, 2011. "Board governance and acquirers’ returns: A study of Australian acquisitions," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 36(2), pages 174-199, August.
    12. Szilagyi, P.G., 2007. "Corporate governance and the agency costs of debt and outside equity," Other publications TiSEM 9520d40a-224f-43a8-9bf9-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. An, Suwei, 2023. "Essays on incentive contracts, M&As, and firm risk," Other publications TiSEM dd97d2f5-1c9d-47c5-ba62-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    14. Byung S. Min, 2018. "Effects of Outsider’s Monitoring on Capital Structure and Corporate Growth Strategy: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 459-475, October.
    15. Martynova, Marina & Renneboog, Luc, 2008. "A century of corporate takeovers: What have we learned and where do we stand?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 2148-2177, October.
    16. Carline, Nicholas F. & Linn, Scott C. & Yadav, Pradeep K., 2009. "Operating performance changes associated with corporate mergers and the role of corporate governance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1829-1841, October.
    17. 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.
    18. Panagiotis Staikouras & Christos Staikouras & Maria-Eleni Agoraki, 2007. "The effect of board size and composition on European bank performance," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-27, February.
    19. Feito-Ruiz, Isabel & Renneboog, Luc, 2017. "Takeovers and (excess) CEO compensation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 156-181.
    20. Booth, James R. & Cornett, Marcia Millon & Tehranian, Hassan, 2002. "Boards of directors, ownership, and regulation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 1973-1996, October.

    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:57:y:2021:i:c:s0275531921000416. 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.