Os três artigos desta tese tratam especificamente de grupos empresariais e sua interação com valor, fatores institucionais e planejamento tributário. O primeiro trata do efeito da formação de grupos empresariais no valor de mercado das empresas, que, apesar do avanço na literatura sobre o tema, a falta de consenso quanto ao seu efeito o torna contemporâneo e sua resposta necessária. Os autores assumem que as estratégias empresariais variam entre setores e são influenciadas por fatores do ambiente institucional em que elas estão inseridas, para então avançar as estratégias metodológicas adotadas até então pela literatura; os resultados obtidos através do Propensity Score Matching (PSM), ferramenta capaz de avaliar a relação causal entre a formação de grupos empresariais e valor de mercado, sugerem que o efeito da formação de grupos empresariais no valor de mercado das empresas, em linha com o entendimento prévio de diferentes em estratégias para diferentes setores, varia entre os setores, e as empresas do setor de serviços apresentam valores mercado menores quando decidem pela constituição de grupos empresariais. Sob a influência desta descoberta, o segundo artigo buscou os motivos que levariam essas empresas a se organizar em grupos empresariais, visto que esta obviamente não é uma decisão econômica de maximização de valor. Utilizando-se da teoria institucional, o segundo artigo se propôs a avaliar se essa é uma decisão influenciada por fatores institucionais, visto que a teoria institucional afirma que o ambiente institucional ao qual as empresas estão submetidas pode influenciar no desenvolvimento de estrutura formais em uma organização, em alguns casos mais profundamente que as pressões de mercado ou econômicas. Os resultados suportam a hipótese de que fatores institucionais presentes no ambiente empresarial, quando combinados, direcionam as decisões das empresas em se organizarem em grupos empresariais, mesmo que essa decisão resulte em menor valor de mercado. Os resultados anteriores foram decisivos para o desenvolvimento do terceiro artigo. Neste artigo, a formação de grupos empresariais foi considerada como uma estratégia de planejamento tributário capaz de reduzir custos tributários, mas não de agregar valor ao acionista. Os resultados apresentados neste artigo indicam que: i) em conformidade com pesquisas anteriores, as empresas se organizam em grupos empresariais em resposta a incentivos fiscais; e ii) essa decisão, por ser uma prática institucionalizada, não é capaz de gerar valor superior às que optaram por outra forma de organização. A estratégia metodológica adotada neste artigo abre uma infinidade de oportunidades para novas pesquisas de causa e efeito na área contábil, como o gerenciamento de resultados e problemas de agência. A combinação dos três artigos nos permite concluir que o planejamento tributário deve ser entendido como parte do processo de decisão e não um ato isolado, cujo único objetivo é o de minimizar o custo tributário das empresas; desta forma, seus resultados devem ser avaliados além das guias de recolhimento dos tributos. Os resultados apresentados nos três artigos são estatisticamente significativos, e os testes de robustez aplicados confirmam que as estratégias adotadas nos artigos foram adequadas. / The three papers in this thesis deal specifically with business groups and their interaction with value, institutional factors and tax planning. The first one deals with the effect of the decision on the formation of business groups in the market value of companies; despite the advances in the literature on the subject, the lack of consensus as to its effect makes it contemporary and its response necessary. The authors assume that business strategies vary between sectors and are influenced by factors of the institutional environment in which they are inserted to advance the methodological strategies that have been adopted in the literature; the results obtained through Propensity Score Matching (PSM), a tool capable of evaluating the causal relationship between the decision to form business groups and market value, suggest that the effect of forming business groups on the value of companies, in line with the previous understanding of different strategies in different sectors, varies between sectors and companies in the service sector have lower market values when deciding to set up business groups. Under the influence of this finding, the second paper sought the reasons that would lead these companies to be organized into business groups, since it obviously was not an economic decision to maximize value. Using the institutional theory, the second article proposed to evaluate if this is a decision influenced by institutional factors, since the theory affirms that the institutional environment to which the companies are submitted can influence the development of the formal structure in an organization, in some cases more deeply than market or economic pressures. The results confirm the hypothesis that institutional factors present in the business environment, when combined, direct the decisions of companies to organize themselves into business groups even if this decision results in lower market value. The previous results were decisive for the development of the third paper. In this paper, the formation of business groups was considered as a tax planning strategy capable of reducing tax costs, but not of adding value to the shareholder. The results presented in this article indicate that: i) according to previous research, companies organize themselves into business groups in response to fiscal incentives; and ii) this decision, being an institutionalized practice, is not capable of generating value higher than opted for another form of organization. The methodological strategy adopted in this article opens up a plethora of opportunities for new cause and effect research in accounting, such as results management and agency problems. The combination of the three papers allows us to conclude that tax planning should be understood as part of the decision process and not an isolated act, whose only objective is to minimize the tax cost of the companies; in this way, their results must be evaluated in addition to the guides of collection of taxes. The results presented in the three papers are statistically significant and the robustness tests applied confirm that the strategies adopted in the papers were adequate.

Bakgrund och problem: Forskning kring ägares heterogenitet har lett till att ägare kan kategoriseras efter preferenser och strategier i bolagsstyrningen. Homogeniteten inom ägarkategorierna kan dock ifrågasättas både inom den egna nationella kontexten och över institutionella kontexter. Företagsgrupper är en ägarkategori vars homogenitet särskilt kan ifrågasättas på grund av skillnader i ägarstrukturer mellan länder och i Sverige. Trots det stora inflytande som företagsgrupper har i Sverige är det även en förbisedd och understuderad ägarkategori som med problematik kopplas ihop med familjeägande. Syfte: Att förklara företagsgruppers strategier och beteenden för att avgöra om dessa utgör en homogen ägartyp inom den svenska kontexten. Metod: Undersökningen med utgångspunkt i år 2021 har en deduktiv ansats med modeller som utvecklas utifrån tidigare forskning om ägartyper och dess beteende. Modellerna ifrågasätts dock genom liknande forskning med kontrasterande slutsatser. Slutsats: Företagsgrupper bör inte behandlas som synonymt med familj eftersom åtskiljande prefenser för styrelseersättning pekar på skillnader mellan ägartyperna. Företagsgrupper är homogena på gruppnivå när det gäller dess preferenser för ägaroberoende och styrelseersättning. På sfärnivå upptäcks dock en heterogenitet bland sfärerna i form av avvikande preferenser för styrelseersättning. / Background and problem: Research into the heterogeneity of owners has led to owners being categorized according to preferences and strategies in corporate governance. However, the homogeneity within the ownership categories can be questioned both within the own national context and across institutional contexts. Business groups are an ownership category whose homogeneity especially can be questioned due to differences in ownership structures between countries and in Sweden. Despite the major influence that business groups have in Sweden, it is an overlooked and understudied ownership category that is problematically linked to family ownership. Purpose: To explain the strategies and behaviors of business groups to determine whether these constitute a homogenous ownership type within the Swedish context Method: The study, which examines the year 2021, has a deductive approach with models that are developed based on previous research on owner types and their behavior. However, the models are questioned by similar research with contrasting conclusions. Conclusion: Business groups should not be treated as synonymous with family ownership because deviant preferences for board compensation point to differences between the ownership types. Business groups are homogeneous at the group level in terms of their preferences for board independence from owners and board compensation. At sphere level, however, a heterogeneity is detected among the spheres in the form of deviant preferences for board remuneration.

組織認同衝突嚴重影響著組織的生存。可惜的是，過去研究多著重於探討組織認同衝突所帶來的影響與嚴重性，但卻較少提及衝突雙方該如何解決此問題。在本論文中，我觀察一個被購併進集團的公司，如何運用網絡策略去培養更多與集團內其他成員相容的價值，同時保存與發展了獨特的價值，進而幫助個案公司跳脫認同衝突的困境並成功整合進集團。為了呼應個案研究之發現，我以一個集團企業做為研究情境，搜集資料並進行實證研究，我發現當一家公司同時具備高整合與高差異化的組織認同時，可得到較多與集團內其他成員合作的機會。此外，在集團網絡中佔據邊陲掮客網絡位置的成員，較有可能培養出高整合與高差異化之組織認同，進而得到較多的合作。本論文亦於結尾提供研究意涵與未來研究方向。 / Identity conflicts can seriously endanger an organization’s survival. Extant studies emphasize the consequences of identity conflicts but not how conflicting parties extricate themselves from this trap. I investigate how an acquired firm uses network strategies to develop more integrating values and distinctive values, resolve identity conflicts, and successfully integrate into the group. To echo these qualitative findings, in my empirical study in the setting of a business group, I found that firms with high identity integration and high identity differentiation have more chances to cooperate with other group members. In addition, peripheral brokers are more likely to achieve high identity integration and high identity differentiation, and further have more cooperation. Implications and future research directions are also provided.

Cette thèse est une contribution à la littérature sur les défaillances d’entreprises et celle sur les groupes d’entreprises. Basée sur un échantillon d’entreprises françaises entrées en procédure collective sur la période entre 2006 et 2012, elle propose de repenser la défaillance à la lumière de deux faits. Le premier concerne la spécificité du cadre légal français du traitement de la défaillance qui, malgré son orientation pro-débiteur, n’empêche pas la liquidation d’une part suffisamment élevée des entreprises sollicitant l’ouverture d’une procédure collective annuellement. Le second concerne la place croissante des groupes au sein du tissu productif et la conciliation du processus de filialisation avec le principe d’indépendance de l’entité. A travers une approche pluridisciplinaire alliant le droit à l’économie, cette thèse propose d’étudier la défaillance comme un processus qui débute avec l’entrée de l’entreprise en procédure collective et s’achève avec la disparition des difficultés de l’entreprise ou la sortie de l’entreprise du marché. Quatre chapitres tentent de répondre à cet objectif. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence l’impact significatif de l’appartenance à un groupe et celui des caractéristiques des groupes sur les deux premières étapes du processus de défaillance ; à savoir l’entrée en procédure collective et la tentative de redressement relativement à une liquidation immédiate. Ces résultats suggèrent que les groupes d’entreprises seraient impliqués dans la survie de leurs filiales aussi longtemps que ces dernières sont encore viables. En ce sens qu’une entreprise défaillante appartenant à un groupe ne possède pas d’avantage par rapport à une entreprise indépendante, en termes de potentiel de survie après l’entrée en procédure collective. / This thesis is a contribution to both the literature on corporate bankruptcy and the literature on the internal capital markets and business groups. Using data relative to a sample of bankrupt firms over the period from 2006 to 2012, it proposes to rethink bankruptcy in light of two facts. The first one relates to the specificity of the French legal bankruptcy system which, despite its clear pro-debtor orientation, fails to save a high proportion of bankrupt firms annually. The second concerns the growing number of firms affiliated to business groups within the French productive system and the conciliation between group affiliation and the limited liability principle within business groups’ members. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining law and economics, this thesis proposes to analyze bankruptcy as a process which starts with the opening of a bankruptcy procedure and ends with the end of firm difficulties or the end of bankruptcy procedure when firm recovery becomes clearly impossible. Four chapters serve this objective.The main insights gained from the results emerging from all four chapters are consistent with a strong influence of group affiliation and group characteristics, limited to the first two steps of the bankruptcy process; namely the risk of filing for bankruptcy and the chance to benefit from a reorganization attempt relatively to liquidation. This suggests that business groups are involved in the financial support of their affiliates as long as the latter are financially sound and economically viable. Once an affiliated firm is subject to a bankruptcy procedure, its affiliation to a business groups is no longer an advantage over stand-alone firms.

[pt] A tese é que a rotina de Governança Societária na prática é influenciada mais pelos atores humanos do que pelos sistemas formais com seus artefatos. O objetivo final é entender a influência dos artefatos na rotina de Governança Societária e assim poder realizar proposições teóricas acerca da Dinâmica da Rotina Organizacional e acerca da Governança Societária com base na experiência dos administradores. Foi utilizado o método fenomenográfico, um método qualitativo e interpretativo, a partir de um caso aplicado em um grupo de negócios. A pergunta central foi Qual a percepção dos administradores acerca da influência dos artefatos na rotina de Governança Societária. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada no primeiro semestre de 2019. Foram entrevistados 25 administradores de empresas (Conselheiros de Administração e Diretores) onde a empresa acionista possui participação societária. Conforme preconiza a fenomenografia, ao final encontramos um Espaço de Resultado que aponta três concepções explicadas por cinco dimensões explicativas, a partir das quais três proposições teóricas foram feitas, e uma proposta de evolução do espaço de resultados. Para a academia, a pesquisa contribui para proposições que vem sendo feitas sob a perspectiva teórica das Dinâmicas das Rotinas Organizacionais, considerando a atuação dos atores, o entrelaçamento entre atores e artefatos, as tréguas e a ecologia de rotinas. Para as empresas, o estudo contribui para a gestão do processo de Governança Societária na prática, em toda a sua complexidade, a qual reconheça a totalidade relacional significativa que constituí este processo. Com esta contribuição, acredita-se que será possível desenvolver e aplicar novos mecanismos de gestão que desenvolvam os atores e os processos sociais que são centrais à rotina. Para a sociedade, ao explicitar a realidade da prática empresarial, a pesquisa provê um caminho de diálogo a ser explorado pelas empresas com os legisladores, contribuindo para a elaboração e implementação de leis, bem como para uma maior conformidade, que é de interesse de toda a sociedade. / [en] The thesis is that the Corporate Governance routine in practice is influenced more by human actors than by formal systems with their artifacts. The ultimate goal is to understand the influence of artifacts in the Corporate Governance routine and thus be able to make theoretical propositions about the Dynamics of Organizational Routine and about Corporate Governance based on the experience of the administrators. The phenomenographic method was used, a qualitative and interpretative method, based on a case applied to a business group. The central question was What is the perception of the administrators about the influence of the artifacts in the Corporate Governance routine. The field research was carried out in the first half of 2019. 25 company administrators (Board Members and Managing Directors) were interviewed in which the shareholder company has equity interest. As recommended by the phenomenography, at the end we find a Outcome Space that points out three conceptions explained by five explanatory dimensions, from which three theoretical propositions were made, and a proposal for the evolution of the Outcome Space. For the academy, the research contributes to proposals that have been made under the theoretical perspective of the Dynamics of Organizational Routines, considering the performance of the actors, the intertwining between actors and artifacts, the truces and the ecology of routines. For companies, the study contributes to the management of the Corporate Governance process in practice, in all its complexity, which recognizes the significant relational totality that constitutes this process. With this contribution, it is believed that it will be possible to develop and apply new management mechanisms that develop the actors and social processes that are central to the routine. For society, by explaining the reality of business practice, the research provides a path of dialogue to be explored by companies with legislators, contributing to the drafting and implementation of laws, as well as to greater compliance, which is of interest to all the society.

本論文以國內2001-2005年之上市櫃公司為研究對象，針對其轉投資層數與股權結構型態進行台灣集團企業股權結構複雜度與企業經營關聯性之研究。有別於集團企業之實證研究，一般均以比較集團與單一企業經營績效與公司價值，來間接推論集團化相關理論之合理性。本論文嘗試直接從形成集團企業之經濟因素著手，探討股權結構複雜度對於企業交易成本、融資成本與決策控制力等經營層面之影響，以期能更深入瞭解集團企業之成本與效益。實證結果顯示，集團企業股權結構複雜度之效益無法反映於較低之交易成本，但可反映於較低之融資利息成本。本論文之實證發現，集團企業形成複雜股權結構主要係基於財務而非營運之考量。最後在決策控制力方面，分析結果顯示，複雜股權結構與股份控制權有顯著的正向關係，為「東亞國家之最終控制者，傾向於透過金字塔結構或交叉持股，以較低現金流量極大化控制權」之說法，提供實證證據。 / We explore the relationship between the complexity of a business group’s ownership structure and operation by using a sample of Taiwanese companies listed in Taiwan Stock Exchange and Over the Counter during 2001-2005. Instead of using Tobin’s q or ROA, we begin with the economic background of business group directly and discuss how the complexity of ownership structure influences the benefits and costs of business operation, such as operation cost, financing cost and ultimate control. Our empirical analysis indicates that the influence of complexity of ownership structure in operation cost is uncertain. According to related research in Taiwan, the main purpose of complexity of ownership structure is not for operation but for financing or restrictions of laws. This may be result in the insignificant effect on operating cost. Second, we find a positive and significant effect on financing cost. This result also supports the arguments about the purpose of complexity of ownership structure. Finally, our analysis offers empirical evidences that control is typically enhanced by pyramid structures and cross-holdings among firms in East Asian countries.

本研究採用個案研究方法，以德隆及復星兩大中國民營上市集團企業為對象，從最終控制者的觀點，針對股權結構及董事會組成分析中國民營集團企業之控股型態，以及公司治理指標衡量之議題進行探討。具體而言，本研究首先分析中國民營企業股權結構特性，發展大陸上市公司股份控制權、盈餘分配權及席次控制權的衡量方法，並比較兩個案集團在控股型態及公司治理模式上的異同。 研究結果顯示，德隆及復星企業集團（系）股權仍屬集中，集團旗下上市公司均有持股超過三成的單一大股東，且均透過金字塔之股權結構控制其集團企業，但交叉持股情形不明顯。其中，德隆系大都透過未上市公司取得集團內上市公司持股控制，復星系則大都透過集團內上市公司轉投資未上市公司，並經由各未上市公司再持股其他上市公司(屬間接互相持股性質)，取得股權控制。以傳統偏離指標（盈餘分配權與股份控制權之偏離）上，兩集團偏離程度相近；但以盈餘分配權與席次控制權或以席次控制權與股份控制權之偏離比率來衡量偏離程度時，德隆系偏離程度明顯高於復星系。此外，兩大集團均設有獨立董事，及由職工代表出任監事會；但分析結果亦顯示，法令雖規定應由職工代表監事席次，但集團內仍有部分上市公司未依法設置。 / Based on an ultimate controller(s) perspective and using a case study approach to two private business groups—DeLong and Fuson—in China, this research analyzes the ownership structure, board structure, and measurement of governance indicators of theses groups. In specific, this research first discuss the attributes of ownership structure of the individual business group, followed by the computation of voting rights, cash-flow rights, the degree of control through board seats (board-seat control), and the related deviation between theses control power owned by the ultimate controller. In addition, in-depth comparisons of governance features between these two groups are also performed. The analysis indicates that the concentration of ownership is relatively high for both DeLong and Fuson groups. There exits one single largest shareholder with more than 30% of shareholdings, and the formation of pyramidal ownership structure is also common for both groups. However, cross-holding is not obvious for either group. In DeLong, the ultimate owners exercise their voting control through their unlisted companies. In contrast, the ultimate owners of Fuson exercise their voting rights through unlisted companies that invested by the listed companies. The deviation between cash-flow rights and voting rights of these two business groups are similarm while the deviation between cash-flow rights and board-seat control and the deviation between voting rights and board-seat control is significantly higher for DeLong groups. Furthermore, the corporate boards of DeLong and Fuson groups are composed of both independent board directors and workers' representatives on the supervisory board. Although it is mandatory to have a minimum numbers of workers' representatives on the supervisory board, it is not uncommon to find the lack of full compliance to this requirement.

The topic of shareholder's duty of loyalty is an important aspect for the definition of most of the duties and obligations of the capital company members. Therefore, it is also very popular topic for the authors of professional literature, who tend to be interested in systematized distinction of the duties and obligations of the capital company members. Most authors, along with the jurisprudence, already admit considerable importance of principle of loyalty and consider it to be the rule of interpretation appropriate for its application to the other duties and obligations of company members. The principle of loyalty, having a regulatory function, may fill in particular gaps in the statutory regulation. As a derogatory rule it may avoid the application of other rules that would lead to unfair decisions. This work aims to demonstrate the possibility of application of the principle of loyalty in practice. The thesis is divided into two main parts, the first is meant to clarify the place of the duty of loyalty in Czech law. It describes how was the existence of the duty of loyalty inferred before its regulation in new Civil Code. Next chapters of the first part are devoted to current applicable regulation. The second part of the theses focuses on particular examples in order to demonstrate the...

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-08-25T13:11:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Felipe Jostmeier Vallandro_.pdf: 1279034 bytes, checksum: 2e83e11ab40a6df49542fe7525f4485f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-25T13:11:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Felipe Jostmeier Vallandro_.pdf: 1279034 bytes, checksum: 2e83e11ab40a6df49542fe7525f4485f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-14 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este estudo investigou os fatores determinantes da direção da estratégia de diversificação de grupos empresariais no Brasil. Utilizando a teoria dos custos de transação (WILLIAMSON, 1975; 1979; 1985) e a teoria da agência (JENSEN e MECKLING, 1976) como pilares teóricos, o estudo se propôs a analisar a influência de um conjunto de fatores sobre a escolha da direção da estratégia de diversificação de grupos empresariais brasileiros, que ocorre no sentido de negócios relacionados ou não relacionados (diversificação relacionada X diversificação não-relacionada) à atividade principal do grupo. A estratégia empírica considerou uma amostra de 51 grupos empresariais identificados entre os 200 maiores grupos do Brasil entre 2009 e 2014, de acordo com a publicação do anuário Valor Grandes Grupos. A direção da diversificação tomou a forma de uma variável binária, com valor igual a 1 para a diversificação não-relacionada e zero para a diversificação relacionada. As variáveis utilizadas como os determinantes da direção da diversificação foram: lucratividade, endividamento, capex, risco, ativos físicos, ativos intangíveis, estrutura de propriedade considerando apenas um acionista controlador com ao menos 50% +1 das ações com direito a voto (Definido1), estrutura de propriedade formada por um grupo de acionistas compartilhando o controle (Definido2) e controle familiar. Duas variáveis de controle foram adicionadas: tamanho e oportunidades de crescimento. Os testes empíricos foram executados utilizando regressões probit painel para dados empilhados. As evidências sugerem que existe um conjunto de fatores que influencia a direção da estratégia de diversificação perseguida por grupos empresariais brasileiros. A principal conclusão é que fatores como endividamento, risco, capex e controle acionário exercido por um grupo de acionistas compartilhando o controle do grupo empresarial influenciam positivamente a probabilidade da escolha da diversificação não-relacionada. Por outro lado, fatores como ativos intangíveis e estrutura de propriedade considerando apenas um acionista controlador com ao menos 50% +1 das ações com direito a voto do grupo influenciam negativamente a probabilidade da escolha da diversificação não-relacionada. / This study investigated the determinants of the direction of diversification strategy of business groups in Brazil. Using both transaction costs theory (WILLIAMSON, 1975; 1979; 1985) and agency theory (JENSEN & MECKLING, 1976) as theoretical pillars, this study aimed to analyze the influence of a set of factors on the choice of the direction of diversification strategy of Brazilian business groups, that occurs towards related or unrelated businesses (related vs. unrelated diversification, respectively) to the main activity of the group. The empirical strategy considered a sample of 51 business groups identified among the 200 largest business groups in Brazil between 2009 and 2014, according to the publication of the yearbook Valor Grandes Grupos. The direction of diversification took the form of a binary variable, with the value of one for unrelated diversification, and zero for related diversification. The variables used as the determinants of the direction of diversification were: profitability, debt, capex, risk, physical assets, intangible assets, ownership structure considering only one shareholder holding at least 50% +1 of the shares with voting rights (Definido1), ownership structure formed by a group of shareholders sharing the control (Definido2), and family control. Two control variables were set: size and growth opportunities. Pooled probit panel regressions were used to run the empirical tests. The evidence suggest that a set of factors influences the direction of diversification strategy pursued by Brazilian business groups. The main conclusion is that factors like debt, risk, capex, and ownership structure formed by a group of shareholders sharing the control of the business group influence positively the probability of the choice of unrelated diversification. On the other hand, factors like intangible assets and ownership structure considering only one shareholder holding at least 50% +1 of the shares with voting rights influence negatively the probability of the choice of unrelated diversification.

The evolving nature of the Korean 'chaebol' - both a business group and the founding family who control the corporation - continues to intrigue scholars of corporate governance (Khanna and Yafeh, JEL 2007). In my thesis, I investigate these multi-generational controlling families to explain the chaebol's significance in the historical evolution of South Korea's political economy during the 20th century. My research first describes the origins of chaebol entrepreneurs and details their role in the growth of light industry before the the rise of state-led industrialisation during the social revolution of the 1960s in South Korea. I then consider the specific institutional features which appear to work against family control, even though they would ultimately support its proliferation: 1) progressive politics; 2) inheritance tax; and 3) ownership dispersion. Notably, my analysis of these distinctive institutions provides a clearer understanding of the contemporary behavior of the chaebols and their ability to maintain family control over many decades of growth. In order to better understand the role of controlling families, during the state-led industrialisation period (1961-1988), I analyse their corporate networks and their ability to wield political power. To do so, I employ an unconventional source of evidence: a database of marriages among chaebol families. This research is theoretically grounded in the contact capabilities hypothesis advanced by Amsden (1989) and Guillén (2001a, 2001b with Kock). My scholarly approach complements parallel research on human networks within the state. My findings have implications for: 1) the epochal nature of chaebol-political networks; and 2) the market reaction to such network events, thus demonstrating the economic significance of these informal networks. In my last chapter on the post-1998 era of financial liberalisation, I explore the evolution of the ownership structure within the business group as it relates to policy history. I do this through an analysis of The Holding Company Act of 1999, and show how the controlling families in South Korea found novel ways to use the Act to support their family ownership and corporate control in spite of the original intentions of the regulators. As I show, share buyback programmes, first popularized in Anglo-American financial markets, were crucial to the maintenance of chaebol. As it turns out, liberal policies, imported from the West, proved no more able to limit family capitalism in South Korea than domestic policy had been during the preceding state-led industrialisation era. Nonetheless, activist investor has a special role to play.