Thesis (Ph.D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2009 / Department of Information Systems Weatherhead School of Management Includes abstract Includes bibliographical references Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center

Το αντικείμενο μελέτης της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η διερεύνηση των προσδιοριστικών παραγόντων του ρυθμού μεγέθυνσης των επιχειρήσεων δίνοντας ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στο ρόλο των χρηματοοικονομικών περιορισμών. Η εμπειρική ανάλυση βασίστηκε σε ένα δείγμα από διαστρωματικά δεδομένα για 546 επιχειρήσεις που δραστηριοποιούνται στην Ελλάδα το έτος 2003 και έχουν συλλεχθεί από την Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα και την Ευρωπαϊκή Τράπεζα για την Ανασυγκρότηση και την Ανάπτυξη στο πλαίσιο της έρευνας BEEPS (Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys). Εκτιμήθηκαν τρία εμπειρικά υποδείγματα που διαφέρουν μεταξύ τους ως προς την προσέγγιση της οικονομικής επίδοσης των επιχειρήσεων (firm performance). Ειδικότερα, η επίδοση της επιχείρησης μετράται σε όρους μεταβολής α) των περιουσιακών στοιχείων (investment), β) των πωλήσεων (sales) και γ) του εργατικού δυναμικού (employment). Τα οικονομετρικά υποδείγματα (Probit και Multinomial Logit) επιλέχτηκαν με σκοπό να προσεγγίσουν ακριβέστερα την φύση της καθεμιάς εξαρτημένης μεταβλητής. Σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματα της οικονομετρικής ανάλυσης βρέθηκε ότι οι περιορισμοί ρευστότητας διαδραματίζουν έναν κρίσιμο ρόλο στις αποφάσεις που αφορούν την επένδυση της επιχείρησης. Το εύρημα αυτό δεν φαίνεται να επιβεβαιώνεται στην περίπτωση των δεικτών επίδοσης που αφορούν τις πωλήσεις και την απασχόληση. Να σημειωθεί ότι σημαντικά είναι τα ευρήματα αναφορικά με τον ρόλο άλλων μεταβλητών όπως η χρήση νέων τεχνολογιών και η ύπαρξη φαινομένων διαφθοράς. / The objective of this study is to investigate the role of investments and financial constraints on firms’ growth in Greece. The data come from the BEEPS (Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys) and the empirical analysis uses 545 greek firms during 2003. The firms’ performance is measures in terms of fixed assets, sales and employment. The econometric models that are used are probit and multinomial logit in order to better estimate the control variable. The results from the econometric analysis show that financial constraints play an important role in investments decisions. This finding is not significant when firms’ performance is measured in terms of sales and employment. The empirical findings about technology and corruption are statistical significant.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier quelle composition du conseil d’administration permet d’assurer l’efficacité de ses fonctions de surveillance et de conseil. Dans le chapitre 1, nous étudions si la présence d’administrateurs qui sont liés à des actionnaires minoritaires peut constituer un mécanisme efficace de gouvernance d'entreprise pour limiter l'expropriation par les actionnaires majoritaires, sans exacerber les risques. L’étude empirique de ce chapitre est réalisée sur un échantillon de banques avec un actionnariat concentré. Les résultats indiquent que la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires permet d’augmenter l'efficacité du conseil d'administration des banques dans la mesure où elle entraîne une valorisation de marché plus élevée, sans augmentation du risque. Le chapitre 2 complète le premier chapitre afin de déterminer les facteurs, tant au niveau de la banque que du pays, qui peuvent favoriser la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires dans les conseils de banque. Les résultats montrent que: (i) l’importance des droits de vote des actionnaires majoritaires, la qualité des recommandations envers le conseil d'administration dans les codes de gouvernance d'entreprise et le niveau de protection des actionnaires sont des facteurs qui favorisent la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires au sein des conseils des banques; (ii) des régimes de surveillance stricts et une forte opacité réduisent la présence d’administrateurs minoritaires dans les conseils d'administration des banques. Nos travaux suggèrent que les autorités bancaires devraient recommander aux banques avec un actionnariat concentré d'inclure un minimum d’administrateurs minoritaires dans leur conseil d'administration. Dans le chapitre 3, nous examinons l'impact de l’imposition d’un quota minimum de membres de chaque sexe sur la performance des entreprises et leurs décisions, en prenant le cas de la Belgique, la France et l'Italie comme expérience naturelle. Notre analyse statistique montre que le pourcentage de femmes augmente de manière significative et que les caractéristiques des membres du conseil d’administration changent considérablement après la mise en place du quota. Les résultats empiriques montrent que les quotas n’ont pas d’impact significatif sur la performance des entreprises et leurs décisions. Nos résultats appuient la mise en place d’un quota afin d’assurer une représentation équilibrée des hommes et des femmes au sein des conseils d’administration des entreprises. Ils montrent cependant que les régulateurs créent des attentes irréalistes quant à la capacité des femmes à améliorer les performances des entreprises, du moins à court terme lorsque les effets négatifs de l’imposition d’un quota sont potentiellement les plus importants. / His thesis aims to provide some answers to the question of what makes a board effective in carrying out its monitoring and advising functions. In Chapter 1, we examine whether board structures that include directors that are related to minority shareholders can be an effective corporate governance mechanism to limit expropriation by controlling shareholders, without exacerbating risk. We focus our empirical analysis of this chapter on banks with a concentrated ownership structure. We find that the inclusion of such minority directors does indeed increase the effectiveness of bank boards, as it results in higher market valuations, without increasing risk. Chapter 2 complements the first chapter to determine the factors, at the bank and at the country level, that could favor the presence of minority directors on bank boards. We find that: (i) the voting rights of controlling shareholders, the quality of recommendations for boards of directors in Corporate Governance Codes and higher shareholder protection are factors that promote the presence of minority directors on bank boards; (ii) the degree of opacity and stronger supervisory regimes reduce the presence of minority directors on bank boards. Our work suggests that bank authorities should recommend banks with concentrated ownership structure to include a minimum of minority directors in their board. In Chapter 3, we investigate the impact of gender quotas on firm performance and corporate decisions using Belgium, France and Italy as a natural experiment. Our statistical analysis shows that the percentage of female directors significantly increases, and board members characteristics significantly change after the implementation of the gender quota. The results of our empirical analysis show evidence that gender quotas do not have a significant impact on both firm outcomes and corporate decisions. Our findings support the decision of policy-makers to use mandatory rules to force firm to achieve gender balance on corporate boards. Our results suggest that policy-makers create unrealistic expectations for women to boost firm performance, at least in the short-run when negative side effects of mandatory rules are potentially strongest.

The study has been conducted to examine the direct and indirect relationship between the determinants of electronic recruitment and firm performance through the mediating role of human resources management capabilities based on the resource based view theory. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between the internal determinants of e-recruitment (technology quality, service quality, and security assurance) and the external determinants (e.g. empowered manager and member team, content of an implementation plan for e-recruitment, HR and IT collaboration in e-recruitment, job seeker trust in e-recruitment, organizational reputation, decentralization of selection decision, and government objectives) on e-recruitment, and the effect of e-recruitment on HR capability and firm performance. This study adopted a positivist philosophy. A deduction approach and quantitative method were also suitable for this study. A questionnaire was delivered to some companies in Saudi Arabia. A total of 500 questionnaires were sent, but only 418 were received; for 84.0 percent response rates. This study used PLS to test the research hypotheses. The measurement model has confirmed that the measure indicates accepted reliability and validity. Based on the research results, most hypotheses are accepted. This means that the e-recruitment play a crucial role in improving firm performance. The findings of this study support the argument that e-recruitment plays an important role in improving firm performance. Therefore, firms that use e-recruitment to attract new job seekers will improve their performance. These findings extend prior literature by showing, for the first time, how e-recruitment and HR capability influence firm performance. This study has confirmed that e-recruitment has a positive and significant effect on firm performance. These variables account for 43% and 78% of the variety in HR capability and firm performance, respectively, whereas 57% and 22% are related to other variables. This finding is consistent with the argument that if firm use e-recruitment, they are more likely to improve firm performance. Moreover, high HR capability enhances firm performance. Our study moves beyond previous studies that focus on e-recruitment by correlating e recruitment with HR capability and firm performance. This study contributes by arguing that e-recruitment and HR capability has a positive relation towards firm performance, which conforms to previous studies in similar areas. Apart from the re-examination of resource-based theory in the online recruitment context, our study attempts to make some other fundamental contributions in understanding e-recruitment in the Saudi Arabia context. However, given that this is the first known test of resource-based theory in the Internet recruiting domain, we recommend that future research be done to conduct additional tests of this theory. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications in that the results have provided empirical evidence on the indirect impact of e-recruitment on firm performance and can serve as an indication in practice for firms in understanding e-recruitment and its effects on firm performance. The current study would help professionals in the field of HR to enhance their awareness of the critical role that recruiting highly skilled applicants may play in terms of sustainable competitive advantage and firm performance.

From 1992 onwards, the market for corporate control has been changing as a consequence of deregulation in the North American and West European electric utility industry. Motivated by the lack of consensus on the value creation of acquisitions in the deregulated electric utility industry, this study is conducted. Based on a three and eleven-day event window, cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) of 714 acquisition announcements between 1997 and 2017 stemming from North American and West European acquirers, it is found that acquisitions generate on average an insignificant CAR of 0.2%. West European bidders generate a significant return of 0.94% which outperforms the average CAR of -0.02% stemming from North American bidders. For the aggregate sample, it is found that geographic diversification strategies do not outperform each other and that industry-focussed deals outperform industry-diversified deals. North American managers should avoid cross-border deals within the North American region because these deals destruct shareholder value. West European managers should engage in geographic or industry-focussed deals because it is shown the stock market believes that these type of acquisitions generate synergies.

This paper reviews and summarises the results of selected empirical studies on performance gaps between multinational enterprises and their domestic counterparts. Performance gaps arise in such fields as productivity, profitability, wages, skills, factor intensity and growth. Of central interest is the question to what extent is foreign ownership an explanatory factor of performance gaps? Empirical evidence supports the existence of performance gaps between foreign and domestic firms, yet foreign ownership is a much less important explanatory factor than normally assumed. Structural factors like industry, size and multi-nationality per se are more important. It is argued that such results are broadly consistent with those derived in the literatures on ownership change, on foreign entry and on spillovers. The concluding section discusses the normative issue whether there is a case for investment promotion policies to discriminate between firms on the basis of performance gaps by ownership. / Series: Working Papers Series "Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness"

This paper reviews and summarises the results of selected studies on performance gaps between multinational enterprises and their domestic counterparts. Performance gaps arise in such fields as productivity, technology, profitability, wages, skills and growth. While these gaps are often attributed to foreign ownership of the affiliates, the theory of the Multinational Enterprise argues that these gaps are due to being a Multinational rather than the nationality of the firm. Empirical evidence on the existence of performance gaps between foreign and domestic firms is supportive of this view: foreign ownership turns out to be a much less important explanatory factor than normally assumed. Firm-specific assets and firm characteristics like industry, size, parent country and multinationality per se are more important. Such results are broadly consistent with those derived in the literatures on ownership change, on foreign entry and on spillovers. We conclude that there is little case for foreign direct investment promotion policies to discriminate between firms on the basis of ownership. / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

As Métricas de Marketing, como o valor da marca, têm sido consideradas um tópico prioritário de pesquisa, em um contexto onde gestores e acadêmicos de marketing estão sobre crescente pressão para demonstrarem que os investimentos nesta área são capazes de adicionar valor aos acionistas. O presente estudo objetivou comparar o desempenho, no mercado acionário brasileiro, do portfólio de empresas com reconhecido valor da marca – apontada pelos rankings de marcas mais valiosas brasileiras publicadas pela Interbrand – com portfólios de empresas com ações listadas na Bolsa de Valores do Estado de São Paulo. A comparação do desempenho desses portfólios no mercado acionário brasileiro ocorreu em termos de seu risco e retorno, calculados pela aplicação do modelo de três fatores de Fama e French (1993), tomando como base o estudo realizado por Madden, Fehle e Fournier (2006) no contexto internacional. Os resultados deste estudo permitem concluir que o Portfólio de Marcas Valiosas apresenta um menor risco no mercado acionário brasileiro frente aos demais portfólios estudados. A simples comparação do somatório dos valores da variável relativa ao excesso de retorno da carteira remete diretamente a percepção de maior retorno para o Portfólio de Marcas Valiosas. A possível associação de uma carteira de empresas possuidoras de marcas valiosas com a obtenção de menores riscos e, ao mesmo tempo, maiores retornos aos acionistas, permite fomentar ações e pesquisas voltadas para a gestão e desenvolvimento de marcas, bem como a uma maior valorização da área de Marketing na esfera acadêmica e empresarial. Além disso, este estudo permitiu uma aproximação entre as áreas de Marketing e Finanças, potencializando uma relação entre seus campos teóricos e entre suas atividades nas empresas. / Marketing Metrics, as brand value, have been a research priority topic, in a context where, Marketing practitioners and scholars are under intense pressure to show how marketing expenditure adds to shareholder value. This study aimed to compare the performance, in Brazilian stock market, of the portfolio of companies with recognized brand value - indicated by the rankings of most Brazilian valuable brands published by Interbrand - with other portfolios of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of São Paulo State. The comparison of the performance of such portfolios in the Brazilian stock market was in terms of their risk and return, calculated by applying the three-factor model of Fama and French (1993), built upon the study by Madden, Fehler and Fournier (2006) in the international context. The results show that the Portfolio of Valuable Brands presents a lower risk in Brazilian stock market compared to the other portfolios studied. The simple comparison of the sum of the variable values on the excess return of the portfolio, refers directly to the perception of greater return for the Portfolio of Valuable Brands. Thus, the possible relationship of companies possessing a portfolio of valuable brands with the acquisition of lower risk and, in the same time, higher returns to shareholders allows enhancing actions and encourage research aimed at the management and development of brands, as well as a greater appreciation of the Marketing field in academic and business spheres. Furthermore, this study permitted a rapprochement between the fields of Marketing and Finance, powering a theoretical relationship between these fields and between these areas in the companies.

Submitted by Mariana Vieira (mari.vieira@uol.com.br) on 2010-08-11T14:09:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Final enviada a banca pos defesa comentada.pdf: 107577 bytes, checksum: 9f4edfdc67998848cbe6a7dcb58b015c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vitor Souza(vitor.souza@fgv.br) on 2010-08-11T14:13:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Final enviada a banca pos defesa comentada.pdf: 107577 bytes, checksum: 9f4edfdc67998848cbe6a7dcb58b015c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2010-08-12T12:20:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Final enviada a banca pos defesa comentada.pdf: 107577 bytes, checksum: 9f4edfdc67998848cbe6a7dcb58b015c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-18 / Corporate governance has gained importance since the last decade, when financial scandals have happened in large companies. Good governance practices started to be associated with better protection to shareholders, with equality of treatment between controlling and minority shareholders, and with more disclosure. This study presents new evidence on the relationship between governance and performance of companies, by using a new methodology in the Brazilian literature. Based on a corporate governance index, we compute annual variation of governance quality, and classify the companies into three groups (positive, negative and neutral governance change). Then, we verify whether there is significant difference between governance change and variation in firm performance. Our results indicate that positive (negative) changes in governance are associated with positive (negative) variation in the operational performance of companies. On the other hand, there is no evidence of a relation between changes in governance and stock returns. / A governança corporativa ganhou importância crescente a partir da última década, quando ocorreram escândalos de fraudes financeiras em grandes empresas. As boas práticas de governança corporativa passaram a ser vistas como forma de proteger os direitos dos acionistas, garantir igualdade de tratamento entre acionistas controladores e minoritários e assegurar a transparência na divulgação de informações. Este trabalho apresenta novas evidências sobre a relação entre práticas de governança e desempenho das empresas no Brasil. Utilizamos uma metodologia inédita na literatura brasileira. Com base em um índice de práticas de governança corporativa, computamos a variação anual na qualidade de governança e classificamos as empresas em 3 grupos (variação positiva, neutra e negativa). Em seguida, verificamos se existe diferença entre variações na governança e variações no desempenho das empresas. Nossos resultados indicam que variações positivas (negativas) na qualidade da governança estão associadas a variações positivas (negativas) no desempenho operacional das empresas. Por outro lado, não existem evidências que variações na qualidade de governança tenham impacto no retorno das ações.

Seguindo as linhas de pesquisa que visam relacionar o impacto do relacionamento com os clientes aos resultados financeiros da empresa, o presente estudo procura avaliar o impacto do word-of-mouth (WOM) negativo no retorno da ação da empresa. O comportamento de falar mal da empresa por parte dos consumidores insatisfeitos pode destruir o valor dos market-based assets (customer equity e brand equity), comprometendo o desempenho das ações da companhia. Considerando a literatura existente, esta pesquisa busca identificar o impacto do WOM negativo no desempenho das ações das empresas no curto e no longo prazo. O primeiro estudo replica o modelo de Luo (2007) para identificar o impacto do WOM negativo nos retornos de curto prazo da ação das empresas. O segundo estudo busca verificar o impacto de longo prazo a partir da comparação do desempenho de portfólios compostos por ações de empresas em relação ao seu nível de reclamações. Os resultados do primeiro estudo convergiram em certa medida com os resultados apresentados por Luo (2007) para o setor bancário, apontando para um impacto negativo das reclamações no retorno da ação, mas foram mistos quando as empresas foram avaliadas individualmente. O segundo estudo demonstrou que o portfólio composto por ações de empresas menos reclamadas teve um retorno acumulado superior ao portfólio composto pelas ações mais reclamadas, além de apresentar um risco inferior ao risco de mercado. As implicações e limitações do estudo são discutidas e são sugeridas pesquisas futuras a partir deste estudo. / Following previous research that seek to integrate customer relationship impact to firm value, the present study focus to assess the impact of negative word-of-mouth (WOM) on stock returns. Dissatisfied customers that spread negative WOM about the company can ruin market-based assets (customer equity and brand equity) and hurt its performance. Based on present literature, this research seeks to identify the impact of negative WOM on stocks’ short and long term performances. The first study replicates Luo’s (2007) model to identify the short term impact of negative WOM on stock performance. The second aims to identify the long term impact of negative WOM by comparing the performance of portfolios created based on companies level of complaints. The first study accomplished to partially replicate the results found by Luo (2007) for banking industry, finding a negative impact of negative WOM on firm stock returns, although it found mixed results when the impact was assessed for each company individually. The second study demonstrates that a portfolio with less complained companies has a superior performance over a portfolio with more complained companies, while presenting a risk below market’s level. The results implications and limitations are discussed and further studies suggestions are made.