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The analysis of key corporate decisions is mostly restricted to publicly listed firms even though privately held firms constitute a substantial part of any economy. In this dissertation, my goal is to enhance our understanding of some of the important decisions of private firms, namely: cash holdings, investment and performance using unique and large cross-country samples. In the first chapter, I examine cash holdings of private, unlisted firms versus publicly traded firms in 33 European countries during 2002-2011. I find that the average cash-to-assets ratios are lower in the Eurozone than in non-Eurozone countries by 5.4% due to lower transaction demand under a single currency regime. Public firms have higher cash ratios than private firms. However, the difference in cash ratios between public and private firms is higher in the Eurozone than in non-Eurozone countries, reflecting that: (a) precautionary demand is higher in the Eurozone due to risks and pitfalls of policy coordination, and (b) economic adjustments and transfers in the Eurozone more directly affect publicly traded firms than private ones. Moreover, I show that, during the financial crisis, corporate cash ratios increased in the Eurozone, indicating that the increase in precautionary cash demand was greater than a decrease in transaction demand due to the adoption of the Euro. In the second chapter, I compare the operating performance and efficiency of publicly and privately held firms in the UK over the period 2003-2012. I find that privately held firms typically perform better than publicly traded firms. This finding is robust in various model settings, using industry and size as well as propensity scored matched samples, considering alternative definitions of operating performance, ownership structure and taking into account the endogeneity of firm's exchange listing choice. I also show that average operating profitability of public firms is even lower than that of private firms when both types of firms are financially constrained. Finally, I show that informational value of R&D is higher for private firms than it is for public firms. In the third chapter, I examine the relationship between time horizons and corporate investment, both on the firm and country levels, for private, unlisted firms and publicly traded firms using a unique dataset from 73 countries around the world during the time period of 2003-2012. I show that a longer time horizon (i.e. higher propensity to save and invest) on a cultural and country level also manifests itself as higher investment at the firm level. This is robust to using alternative proxies for the country-level time horizon. Investment behavior of private firms, not public firms, follows a country-level horizon pattern, which is reflective of close monitoring by fewer owners and the absence of stock market pressures in making investment decisions. When I consider time-horizon at the firm-level, we find that firms with a longer time horizon invest more, and this effect is more pronounced for public firms than for private firms, given the former's greater, easier, and cheaper access to capital in the public capital market. I also show that public firms invest more and are more responsive to investment opportunities than private firms. / Business Administration/Finance

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this research report is to create a case study of the JSE listed company, Imperial Holdings Ltd. around the theme of strategic leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational development. In a nutshell – the development of an entrepreneurial organisation into a professional organisation. The second purpose is to discuss literature around the theme of strategic leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational development. This topic was further broken down into five topics including strategic leadership, organisational strategy, owner start-up dynamics and entrepreneurship, owner transition and succession management, organisational and cultural change and the theory of organisational maturity development. Imperial Holdings Ltd. is a diversified industrial services and retail group with activities spanning logistics, car rental, tourism, financial services, vehicle distribution and retail operating in South Africa, Africa, Europe and Australia. Imperial is listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange and the group is run on a decentralised management structure that actively encourages entrepreneurship, innovation and industry specific best practice. The Imperial story is presented as two chapters. The first chapter covers the period 1948 to 2007 with a specific focus on Bill Lynch. He was CEO from 1990 to 2006 and was with Imperial from inception. Bill Lynch won the prestigious Ernest and Young World Entrepreneur award in 2006 and passed away almost a year later. With his passing came the world financial crisis in 2008 and a low period in Imperial‟s history. The second chapter in the story brings Hubert Brody in as the new CEO of Imperial. He is a more cautious person with a CA (SA) background that brought many changes to Imperial‟s strategy and financial structure. In late 2009 and 2010 Imperial started to recover in terms of profit growth and share price. Specific literature on the development of entrepreneurial organisations into professional organisations is almost nonexistent according to the researcher. Most literature found deals only with organisational development and transition management. All the literature is captured and summarised into a conceptual model that can be used in the development of entrepreneurial organisations into professional organisations. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsingsverslag is om 'n gevallestudie op te stel t.o.v. Imperial Holdings Ltd. ('n gelyste maatskapy op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs) rondom die tema van strategiese leierskap, entrepeneurskap en organisatoriese ontwikkeling. In 'n neutedop saamgevat – die ontwikkeling van 'n organisasie vanaf entrepeneursvlak tot 'n professionele vlak. Die tweede doelwit is om inligting rondom die temas van strategiese leierskap, entrepeneurskap en organisatoriese ontwikkeling te ondersoek en te ontleed. Hierdie onderwerp word verder opgedeel in vyf afdelings wat insluit strategiese leierskap, organisatoriese strategieë, die ontginningsdinamiek en entrepeneurskap van die eienaar, eienaarsoordrag- en opvolgingsbestuur, organisatoriese en kulturele veranderinge en die teorie agter volgehoue organisatoriese groei. Imperial Holdings Ltd. is 'n gediversifiseerde industriële diens- en kleinhandelgroep met aktiwiteite wat logistieke dienste, motorverhuring, toerisme, finansiële dienste en voertuigverspreiding- en verkope in Suid-Afrika, Afrika, Europa en Australië insluit. Imperial is gelys op die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs en die bestuursmodel is gebaseer op 'n desentraliseerde bestuursstruktuur wat entrepeneurskap, vernuwende denke en industrie gekonsentreerde praktyke aanmoedig. Die Imperial verhaal word aangebied as twee hoofstukke. Die eerste hoofstuk dek die periode 1948 tot 2007 met 'n spesifieke fokus op Bill Lynch. Hy was die hoof uitvoerende bestuurder vanaf 1990 tot 2006 en was daar vanaf die begin van Imperial se bestaan. Mnr. Lynch het in 2006 afgesterf, amper 'n jaar nadat hy die gesogte Ernest and Young World Entrepreneur toekennning verwerf het. Na sy afsterwe het onder meer 'n wêreldwye finansiële krisis gevolg wat in 2008 'n lae periode in Imperial se prestasiemodel verteenwoordig. Die tweede hoofstuk fokus op die nuwe uitvoerende besturende direkteur van Imperial, mnr. Hubert Brady, se bydrae tot nuwe groei en veranderinge op strategiese en finansiële vlak in die maatskappy. Hy is 'n meer konserwatiewe bestuurder met 'n CA (SA) agtergrond. Dit was baie moeilik vir hierdie navorser om spesifieke literatuur en inligtingsmateriaal te vind oor die transformasie van entrepeursorganisasies na professionele organisasies. Meeste huidige navorsingsmateriaal fokus slegs op organisatoriese - en oorgangsbestuursmodelle. Al die materiaal in hierdie navorsingsverslag is versamel en saamgevat in 'n konseptuele model wat gebruik kan word in die ontwikkeling van entrepeneursorganisasies na professionele organisasies.

For more than a decade, to reduce the agency problem, various ways have been examined on how to align the interest of manager with shareholders. Evidence and empirical findings are conflicting on the agency problem. Recently, deferred compensation as one incentive compensation draws the attention as a means to incentivize CEOs to make them work for the firm. However, it is still not evident if deferred compensation has effect on aligning CEOs with the firm’s goal possibly due to the issue on data. Therefore, the first essay investigates if deferred compensation has the effect on the agency problem and on the firm performance improvement after dealing with the data issue. This paper mainly aims to investigate if there is the non-linear relationship between the investment choice problem and the deferred compensation as Jensen and Meckling (1976) claim. This paper concludes that deferred compensation from NQDC table has positive and significant effect on the firm performance and the investment choice problem. More importantly, following McConnell and Servaes (1990), this paper finds the curvilinear relationship between Tobin’s Q and the deferred compensation and can confirm Jensen and Meckling (1976) theoretical application. The second essay aims to clarify the understanding on the relationship between the firm’s cash holdings and its causes by introducing the more detailed relationship between cash holdings and macroeconomic uncertainty. While previous literature tries to explain the level of cash holdings mainly by the firm-level variables, this study considers the full impact of the macroeconomic uncertainty on the level of cash holdings by introducing the firm’s heterogeneous exposure to macroeconomic uncertainty to see if the heterogeneity can tell the difference in the change in the level of cash holdings. This paper finds that macroeconomic uncertainties measured by difference macroeconomic condition variables are significant and contribute to the change in cash holdings. Additionally, this paper shows that the firms’ different level of exposure to macroeconomic uncertainty can cause the different degree of cash holdings and that firms with the higher level of exposure have the higher level of cash holdings.

Este trabalho de pesquisa objetivou investigar os determinantes do caixa das companhias brasileiras a partir de uma inédita amostra pareada de empresas de capital aberto e fechado. Mais do que explorar as principais vertentes teóricas que tentam explicar os fatores que influenciam a gestão das reservas de caixa, analisou-se conjuntamente os impactos das fricções financeiras e dos custos de agência sobre o nível de caixa, particularmente. Nesse contexto, buscou-se explorar a política de caixa em uma economia emergente como o Brasil, cujo ambiente legal e sistema financeiro ainda não estão plenamente consolidados. Além disso, estudou-se a influência da concentração da propriedade acionária sobre o caixa, assim como a velocidade com que as firmas ajustam seu nível de caixa em direção ao nível alvo em diversas situações. Os principais resultados encontrados apontaram que no período analisado as companhias de capital aberto apresentaram um nível de caixa significativamente superior ao das companhias de capital fechado, isto é, evidenciaram que os efeitos do problema de agência sobre a liquidez corporativa são mais acentuados que os efeitos das fricções financeiras. / This research aimed to investigate the determinants of the cash holdings of Brazilian companies from an unprecedented sample of public and private firms. More than just exploring the main theories that attempt to explain the factors that influence the cash management, the impacts of financial frictions and agency costs on the cash level were analyzed together. In this context, I sought to explore the cash policy in an emerging economy such as Brazil, whose legal environment and financial system are not fully consolidated. In addition, I have also studied the influence of the concentration of equity ownership on the cash holdings, as well as the speed of adjustment with which the firms manage their cash reserves towards a target level in several situations. The main results showed that public companies had a significantly higher cash level than private companies in the analyzed period. In other words, they presented that the effects of the agency problems on corporate liquidity are more pronounced than the effects of the financial frictions.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar os dados de movimentação de bovinos, gerando informações úteis à vigilância epidemiológica do Estado de Mato Grosso. Analisou-se, para 2007, a distribuição de rebanhos nas propriedades, a movimentação por ecossistema de origem e destino, por finalidade (engorda, abate ou reprodução), e por época do ano. Observou-se que 81,54% do rebanho está concentrados em 20% das propriedades, indicando a existência de poucas propriedades com intensa comercialização para abate, engorda ou reprodução e muitas propriedades com pouca comercialização. Das 72.149 propriedades (de um total de 112.924) que realizaram algum tipo de movimentação, 65.773 movimentaram bovinos. A maioria das movimentações ocorreu internamente em cada ecossistema (Pantanal, Cerrado e Amazônia). O Pantanal recebeu o menor número de bovinos (4,98% dos animais recebidos, incluindo movimentação interna) e o Cerrado foi o que mais recebeu bovinos provenientes dos outros ecossistemas e o que enviou o menor número de bovinos (318.253, 25,79% do total de bovinos enviados a outro ecossistema). Observou-se uma redução do movimento em maio e novembro (vacinação contra febre aftosa), janeiro e fevereiro (férias dos frigoríficos e estação chuvosa) e setembro (manejo de natalidade, ausência da safra do boi gordo e desmama de bezerros). O percentual de movimentação interestadual foi de 2,65% dos animais movimentados, predominando as movimentações intraestaduais. Na análise de 539.526 documentos em 76.277 estabelecimentos calculou-se o grau de comercialização entre os estabelecimentos, para o semigrau interior a média e mediana foram (1 e 3) e para o semigrau exterior(2 e 3) respectivamente. As distâncias médias para movimentação de bovinos provenientes das propriedades da fronteira internacional e daquelas sabidamente positivas para brucelose foram 73,75 e 60,43 km respectivamente. Distâncias médias para movimentos destinados a frigoríficos, propriedades e eventos agropecuários foram inferiores a 116,70 km mostrando movimentação proveniente do próprio Estado. Em redes com características livre de escala supõe-se que a distribuição de grau P(k) pode ser ajustada pela lei de potência, no entanto observou-se que alguns estabelecimentos não seguiram o previsto para redes livre de escala. O ajuste de P(kin) mostrou que estabelecimentos que compraram maior quantidade de bovinos ultrapassaram o esperado pela lei de potência, o que pode estar relacionado ao comportamento de compra por frigoríficos e confinamentos. Para o ajuste de P(kout), a proporção de propriedades que venderam para muitos estabelecimentos (por exemplo, próximo a 100 estabelecimentos) está abaixo do previsto pela lei de potência, como também aquelas que venderam para menos de 10 outros estabelecimentos. As propriedades de subsistência, que movimentam poucos animais, influenciaram os valores de P(kin) e de P(kout) para valores baixos de kin e kout, respectivamente. Observou-se uma correção negativa (r= -0,54) entre o grau médio dos primeiros vizinhos e o grau do estabelecimento mostrando que estabelecimentos com grau elevado (volume elevado de compra e/ou venda) comercializam com estabelecimentos cujo grau é em média baixo (volume baixo de compra e/ou venda) e vice-versa. Essa característica da rede de movimentação de bovinos pode ter implicações no espalhamento de doenças infecciosas nos rebanhos, em função do contato entre grandes e pequenos estabelecimentos. / This study has as objective to analyze the movement data of bovine, generating useful information for epidemiologic surveillance for Mato Grosso State. It was analyzed, for 2007, the herds distribution in the farm holdings, the movement according to origin and destination ecosystem, for purpose (fattens, slaughters or reproduction), and for year\'s time. It was observed that 81.54% of the herd was concentrated on 20% of the farm holdings, indicating the existence of few farm holdings with intense commercialization for slaughters, fattens or reproduction and many farm holdings with little commercialization. Of the 72.149 farm holdings (of a total of 112.924) that accomplished some type of movement, 65.773 moved bovine. Most movements occurred internally in each ecosystem (Pantanal, Cerrado and Amazônico). The Pantanal received the smaller number of bovine (4,98% of the received animals, including internal movement) and the Cerrado received most bovine from of the other ecosystems and sent the smaller number of bovine (318.253, 25.79% of the bovine sent to other ecosystem). It was observed a decrease in movement in May and November (vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease), January and February (slaughterhouse vacation and rainy station) and September (birth rate handling, absence of cattle for slaughterhouse and weaning calves). The percentage of interstate movement was 2.65% of the animals moved, predominating the movements within the state This factor associated to the difficulty of maintaining updated records in complex territory motivated of the characterization of cattle network making available to the defense\'s service and epidemiological vigilance a tool that makes possible retrospective and prospectively the measures application adapted in specific situations. In the analysis of 539.526 documents in 76.277 establishments it calculated the commercialization degree between establishments. For indegree the average and median were (1 and 3) and for outdegree (2 and 3) respectively. Average distances for bovine movement with origin in the farms holdings of the international border and the farms holdings known positive for brucellosis were 73.75 and 60.43 km respectively. Average distances from farm holdings to slaughter establishments, farms holdings and agricultural events were lower than 116.70 km showing movement originating within the state. In scale-free networks, the degree distribution P(k) it can be fitted by the power law, however some establishments do not follow the foreseen for networks free-scale. The fitting of P(kin) showed that establishments that buy larger quantity of bovine overtake what is expected for power law, what can be related to purchase behavior for slaughter establishments and confinements. For the fitting of P(kout), the proportion of the farms holdings that sell for lots of establishments (for example, near to 100 establishments) is below the expected by the power law, as well as those that sell for less than 10 other establishments. The subsistence farms holdings, that move few animals, influence the values of P(kin) and of P(kout) for low values of kin and kout, respectively. A negative correlation (r= -0.54) was observed between the average degree of nearest neighbors and the degree of establishments, showing that establishments with high degree of purchase and/or sells, commercialize with establishments whose degree is, on average, low (low quantity of purchase and/or sells) and vice versa. This characteristic of the network of bovine movement may have implications in the spread of infectious diseases within the herds, depending on the contact between big and small establishments.

by Mok Wai Chung, David and Dai Yat Hang, Alice. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Bibliography: leaf 66. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.iv / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- "THE COMPANY, ITS PRODUCTS AND ITS COMPETITORS" --- p.1 / Company Profile --- p.1 / Corporate Culture and Company Philosophy --- p.2 / Organization Structure --- p.3 / Property Development vs Property Investment --- p.4 / Process of Property Development --- p.5 / Classification of Competitors --- p.8 / Strengths and Weaknesses of Cheung Kong --- p.10 / Chapter II. --- MARKET PROFILE --- p.12 / The Building Industry Development --- p.12 / Building Types --- p.13 / Profit Contribution --- p.15 / Market Structure Characteristics --- p.17 / Competitive Strategy of Rival Firms --- p.19 / Chapter III. --- IDENTIFICATION OF THE UNSERVED MARKET NICHE --- p.20 / Public Housing Scenerio --- p.20 / Rental --- p.21 / HOS/PSPS --- p.22 / Supply and Demand of Public Housing --- p.23 / The Cost-Focus Approach --- p.24 / Consumer Profile --- p.25 / Objective --- p.25 / Sampling Method --- p.25 / Observation --- p.26 / Chapter IV. --- COST-FOCUS STRATEGY --- p.27 / Cost and Price Analysis --- p.27 / Acquisition of Land --- p.29 / Chapter V. --- MARKETING STRATEGY --- p.30 / Product Strategy --- p.30 / Product Differentiation --- p.30 / Quality --- p.31 / Management --- p.32 / Maintenance --- p.32 / Pricing Strategy --- p.33 / Markup Pricing --- p.33 / Reduction in Construction Cost --- p.33 / Incremental Pricing Strategy --- p.35 / Distribution Strategy --- p.35 / Improvement in Existing Distribution Channels --- p.36 / Creation of District Sales Office --- p.36 / Promotion Strategy --- p.37 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.39 / APPENDIX --- p.41 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.66

Práce pojednává o počátečních veřejných nabídkách na amerických trzích. Nosným pilířem je hlavně na zmapování jejich výkonnosti a některých statistik. Práce také obsahuje doplňující analýzy jejich věku a sporného zákona Surbanes-Oxley Act. Dále tu testuji některé strategie pro obchodování počátečních veřejných nabídek, které jsou založeny hlavně na technické analýze a jsou určeny pro malé individuální investory, kteří nemají přístup na primární trh. Na závěr analyzuji počáteční veřejnou nabídku NYMEX Holdings, Inc., která byla uvedena na New York Stock Exchange v listopadu 2006.

1998下半年，上市公司的交叉持股行為引發台灣自發的金融危機。知名企業接連跳票，資本市場發生違約交割，一時之間，股市投資人售出地雷公司股票唯恐不及，金融機構因握有地雷公司債權而損失慘重。 交叉持股所引發的公司財務危機迥異於過往。危機爆發之前，公司營運狀況與一般公司無異，唯公司的業外投資活動異常活躍，特別是權益證券的投資。具決策經營權的大股東熱衷於運用高財務槓桿進行交叉持股，並且隱藏資金用途，傳統的財務分析方式與財務危機警示指標因而失效。債權人、投資人因而措手不及，蒙受重大損失。 本研究主要在研究上市公司交叉持股行為之特性。先探討交叉持股的行為特質及經濟意涵；再由上市公司的財務報表資料，篩選出代表交叉持股公司與非交叉持股公司母體的樣本，以實證的方式驗證兩組公司的財務性質。除了可以更加確定交叉持股公司的財務性質以作為財務分析的依據之外，對於有意針對這一類財務危機發展警示制度的研究當具有其參考價值。