Founding family ownership and firm performance: Evidence from the evolution of family ownership and firm policies
研究追踪IPO后25年家族所有权变化，发现家族所有权越高，公司价值越低，研发投资越少且更依赖债务融资，原因在于家族不愿发行新股稀释控制权。
Abstract We use a novel dataset to follow the evolution of family ownership, firm value and firm policies for up to 25 years post initial public offering (IPO). Firm value, measured by Tobin's Q, increases as family ownership decreases over time. Firms with higher family ownership invest less in research and development (R&D) and have greater R&D sensitivity to internal cash flow. A path analysis reveals the lower R&D investment as a mechanism through which firm value relates negatively to family ownership. Firms with higher family ownership rely more on debt financing, and firms with higher levels of family ownership at the IPO are less likely to conduct seasoned equity offerings. Altogether, the valuation, investment and financing patterns are consistent with the premise that firms with higher levels of family ownership are unwilling to issue equity and dilute family ownership. A reluctance to issue equity creates financing constraints that limit the firms’ abilities to fully exploit their investment opportunities and contributes to lower firm value among firms with more concentrated family ownership.