Understanding the relationship between insider ownership and performance in Europe

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of insider ownership on performance for two European regions: South and Central Europe. To our knowledge, no prior study has made a similar comparison. We confirm that performance increases as the firm’s owner sustains its control because the interests of managers and owners are aligned. Furthermore we find that insider ownership is more valuable in South European countries due to the weaker enforcement of the legal system. However we also corroborate that corporate ownership varies in ways consistent with the maximization of the firm performance and these inferences may be affected.