Posts categorized under Corporate Governance

Stakeholder theory implies that firms’ economic and social purpose is to create value for all their stakeholders, without favoring any group. However, the distribution of the value created is a matter of choice for each firm and may reflect top managers’ values and characteristics. This paper examines whether the narcissistic characteristic of top managers impacts the distribution of value added. Using a sample of 489 top managers (368 males and 121 females) of Portuguese firms, this study shows that narcissism does not impact overall value added.

Many businesses in the global economy are family firms. How do family firms differ from non-family firms with regards to corporate governance and financial policies? Current literature on the issue of corporate governance and financial development provides evidence that family firms adopt different financial practices from their non-family counterparts. Private family firms are at an advantage in terms of management experience and governance and a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining long-term debt and external equity.

There are several incentives to engage in earnings management, which managers need to consider. Likewise, there are different ways to drive earnings and cash flows in a certain direction. Given the complex context in which firms operate, earnings management may be seen has a continuous and iterative process characterized by a mixture of incentives and practices. This research studies earnings management in Portuguese listed firms. The paper addresses two main strategies, namely real management and accrual management.