This study examines managerial disciplining in poorly performing firms using large panels for Belgian, French, German and UK firms. We consider the monitoring role of large blockholders, the market for share blocks, creditors, and non-executive directors. Board restructuring is correlated to...

The paper deals with the question which determinants can explain regional differences in the number of start-ups in Austrian and Western German districts when observing the business related service sector. We separate our sample in firms operating in knowledge intensive sectors and start-ups...

Die Ergebnisse der multivariaten Analysen zur Beschäftigungsdynamik und dem Wachstumspotential junger innovativer Unternehmen lassen erkennen, daß junge innovative Unternehmen signifikant höhere Wachstumsraten erzielen als junge Unternehmen mit traditionellen Produkten. Die Abschätzung der...

The present paper deals with the question whether 'Gibrat's law' is applicable to firms founded between 1989 and 1996 within the Western German manufacturing sector or not. The underlying assumption is that size of a firm has no influence on its growth. Growth is rather determined by a process...

Ownership structures are an important element of the theory explaining corporate governance. This study presents detailed descriptive evidence on the ownership structures of German manufacturing firms. It addresses several shortcomings of the previous German empirical literature: First, we study...

Productivity growth has been slow in many continental European countries over the last few decades, especially in comparison with the United States. It has been argued that lack of product market competition and poor corporate governance are two of the main reasons for this phenomenon. However,...

This paper makes an empirical contribution to confirm the stylized fact that the performance of firms deteoriates in the years before exit. For this reason we evaluate whether market exits differ significantly in their employment development in the years before market drop-out compared to...

This study examines changes in block ownership for a large sample of listed and non-listed German firms. The frequency of block trading is similar to other countries, and the vast majority of block trades leads to changes in ultimate ownership (control transfers). Such changes are more likely...

This paper seeks to empirically identify factors that influence the probability of being a fast growing firm in Eastern and Western Germany. Descriptive analyses have shown that most firms experience only small positive or negative employment growth or stagnate over time. The job generation...

This paper analyzes the medium-term growth performance of firms that exclusively received start-up assistance from programs administered by the Deutsche Ausgleichsbank (DtA), a state owned bank, within two years after startup. I apply a parametric selection approach that controls for two...