Previous studies have investigated the argument that corporate governance structures in emerging markets affected firms' stock price performance during the East Asian economic crisis. In this chapter, we analyze how corporate governance structures in an industrial country (Japan) affect firms'...

Japanese firms that have traditionally had large boards have recently become subject to pressures for small boards. This study shows that Japanese firms that substantially decreased board size tended to adopt an officer system and so did not substantially decrease the size of the management team...

Recently in Japan, the Banks' Shareholdings Restriction Law requires that banks substantially decrease shareholdings. This study examines firms that experienced a 5% or greater reduction in percentage ownership by banks for a year during 2001–2004. Results show that those firms improve their...

We investigate dividend smoothing behaviors of approximately 6,000 firms from 28 countries. The data find a wide variation in the extent of dividend smoothing across countries, while US firms smooth dividends the most. Firms with a concentrated ownership structure adjust their dividends quickly,...

Japanese firms are more likely to adopt new stock option plans when they are more owned by directors and arms-length investors (institutional investors and foreigners) while the probability of adopting option plans is negatively associated with ownership by stable and controlling shareholders....

The Vietnamese government promoted the introduction of information technology (IT) equipment in the early 2000s. Using data on Vietnamese companies from 2001 to 2011, we find that privatization restrains personal computer (PC) holdings, especially for firms with large interest burdens. We also...

This paper investigates the effects of pure secondary share offerings to highlight the corporate governance effect of equity offerings. We find that secondary offerings significantly decrease ownership concentration. Furthermore, firms conducting secondary offerings significantly increase...

Institutional investors in Japan increasingly care about corporate governance of investee companies since the Japanese government launched dual governance-related codes: Stewardship Code in 2014 and Corporate Governance Code in 2015. We find that institutional investors increase their portfolio...

The Vietnamese government partially privatizes large, well-performing, and less-leveraged firms rather than fully divesting ownership in these companies. There is a time gap between privatization and stock listing in Vietnam, and partially privatized firms are more likely to go public than fully...