We investigate how corporate governance affects the ability of firms to compete in international markets. Our empirical analysis draws on a variety of methods, including instrumental variable regressions, natural experiments and event studies. We find that firms subject to worse corporate...

We investigate the effect of board connections on the debt structure of private firms. Using a comprehensive panel data set from Italy, our empirical evidence indicates that independent directors who sit on multiple boards facilitate firms' access to external debt, mostly in the form of trade...

A recent literature shows that the spike in uncertainty during political elections harms firms’ investment. Bridging insights from international business and political science, we argue that the effect of political elections on firms’ investment activities is contingent on the country’s...

We study successions from a non-family CEO back to a family CEO, which we label “Type-R” successions. In our sample of 489 Italian family firms experiencing the departure of nonfamily CEOs, these successions represent 42% of all cases. Our difference-in-differences results indicate that...

We study how ownership similarity between two firms affects the likelihood of an acquisition between them. Assortative matching arguments suggest that similarity between acquiring and target firms can encourage acquisition behavior since more similar partners can better understand one another...

We show that families are an engine of venturing activities: one third of all corporate venture capital (CVC) deals in the US from 2000 to 2017 originated from family firms. Family firms orchestrate CVC activities differently than non-family firms: they syndicate more often and with more...

Share repurchases have come under criticism as they may be used for earnings management and take capital away from productive investment. However, share repurchases can also reduce the agency costs of free cash flow and offset the dilution of current shareholders. Whether firms engage in good or...

Share repurchases have come under criticism as they may be used for earnings management and take capital away from productive investment. However, share repurchases can also reduce the agency costs of free cash flow and offset the dilution of current shareholders. Whether firms engage in good or...