Ownership structure and minority expropriation in Lebanon. (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Azoury, Nehme; Bouri, Elie
• Is Part Of: International journal of business and globalisation. Volume 17:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 149
• Page End: 173
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: ownership structure -- institutional investors -- minority expropriation -- family firms -- socio-emotional wealth -- Lebanon -- family businesses -- entrepreneurship -- cash flow rights -- voting rights -- private benefit extraction -- corporate governance -- emerging markets; International business enterprises -- Periodicals; Business ethics -- Periodicals; International economic integration -- Periodicals; Globalization -- Periodicals; 338.88105
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1753-3627

Abstract

This paper examines minority expropriation issues in the dominant presence of family ownership using longitudinal (hand-collected) data on 270 Lebanese non-financial firms between 2009 and 2012. The analysis reveals that family-related CEOs and the disparity between cash-flow rights and voting rights facilitate expropriation. However, the presence of private equity and banking firms reduces private benefit extraction. By explicitly focusing on the ownership-expropriation nexus and by promoting the development and implementation of a tailored governance code that considers Lebanese specificities, this paper makes a contribution to the growing literature on the role of corporate governance in emerging markets.