Effect of ownership on efficiency in Spanish companies
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of privatization on the efficiency of five of the biggest Spanish state‐owned companies: Repsol, Iberia, Endesa, Telefónica and REE, which enjoy monopoly status in sectors like energy, telecommunications and air transport.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Tobit analysis to analyze efficiency changes and to determine the effect of the ownership and board structure on technical efficiency.
Findings
The results show that the improvements in efficiency are not related to the privatization. Thus the empirical research suggests that a change of ownership per se is not sufficient to bring about the effects forecast by privatization advocators.
Research limitations/implications
More research regarding other issues such as organizational changes, strategic alliances and market regulation is needed, as they are factors that explain efficiency variations.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on privatization because it adds new empirical evidence about Spain, questioning whether the privatization programs have helped to improve the efficiency of the companies.
Keywords
Citation
Bachiller, P. (2009), "Effect of ownership on efficiency in Spanish companies", Management Decision, Vol. 47 No. 2, pp. 289-307. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740910938920
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited