The effects of ownership concentration and corporate governance on corporate risk-taking: The case of Thailand

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of ownership concentration and corporate governance on the extent of risk-taking in an important emerging economy – Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The results are corroborated by additional analysis, including an instrumental-variable analysis and propensity score matching.

Findings

Large owners are under-diversified and are thus more vulnerable to the firm’s idiosyncratic risk. Therefore, they tend to advocate less risky corporate policies and strategies. Consistent with this notion, the authors find that more concentrated ownership induces firms to take significantly less risk.

Originality/value

Ownership in Thai firms is substantially more concentrated than that in developed economies, providing a unique opportunity to study the effect of highly concentrated ownership on risk-taking.

Citation

Jumreornvong, S., Treepongkaruna, S., Prommin, P. and Jiraporn, P. (2018), "The effects of ownership concentration and corporate governance on corporate risk-taking: The case of Thailand", Accounting Research Journal, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 252-267. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-09-2018-0144