Abstract

VIEIRA, Elisabete S.. Corporate risk in family businesses under economic crisis. Innovar [online]. 2014, vol.24, n.53, pp.61-73. ISSN 0121-5051.  https://doi.org/10.15446/innovar.v24n53.43909.

Abstract: This paper analyses corporate risk in family businesses in conjunction with generalized economic adversity. Using data from Portuguese family-controlled firms for the period of time between 1999 and 2010, we focus on the possibility of asymmetrical corporate risk effects between periods of stability and economic adversity. Overall, the results suggest that the evidence concerning the family firms' risk is Sensitive to the different types of risk considered. Comparing family businesses with their counterparts, we find evidence that the former have lower levels of operational risk and are more indebted. The results indicate that the systematic risk is negatively related to age and positively related to size, the former relationship being stronger for family firms and the latter for non-family firms than for their counterparts. The evidence supports the hypothesis that risk for family controlled firms is less positively related to the proportion of independent directors on the board than non-family controlled firms, suggesting that founders are concerned about the survival of their firms. Finally, the results show that crises affect the operational risk in family businesses, suggesting that family firm managers are more reluctant to assume risk in periods of crisis. This paper offers some insights on the literature concerning family firms. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyse corporate risk in the context of family firms. In addition, it examines corporate risk in combination with generalized economic adversity.

Keywords : Corporate risk; Family Firms; Crisis; Panel data.

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