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(2014)
This paper investigates the extent to which corporate governance affects the cost of debt and equity capital of German exchange-listed companies. I examine corporate governance along three dimensions: financial information quality, ownership structure and board structure. The results suggest that firms with high levels of financial transparency and bonus compensations face lower cost of equity. In addition, block ownership is negatively related to firms' cost of equity when the blockholders are other firms, managers or founding-family members. Consistent with the conjecture that agency costs increase with firm size, I find significant cost of debt effects only in the largest German companies. Here, the creditors demand lower cost of debt from firms with block ownerships held by corporations or banks. My findings demonstrate that a uniform set of governance attributes is unlikely to satisfy suppliers of debt and equity capital equally.
Knowledge-based productivity in “low-tech” industries: evidence from firms in developing countries
(2014)
Using firm-level data from five developing countries—Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, Tanzania, and Bangladesh—and three industries—food processing, textiles, and the garments and leather products—this article examines the importance of various sources of knowledge for explaining productivity and formally tests whether sector- or country-specific characteristics dominate these relationships. Knowledge sources driving productivity appear mainly sector specific. Also differences in the level of development affect the effectiveness of knowledge sources. In the food processing sector, firms with higher educated managers are more productive, and in least-developed countries, additionally those with technology licenses and imported machinery and equipment. In the capital-intensive textiles sector, productivity is higher in firms that conduct R&D. In the garments and leather products sector, higher education of the managers, licensing, and R&D raise productivity.