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Corporate ownership and managerial short-termism: Results from a Finnish study of management perceptions

Eva Liljeblom and Mika Vaihekoski

International Journal of Production Economics, 2009, vol. 117, issue 2, 427-438

Abstract: Increased media exposure to layoffs and corporate quarterly financial reporting have created arguable a common perception--especially favored by the media itself--that the companies have been forced to improve their financial performance from quarter to quarter. Academically, the relevant question is whether companies themselves feel that they are exposed to short-term pressure to perform even if it means that they have to compromise company's long-term future. This paper studies this issue using results from a survey conducted among the 500 largest companies in Finland. The results indicate that companies in general feel moderate short-term pressure, with reasonable dispersion across firms. There seems to be a link between the degree of pressure felt, and the firm's ownership structure, i.e. we find some support for the existence of potentially short-term versus long-term owners. We also find significant ownership related differences, in line with expectations, in how such short-term pressure is reflected in actual decision variables such as the investment criteria used.

Keywords: Impatience; Short-termism; Investment; Ownership; Finland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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