The influence of family ownership dispersion on debt level in privately held firms

Silvia Bacci (), Alessandro Cirillo (), Donata Mussolino () and Simone Terzani ()
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Silvia Bacci: University of Perugia
Alessandro Cirillo: University of Foggia
Donata Mussolino: University of Naples Federico II
Simone Terzani: University of Perugia

Small Business Economics, 2018, vol. 51, issue 3, No 4, 557-576

Abstract: Abstract The aim of this article is to investigate the financing behavior of privately held firms along the dispersion of family ownership. Drawing on the socio-emotional wealth perspective, we argue that debt levels are contingent on the degree of ownership dispersion among family members. Based on a sample of 2451 observations, in a 10-year time frame, our results reveal the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between debt level and intra-family ownership dispersion. We demonstrate that this relationship is moderated by the generational involvement that inverts it in later generations.

Keywords: Family ownership dispersion; Debt level; Intergenerational stage; Socio-emotional wealth; Capital structure; Panel data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 G32 G41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:51:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-017-9930-2

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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-017-9930-2

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