Corporate Governance and Financial Performance: A Study of German and UK Initial Public Offerings

Goergen (finance, U. of Reading) presents an original study of the German and British financial markets, drawing on detailed company micro-data to examine the ownership and performance of each firm during the six years after its flotation. He finds that the evolution of ownership depends on certain corporate characteristics, and that differences in financial performance cannot be explained simply by differences in the concentration of ownership. His conclusions shed light on the question of whether corporate ownership influences or is influenced by financial performance, and have implications for the current public debate on corporate governance and the globalization of financial markets. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.