The Impact of Ownership Structure on Firm Performance: Evidence From a Large Emerging Market

We examine how ownership structure affects the performance of firms using firm level data from a large emerging market, India.We specifically focus on a previously unexplored phenomenon, namely the differential role played by foreign institutional and foreign corporate shareholders.An examination of more than one thousand Indian listed firms suggests that the positive effect on firm performance of foreign ownership is attributable to foreign corporations that have, on average, a larger shareholding and a higher degree of commitment and long-term involvement.Furthermore, we document the positive influence of domestic corporations, which are by far the largest blockholders with significant monitoring potential.We find an interesting dichotomy in their monitoring influence depending on whether they have a group affiliation.We also perform an analysis of group firms, the results of which generally suggest a negative impact on firm performance.