Ownership structure and operational efficiency in emerging market: The case of Korea

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the ownership structure and operational efficiency in Korean manufacturing firms for 2002-2013. Korea experienced the 2008 world economic crisis during this period. We break the sample period down into three sub-periods: Pre-crisis (2002-2007), mid-crisis (2008-2010), and post-crisis (2011-2013). The main results in this study are summarised as follows. First, operational efficiency was higher during the post-crisis period than in the pre-crisis period. Second, we observe that equity ownerships by the largest shareholder and board members are positively related to operational efficiency across the whole sample period. Third, manufacturing firms with more highly concentrated ownership had higher efficiency scores during the pre-crisis period. Fourth, firms with higher board member shareholdings were dedicated to improving operational efficiency during the crisis. Fifth, we discovered that foreign investors have positively influenced firms' operational efficiency after the 2008 economic crisis. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.