Determinants of ownership concentration in public firms: The importance of firm-, industry- and country-level factors

Abstract

We analyze the relative importance of firm-, industry-, and country-level factors as determinants of the level of ownership concentration of firms. We apply hierarchical linear models to a sample of 900 firms from nine countries. Our models explain up to 28% of the variance in ownership concentration. The results show that firm- and country-level factors influence ownership concentration far more strongly than industry-level factors do. The institutional context in which companies operate has a relatively large effect on ownership concentration. Our results should spark further multi-level research on the relationship between environmental factors on the country level and the allocation of ownership rights.