Corporate governance and firm value: An empirical investigation of the wine companies

Abstract

The present empirical paper aims to investigate the effect of a long-term company culture in terms of economic performance and firm value. Is it possible to track the cumulative knowledge (passed from father to son) into firm economic returns? The survey tests the hypothesis that the more experienced companies (higher firm age) will perform better than the others considering a set of performance indicators on a four years pattern (from firm value to EVA and VAIC). Comparing firm longevity with the performance indicators, but also monitoring many other corporate governance or ownership indicators, on a panel dataset of the top Italian wine companies. This methodology results in a deep analysis of the Italian wine business – family buy-out strategies, cooperatives. Family firms represent 42% of the panel, with more than 200 years of experience, a larger presence of women on board, a higher average age of the directors and a higher propensity to the production of grapes. The research findings support the hypothesis that a family firm add value over the generations through generating an internal cumulative knowledge process and a strong brand image. In addition, the presence of an external CEO is positively influencing performance (the Most Trusted Advisor). Firm value increases along with the number of family members within the board, to support the family logic and the social capital theories. “Corporate Governance: Search for the Advanced Practices” Rome, February 28, 2019