The effect of family firm on the credit rating: Evidence from Republic of Korea

Abstract

This study examined whether there were differences in the credit ratings of family firms, one type of business ownership and corporate governance in Korea. Credit rating agencies which evaluate a company’s ability to pay back the debt play a key role in evaluating corporate values in the capital market. A variety of standards are applied to evaluate corporate credit ratings. The corporate governance structure is also under consideration. Credit rating agencies may give excellent credit ratings to family firms if they judge that family companies have efficient governance structures resulting in lower agency costs as companies which try to match minority shareholders’ interests. On the other hand, they may give lower credit ratings to family firms if they judge that family firms have a negative impact on firm performance. In this context, this study planned to investigate how credit rating agencies constituting the mainstay in the evaluation of corporate values with analysts judged the roles of family firms which had been controversial in previous studies in the capital market, and present direct results.