Family Ownership, Corporate Governance and Risk-Taking

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of family ownership and the characteristics of the board of directors on the risk assumed by Spanish non-financial companies. The sample consists of 176 Spanish non-financial companies listed on Spanish stock exchanges during the period 2012–2015. The results show that the level of family ownership concentration affects the level of exposure to risk non-linearly and confirms the importance of the characteristics of the board of directors in risk-taking.