Factors influencing the performance of family controlled publicly-listed firms in Malaysia

While highly concentrated equity ownership of publicly-listed firms is a common phenomenon in most developing capital markets worldwide, the various factors that influence the performance of firms controlled specifically by family blockholders is only partially understood at present. Therefore, we scrutinize the many channels/means by which this distinctive phenomenon manifests itself. On the basis of data covering 84 of the largest Malaysian publicly-listed, family-controlled firms in 2008, we found that the performance of family-controlled firms are significantly influenced by characteristics such as ethnicity of controlling families (context-specific), nature of family involvement in firm management and presence of other blockholders.