Title: Corporate ownership and governance practices in Canada: a longitudinal study

Authors: Richard Bozec; Mohamed Dia; Yves Bozec

Addresses: Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa, 55 Laurier E, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada ' School of Commerce and Administration, Laurentian University, Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6, Canada ' HEC Montreal, 3000 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal (Québec) H3T 2A7, Canada

Abstract: The objective of this study is to analyse convergence of corporate governance in Canada in a period characterised by high financial uncertainty (1999-2008). The methodological strength of this study resides in the combination of a longitudinal approach with a multilevel analysis, focusing on both governance practices and ownership structure. Our results show that ownership structure and control did not change over time. Canadian firms remained controlled by an ultimate shareholder who often is in a position to enjoy all of the private benefits of control while internalising only a small fraction of the costs. However, corporate governance practices converged toward a US model over the period under investigation, overall lending support to functional convergence, not formal convergence.

Keywords: corporate governance; ownership structure; excess control; formal convergence; functional convergence; Canada; financial uncertainty.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2013.055176

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2013 Vol.4 No.1, pp.51 - 73

Received: 30 May 2013
Accepted: 30 May 2013
Published online: 04 Mar 2014 *

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