haku: @author Zattoni, A. / yhteensä: 7
viite: 3 / 7
| Tekijä: | Zattoni, A. Minichilli, A. |
| Otsikko: | The diffusion of equity incentive plans in Italian listed companies: what is the trigger? |
| Lehti: | Corporate governance
2009 : MAR, VOL. 17:2, p. 224-237 |
| Asiasana: | Italy corporate governance stock ownership planning empirical research equities |
| Kieli: | eng |
| Tiivistelmä: | Recent development in the institutional and market environment eased the propagation of equity incentive planning outside the US and the UK. This article illuminates the reasons behind the diffusion of these plans in Italy, where companies are usually controlled by a blockholder and these instruments lack almost totally. Data was collected on both the diffusion and the technical aspects of equity incentive plans made by Italian listed companies in 1999 and 2005. The results imply that 1) firm size is the determinant of their adoption, rather than the absence of a controlling shareholder 2) these plans are not extensively used in extracting company value, even though few cases indicate this possibility 3) plans' characteristics generally comply with the tax law requirements, making fiscal benefits accessible. The findings contribute to the broadening of the traditional knowledge about the reasons behind the adoption of equity incentive plans outside Anglo-Saxon countries. They also provide support for a symbolic perspective of corporate governance, according to which introducing new governance practices may not imply significant governance reforms. We recommend policymakers to improve the disclosure rules about these plans and avoid the introduction of fiscal benefits providing an incentive to promote certain compensation schemes over others. Moreover, we encourage members of remuneration committees to consider specific characteristics of the plans. |
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