Family Ownership and Payout Policy : A Study of Ownership and Dividend Policies in Swedish Firms

Sammanfattning: Ownership structure is referenced as one of the key determinants of policy decisions and corporate governance of companies however suggested implications of different structures part in previous research. This study investigates the relationship between different ownership structures and dividend policy decisions taken by a firm and sets out to identify how family ownership in specific differs from other ownership structures. The study follows a framework based on a number of postulated hypothesis based on previous findings of similar investigations and applies it to a Swedish setting. A model is constructed consisting of variables describing ownership, financial and market conditions in Swedish firms from the period 2010-2019. Some, yet sparse, evidence is found indicating differences in dividend policy can be derived from differences in ownership, yet results clarify dividend policy decisions are based on a complex set of conditions not easily captured in a single model.