Empirical analysis of the determinants of CEO compensation has been mostly carried out in a
single-country context, usually in the US or the UK. A large number of studies have focused on
firm-specific determinants of CEO compensation and how CEO compensation is related to firm
performance and governance characteristics in US companies. In this paper, we examine various
aspects of CEO compensation by using a large sample of 14 Continental European countries over
the period from 2001 to 2008. Given the prevalence of concentrated ownership structures in
Continental Europe where families own large, and often controlling equity stakes in listed firms,
it is important to understand how CEO incentives and compensation packages differ from those
in the US and the UK, where most listed firms are widely held, and concentrated ownership by
families is relatively rare.