1. Introduction
This paper examines the relationship between corporate ownership structure in Korea and
the informativeness of earnings. Korean ownership structure is characterized by the dominance
of one primary owner. The dominant owner, typically a founder or his immediate family, holds
a significant number of shares—enough to be the largest shareholder but usually much less
than the majority holdings of a company—and controls the whole company. Using the
holdings of family and related companies, this control often extends over many companies in
different industries, forming a corporate group called chaebol. These owners usually participate
in the management of the firm, directly or indirectly, influencing most of the management
decisions. This management style lacks transparency and credibility, and is cited by investors
as the main source of economic inefficiency that led to the recent economic crisis in Korea.
We address three issues based on the owner–manager’s role and incentives. First, we
examine the relationship between holdings of the owner–largest shareholder and earnings
informativeness. There are two conflicting views about the informativeness of earnings when an
owner–manager dominates the management. One view is that, as Morck, Shleifer, and Vishny
(1988) claim, management entrenchment occurs, causing a moral hazard and informationasymmetry
problem between the owner and outside investors. Investment decisions are likely
made to maximize the (inside) owner’s wealth rather than that of outside shareholders. Outsiders
could find it difficult to monitor decisions; thus, the firm’s management appears less transparent
and credible. In such cases, investors and creditors could protect themselves by imposing more
contractual constraints on the firm. The owner, in turn, may use earnings management to respond
to these accounting constraints. This will reduce the quality of earnings and informativeness.
Another view, as Jensen and Meckling (1976) suggest, is that convergence of interest could
occur as the owner’s holdings increase, reducing agency costs. Reduction in agency costs
would be greater, the higher the holdings of the owner–largest shareholder. In this case, the
owner–largest shareholder behaves in a way to maximize firm value and impose fewer
contractual constraints on the firm. The owner will be less motivated to manage earnings,
resulting in higher earnings quality and informativeness.1