3.4 Measurement of variables
3.4.1 Dependent variable
Firm performance is the dependent variable of
inquiry in this study. Consistent with most prior
research on family ownership, this study uses both
the accounting and stock market indexes to measure
firm performance. With regard to the accounting
measure, two indexes are used. First, the average
annual rate of profit after tax but before interest on
total assets (namely, ROA1) for the years 2002–2006
is used. According to Chang and Choi (1988), this
measure is more accurate for the determination of
operating efficiency because in most developing
countries the capital markets are imperfect and the
debt-equity ratio is usually high. Second, as suggested
by Anderson and Reeb (2003), a 5-year
average of the net income scaled by the book value
of total assets to construct ROA (namely, ROA2) is
also used.