Entrepreneurial risk taking, financial policy and the influence of outside CEO’s: A study of Norwegian family firms

Abstract

In this thesis we used a sample of Norwegian firms to investigate the effects on entrepreneurial risk taking from family ownership, as well as the effects on risk taking and leverage in family firms from employing an outside CEO. We initially test across firm variation in line with past research, followed by an analysis of within firm variation. Results are robustness checked through alternative ownership definitions and a difference in differences analysis of firms going through CEO transition. We find no conclusive evidence of outside CEOs causing different levels of risk or leverage in family firms. We do however find moderate evidence of family firms taking more entrepreneurial risk than their non-family counterparts, especially for higher concentrations of ultimate ownership.