Finance - ECON-09/A

The research group conducts research in areas broadly related to corporate investment and financing decisions, including corporate governance, corporate ownership, corporate events, corporate risk management, and entrepreneurial finance. Our work spans all firm types, from widely-held publicly traded firms to family firms, start-ups, and SMEs. Our main research areas are detailed below.

Corporate ownership and corporate governance

We study how various aspects of corporate ownership and governance impact shareholder value, the interests of other stakeholders (e.g., customers, suppliers, employees, and local communities), and the financing decisions of firms. Our research in this area includes examining the role of investor characteristics, the determinants of decisions made by individual and institutional investors, and the relevance of board characteristics (including diversity and cultural traits).

Corporate valuation and corporate events

We study the major corporate events that may occur during a company’s lifecycle, such as initial public offerings (IPOs), mergers and acquisitions (M&As), debt restructurings, divestitures, and spin-offs. Our research in this area includes analyzing the characteristics of IPOs, the timing and determinants of M&As, and the choices surrounding debt restructuring during periods of corporate distress. Additionally, we explore the application of real options techniques to corporate valuation.

Corporate risk management

We examine how companies address their exposure to financial risks (e.g., commodity, interest rate, and currency) as well as non-financial risks (e.g., reputational), and study the impact of their risk management policies on stakeholders. In the context of non-financial risks, we also investigate how firms measure and manage their exposure to climate-related and ESG-related risks.

Sustainable finance

We investigate the challenges and opportunities arising from ESG- and climate-related disclosures, regulations, and investors’ appetite, as well as the corporate responses in terms of investment and financing choices. With respect to corporate financing, we study sustainable and climate-specific financial instruments.

Entrepreneurial finance

We investigate the funding of seed and early-stage ventures by examining both “conventional” means, such as business angels and venture capitalists, and more recent alternatives, such as equity crowdfunding and P2P lending.

Behavioral finance

We study how psychological factors, cognitive biases, and cultural traits can influence a wide range of financial decisions, including the behavior of investors, the choices of managers, and the decisions made by entrepreneurs. In the context of firms, we then explore how these decisions impact firm value.