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4 - Germany

from Part II - Central European Countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

Klaus Gugler
Affiliation:
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Evgeni Peev
Affiliation:
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
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Summary

This chapter presents evidence on ownership and control in Germany. Ownership concentration dropped in the large German companies in the past few decades. Yet it remained relatively higher than in their counterparts in the Anglo-American world. There was a remarkable increase in the number of companies with dispersed ownership. Yet the widely held companies accounted for only 20% of the top 20 firms, 17% of the top 100 and about 21% of listed companies in 2018–2019. A few other patterns of ownership change have been documented: a decline in the share of other German companies (non-financial and holding companies), domestic banks and insurance companies, and the state as largest shareholders, and the rise of foreign investors. The role of families as key largest shareholders has varied by company size. The chapter also discusses the determinants of corporate ownership persistence and why the forces of path dependence stemming from the German national system of ‘coordinated market economy’ appear to be more powerful than the pressure coming from global markets and legal reforms in the 1990s.

Type
Chapter
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The European Corporation
Ownership and Control after 25 Years of Corporate Governance Reforms
, pp. 84 - 107
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Germany
  • Edited by Klaus Gugler, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business , Evgeni Peev, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Book: The European Corporation
  • Online publication: 01 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009244640.007
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Germany
  • Edited by Klaus Gugler, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business , Evgeni Peev, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Book: The European Corporation
  • Online publication: 01 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009244640.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Germany
  • Edited by Klaus Gugler, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business , Evgeni Peev, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Book: The European Corporation
  • Online publication: 01 June 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009244640.007
Available formats
×