Ownership Structure and Firm Performance. A Panel Regression Study from Poland

This paper explores the relationship between ownership structure and firm performance, using the framework of agency theory. Given a sample of 126 Polish non-financial firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange between 2016-2021, we applied fixed and random effects panel regressions with robust standard errors, tested for specification, endogeneity, cross-sectional heteroskedasticity, and serial autocorrelation. Our models identify several significant associations of adopted ownership structures with firm performance measured by accounting and market-based measures. We find that ownership concentration by the largest shareholder is negatively related to enterprise market-measured performance. Additionally, our results indicate the significance of shareholder heterogeneity.