This paper studies the impact of the features of the shareholder base on the performance of a large sample of Italian listed firms between 2007 and 2019, both within and across firms. We expand the empirical evidence on the relation between shareholder type and different dimensions of firm performance by dividing shareholders into six categories, and further differentiating between domestic and foreign investors. We provide extensive evidence on the relation between firm performance and different types of shareholders, showing how diverse performance metrics are correlated with the voting rights of specific types of shareholders. Consistent with previous studies, the picture that emerges from our analysis shows that the ownership structure of Italian listed companies is characterized by a high degree of concentration. In this context, we find that ownership concentration or the presence of a controlling shareholder is in general associated with better performance. Moreover, a positive relation exists between diverse firm performance metrics and the voting rights of family shareholders, founders and foreign investors, while government ownership is detrimental in the short-term.

本文研究了股东基础的特征对 2007 年至 2019 年间大量意大利上市公司的业绩影响，包括公司内部和公司间的影响。我们通过将股东分为六类并进一步区分国内外投资者，扩大了股东类型与公司绩效不同维度之间关系的实证证据。我们提供了关于公司绩效与不同类型股东之间关系的广泛证据，展示了不同的绩效指标如何与特定类型股东的投票权相关。与以往的研究一致，我们分析得出的图景表明，意大利上市公司的股权结构具有高度集中的特点。在这种情况下，我们发现所有权集中或控股股东的存在通常与更好的绩效相关。此外，不同的公司绩效指标与家族股东、创始人和外国投资者的投票权之间存在正相关关系，而政府所有权在短期内是有害的。