Corporate Financialization in Brazil: The "Big Three" Blockholders and Horizontal Ownership
PDF (English)

Palabras clave

financialization
institutional investors;
horizontal ownership
Brazilian economy

Cómo citar

Vicente Gonçalves da Cruz, W., & Sacomano Neto, M. (2024). Corporate Financialization in Brazil: The "Big Three" Blockholders and Horizontal Ownership. RBGN Revista Brasileira De Gestão De Negócios, 26(03). https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v26i03.4273

Resumen

Purpose – Institutional investing has grown at an unprecedented rate in recent decades. Three major firms dominate the industry worldwide: BlackRock, Vanguard Group and State Street, or the "Big Three." This study investigates the strategy of blockholders in the ownership of companies operating in the Brazilian economy from the perspective of strategic action field theory. 

Theoretical framework – The growth of international institutional investors as shareholders in the corporate market is associated with the strengthening of the financialization process. Strategic action field theory allows the study of conflict and cooperation relationships between actors in economic and business contexts, as well as changes in these fields. 

Design/methodology/approach – This study proposes an exploratory and descriptive analysis using a sample of 200 large companies operating in Brazil. Also, Pearson's correlation measures and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) were calculated to understand the relationships between shareholding variables and investments in sectors of activity. 

Findings – These institutional investors are present in most of the equity positions and the results suggest horizontal ownership investments in the portfolio of the "Big Three" in the large companies operating in Brazil. Their investment portfolios are focused on industries and segments with high economic value through horizontal ownership.   

Practical & social implications of research – The actions of these three major investors affect aspects of corporate governance and influence the economy as a whole. 

Originality/value – This article presents an original analysis of the investments of the "Big Three" as shareholders in companies operating in Brazil. This paper also addresses the intensification of the phenomenon of financialization and its links with the emergence of institutional investors as shareholders in large companies. 

https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v26i03.4273
PDF (English)

Citas

Aalbers, M.B. (2019). Financialization. In: D. Richardson, N. Castree, M.F. Goodchild, A.L. Kobayashi and R. Marston (Eds). The International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology. Oxford: Wiley

Abdi, H., & Béra, M. (2014). Correspondence Analysis.

B3. (2022). Bolsa de valores brasileira B3. Available at: https://www.b3.com.br/pt_br/

Barman, E. (2016). Varieties of Field Theory and the Sociology of the Nonprofit Sector. Sociology Compass, 10(6), 442-458

Bebchuk, L. A., & Hirst, S. (2019). The specter of the giant three (No. w25914). National Bureau of Economic Research

Ben-David, I., Franzoni, F., & Moussawi, R. (2016). Exchange traded funds (ETFs) (No. w22829). National Bureau of Economic Research

Bonizzi, B. (2013). Capital flows to emerging markets: institutional investors and the post-crisis environment. In 17th FMM conference of the research network macroeconomics and macroeconomic policies, Berlin

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J.G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood.

Bourdieu, P. (1990). In other words: Essays toward a reflexive sociology. Stanford University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1998). The state nobility: Elite schools in the field of power. Stanford University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1999). Scattered remarks. European Journal of Social Theory, 2(3), 334-340.

Bourdieu, P. (2005). The social structures of the economy. Polity.

Braun, B., & Christophers, B. (2024). Asset manager capitalism: An introduction to its political economy and economic geography. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 56(2), 546-557. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X241227743

Bruno, M., & Caffe, R. (2017). Estado e financeirização no Brasil: interdependências macroeconômicas e limites estruturais ao desenvolvimento. Economia e Sociedade, 26(SPE), 1025-1062

Bruno, M., Diawara, H., Araújo, E., Reis, A. C., & Rubens, M. (2011). Finance Led Growth Regime no Brasil: estatuto teórico, evidências empíricas e consequências macroeconômicas. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, 31, 730-750.

Caixe, D. F., & Krauter, E. (2013). A influência da estrutura de propriedade e controle sobre o valor de mercado corporativo no Brasil. Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, 24, 142-153.

Converse, N., Levy-Yeyati, E. L., & Williams, T. (2020). How ETFs amplify the global financial cycle in emerging markets. FRB International Finance Discussion Paper, (1268)

Cremers, M., Ferreira, M. A., Matos, P., & Starks, L. (2016). Indexing and active fund management: International evidence. Journal of Financial Economics, 120(3), 539-560.

Cruz, W. V. G., Neto, M. S., & Ribeiro, E. M. S. (2023). Corporate ownership network: The hierarchical capitalism in the Brazilian context. RAE - Revista de Administraçao de Empresas , [S. l.], v. 63, n. 2, p. e2021–0684, 2023. DOI: 10.1590/S0034-759020230202. Available at: https://periodicos.fgv.br/rae/article/view/89001. Accessed on: May 27, 2024.

Davis, G. F. (2008). A new finance capitalism? Mutual funds and ownership reconcentration in the United States. European Management Review, 5(1), 11-21.

Davis, G. F., & Kim, S. (2015). Financialization of the economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 203-221.

Dowbor, L. (2018). A era do capital improdutivo: nova arquitetura do poder-dominação financeira, sequestro da democracia e destruição do planeta. Editora Autonomía Literária ltda-me.

Edmans, A. (2014). Blockholders and corporate governance. Annu. Rev. Financ. Econ., 6(1), 23-50.

Edmans, A., & Holderness, C. G. (2017). Blockholders: A survey of theory and evidence. The handbook of the economics of corporate governance, 1, 541-636.

Elhauge, E. (2015). Horizontal shareholding. Harv. L. Rev., 129, 1267.

Ellersgaard, C. H., Larsen, A. G., & Munk, M. D. (2013). A very economic elite: The case of the Danish top CEOs. Sociology, 47(6), 1051-1071.

Epstein, G. A. (2005). Financialization and the world economy. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Fichtner, J. (2020). The rise of institutional investors. The Routledge international handbook of financialization, 265-275

Fichtner, J., & Heemskerk, E. M. (2020). The new permanent universal owners: Index funds, patient capital, and the distinction between feeble and forceful stewardship. Economy and Society, 49(4), 493-515.

Fichtner, J., Heemskerk, E. M. and Garcia-Bernardo, J., (2017). Hidden power of the Big Three? Passive index funds, re-concentration of corporate ownership, and new financial risk. Business and Politics, 19(2): pp. 298–326

Fligstein, N. (2007). Habilidade social e a teoria dos campos. Revista de Administração de Empresas, 47, 61-80.

Fligstein, N., & Goldstein, A. (2022). The Legacy of Shareholder Value Capitalism. Annual Review of Sociology, 48

Fligstein, N., & McAdam, D. (2012). A theory of fields. Oxford University Press.

Fligstein, N., & Shin, T. J. (2007). ‘Shareholder Value and the Transformation of American Industries, 1984–2001. Department of Sociology, University of Berkeley, September

Freedman, L. (2018). Does strategic studies have a future. Strategy in the contemporary world 6th edition, 404-420.

Gennari, A. M. (2002). Globalização, neoliberalismo e abertura econômica no Brasil nos anos 90. Pesquisa & Debate Revista do Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Economia Política, 13(1 (21)).

Griffin, C. N. (2020). Margins: Estimating the influence of the Big Three on shareholder proposals. SMU L. Rev., 73, 409

Harvey, C., Yang, R., Mueller, F., & Maclean, M. (2020). Bourdieu, strategy and the field of power. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 73, 102199.

Husu, H. M. (2022). Rethinking incumbency: Utilising Bourdieu's field, capital, and habitus to explain energy transitions. Energy Research & Social Science, 93, 102825.

Kahan, M., & Rock, E. B. (2020). Index funds and corporate governance: Let shareholders be shareholders. BUL Rev., 100, 1771

Kaltenbrunner, A., & Painceira, J. P. (2018). Subordinated financial integration and financialisation in emerging capitalist economies: The Brazilian experience. New political economy, 23(3), 290-313.

Kay, J. (2016). Other People's Money: Masters of the Universe or Servants to the People? London: Profile Books

Kluttz, D. N., & Fligstein, N. (2016). Varieties of sociological field theory. Handbook of contemporary sociological theory, 185-204

Konijn, S. J., Kräussl, R., & Lucas, A. (2011). Blockholder dispersion and firm value. Journal of Corporate Finance, 17(5), 1330-1339

Lavinas, L., Araújo, E., & Bruno, M. (2017). Brasil: vanguarda da financeirização entre os emergentes. Uma análise exploratória. Rio de Janeiro

Lazonick, W. & O’Sullivan, M., (2000). Maximizing Shareholder Value. A New Ideology for Corporate Governance. Economy and Society, 29(1), pp. 13–35

Lazonick, W. (2017). The new normal is “maximizing shareholder value”: Predatory value extraction, slowing productivity, and the vanishing American middle class. International Journal of Political Economy, 46(4), 217-226

Lê, S., Josse, J., & Husson, F. (2008). FactoMineR: an R package for multivariate analysis. Journal of statistical software, 25, 1-18.

Marconi, M. D. A., & Lakatos, E. M. (2003). Fundamentos de metodologia científica. 5. ed. São Paulo: Atlas

MarketScreener. (2022). MarketScreener. Available at: https://www.marketscreener.com

Miranda, B. P. J., Crocco, M. A., & Santos, F. B. (2017). Financeirização e governança corporativa: Um estudo sobre a estrutura de controle das empresas não-financeiras do Novo Mercado da BM&FBovespa. Brazilian Keynesian Review, 3(1), 75-94.

Morettin, P. A., & Bussab, W. O. (2010). Estatística básica. 6 ed. Saraiva Educação AS

Navarro, Z. (2006). In search of a cultural interpretation of power: The contribution of

Pierre Bourdieu. IDS bulletin, 37(6), 11-22.

Nenadic O., & Greenacre, M. (2007). “Correspondence Analysis in R, with two- and three-dimensional graphics: The ca package.” Journal of Statistical Software, 20(3), 1-13. http://www.jstatsoft.org.

Neto, M. S., do Carmo, M. J., Ribeiro, E. M. S., & Cruz, W. V. G. (2020). Corporate ownership network in the automobile industry: Owners, shareholders and passive investment funds. Research in Globalization, 2, 100016.

Platt, A. I. (2019). Index Fund Enforcement. UC Davis L. Rev., 53, 1453

R Project. (2024). The R Project for Statistical Computing. Available at: https://www.r-project.org/

Rajasekar, D., & Verma, R. (2013). Research methodology. Archers & Elevators Publishing House.

Rodrigues, C. H. L., & Jurgenfeld, V. F. (2019). Desnacionalização e financeirização: um estudo sobre as privatizações brasileiras (de Collor ao primeiro governo FHC). Economia e Sociedade, 28, 393-420

Sawyer, M. (2013). What is financialization? International journal of political economy, 42(4), 5-18.

Sedgwick, P. (2012). Pearson’s correlation coefficient. BMJ, 345.

Thiry-Cherques, H. R. (2006). Pierre Bourdieu: a teoria na prática. Revista de Administração Pública, 40, 27-53.

Useem, M. (1999). Investor capitalism: How money managers are changing the face of corporate America: Basic Books

Valor Econômico. (2020). Jornal Valor Econômico - Ranking 1000 maiores. Available at: https://especial.valor.com.br/valor1000/2020/ranking1000maiores

Van der Zwan, N. (2014). Making sense of financialization. Socio-economic review, 12(1), 99-129.

Voss, D. (2024). Sectors versus borders: interest group cleavages and struggles over corporate governance in the age of asset management. Socio-Economic Review, mwad072.

 

Una vez aprobada la publicación del artículo, el/los autor/es cede/n los derechos de copyright a la Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios – RBGN.

Es OBLIGATORIO que los autores envíen a la RBGN el formulario de Cesión de Derechos de Autor debidamente cumplimentado y firmado según el modelo: [Derechos de autor]

Las condiciones de la Cesión de Derechos de Autor indican que la Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios – RBGN goza a título gratuito y en carácter definitivo de los derechos de autor patrimoniales de los artículos publicados por ella. A pesar de la Cesión de los Derechos de Autor, la RBGN faculta a los autores al uso de estos derechos sin restricciones.

Los autores se responsabilizan de los textos publicados en la RBGN.

La RBGN adopta el modelo de licencia CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, permitiendo la redistribución y reutilización de los artículos garantizando que la autoría esté debidamente acreditada.