Corporate Governance and Disclosure Practices in India: MNC Subsidiaries versus Domestic Cross-Listed Firms

This research intend to investigate empirically whether MNC subsidiaries have better corporate governance and disclosure policies compared to domestic cross-listed firms from the Indian perspectives. Using firms across different sectors listed in Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), this research aims to analyze difference in corporate governance and disclosure practices among firms owned by foreign owner (MNC subsidiaries) and local owner (domestic cross-listed firms). The findings can shed light on the governance and disclosure practices of MNC subsidiaries and domestic cross-listed firms, in different legal institutional environments. Several scholars have worked on the corporate governance and disclosure practices of domestic firms as well as MNCs subsidiaries listed in India. But comparisons between MNCs subsidiaries and cross-listed firms have received very little attention. The question is whether cross-listed firms listed abroad (US/Europe) will have different behavior in their disclosure policies compared to subsidiaries of MNCs. This study focuses on this direction and aims to analyze difference in corporate governance and disclosure practices among MNC subsidiaries and cross-listed firms as well as cross-listing in US versus Europe. This research indicates that subsidiaries of MNCs and cross-listed firms have statistical significant difference in corporate governance and disclosure practices. The study also found that due to different institutional and legal requirements, the domestic cross-listed firms disclose more information than MNCs subsidiaries listed only in host country.