Whither corporate financialization? A literature review

Abstract

In this paper, we review the burgeoning literature on the study of corporate financialization, distinguishing three strands of empirical, quantitative studies: (1) national-level and macro-comparative analysis, (2) sector-and firm-level analysis, and (3) econometric studies. We argue that corporations should be studied in their spatial organization.The spatial organization of the firm can be used to obscure corporate activity. Geography is not simply one of the many features of corporate structure but is key to it and therefore fundamental to shaping corporate financialization, although this is insufficiently expressed in accounting principles that provide consolidated accounts. Finally, we suggest four avenues for future studies: (1) to expand the geographical and temporal scope of research; (2) to pay close attention to how indicators are constructed; (3) to deconstruct large categories of analysis, such as 'financial assets'; (4) to systematically include liabilities in the analysis of non-financial corporations, especially in the face of the abundance of credit.

Firm foundations: The statistical footprint of multinational corporations as a problem for political economy

“…3.For a full list of studies using financial assets and financial income as independent variables, see Rabinovich (2019) and Klinge et al (2021).…”

The Global Wealth Chains of Private‐Equity‐Run Physician Practices

“…According to van der Zwan (2014), financialisation can be understood as a macro‐economic phenomenon (Krippner 2012), as the intervention of asset owners in corporate governance (Lazonick 2014; Klinge et al . 2021) or as the incorporation of diverse spheres of social reproduction, for example housing, education, health care or retirement provision by financial industry actors (Langley 2008).…”

“…Financialisation can be described as 'the increasing dominance of financial actors, markets, practices, measurements, and narratives, at various scales, resulting in a structural transformation of economies, firms (including financial institutions), states, and households' (Aalbers 2019, p. 3). According to van der Zwan (2014), financialisation can be understood as a macro-economic phenomenon (Krippner 2012), as the intervention of asset owners in corporate governance (Lazonick 2014;Klinge et al 2021) or as the incorporation of diverse spheres of social reproduction, for example housing, education, health care or retirement provision by financial industry actors (Langley 2008).…”

Does Institutional Investor Ownership Reduce Corporate Financialization? An Empirical Study for Chinese Enterprises

“…financialization of firms specifically non-financial corporations (NFCs) across countries and sectors has been studied as an empirical phenomenon with related comprehensive reviews [15]. Thus, it is vital to argue that the corporate financialization combining different indicators may be toward a more shareholder-oriented and market-driven corporate governance model [15][16][17].…”