Effect of foreign ownership and family ownership on the value of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria

Abstract

The persistent underperformance of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria relative to their peers in comparable emerging markets raises fundamental questions about the governance structures that underpin their operations. This study examines the effect of foreign ownership and family ownership on the value of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria for the period 2021-2025. Employing a panel data methodology, fixed effects and random effects estimations were applied to a sample of 37 companies drawn from the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). Tobin's Q was adopted as the proxy for firm value. The study finds that foreign ownership exerts a positive and statistically significant effect on firm value, suggesting that foreign investors contribute monitoring efficiency and superior corporate governance practices. Family ownership, however, exhibits a positive but statistically insignificant influence on firm value, indicating that familycontrolled firms may provide some stability though without a decisive value impact. Firm size, used as a control variable, shows a negative and significant relationship with firm value, consistent with the bureaucratic inefficiency hypothesis. The study recommends deliberate policies that attract foreign portfolio and institutional investors while encouraging family-owned firms to adopt stronger governance structures. The findings contribute to the growing literature on ownership structure and corporate value in Sub-Saharan Africa.