Corporate governance and disclosure practices of listed firms having global exposure, such as subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) as well as domestic crosslisted firms, are different from firms having only domestic exposure. Domestic listed firms are listed only in the home country and are governed by the local environment of their home country. However, this may not be the case for globally-exposed firms as they are governed by the institutional, legal and regulatory environment of home country as well as the host country where they are listed. This study seeks to identify whether corporate governance and disclosure practices of MNC subsidiaries and cross-listed firms are significantly different, by studying a sample of firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, India, comprising MNC subsidiaries listed in India as well as cross-listed firms listed in the US/Europe. The research provides insight into the question of how a country’s institutional, legal and regulatory environment may influence the effectiveness of firm-level corporate governance mechanisms. The findings shed light on the governance and disclosure practices of MNC subsidiaries and crosslisted firms, in the legal institutional environment of India versus US/Europe.

Corporate governance and disclosure practices of listed firms having global exposure are different from firms having only domestic exposure. Domestic listed firms are listed in the home country only and are governed by local institutional environment of their home country as there is limited pressure on these firms to adapt to the local environment arising only from institutional, legal and regulatory environment of the home country. However, this may not be the case for firms globally exposed such as subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) as well as domestic cross-listed firms. Cross-listing involves a firm that is already trading on its home country’s stock exchange deciding to also list on an international exchange.

Prior research findings suggest that MNC subsidiaries and cross-listed firms have higher corporate governance and disclosure level as compared to domestic firms. The present study seeks to identify whether corporate governance and disclosure practices of MNC subsidiaries and cross-listed firms are significantly different, by studying a sample of firms from Indian stock market, comprising MNC subsidiaries listed in India as well as cross-listed firms listed in US/Europe. The research also looks into institutional, legal and regulatory environment of the US and Europe from the perspectives of corporate governance and disclosure practices, to examine whether they are significantly different for firms listed in those countries. The research findings shed light on the governance and disclosure practices of MNC subsidiaries and crosslisted firms in legal institutional environment of India versus US/Europe. The study helps us to understand whether cross-listed firms have better corporate governance and disclosure practices as compared to MNC subsidiaries or vice versa in the Indian context. It also identifies whether US listed firms disclose more as compared to Europe listed firms.

Corporate Governance Journal, Multinational Corporations (MNCs), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange (LSE), London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), Corporate Governance, Practices, MNC Subsidiaries, Cross-Listed Firms, Institutional Environment Perspective.