Does it pay to be employee-owned? On the performance of knowledge-intensive firms Binam Ghimire Employee Relations, 2025 PurposeThis paper aims to examine the stock market performance of knowledge-intensive employee-owned firms.Design/methodology/approachIt constructs a portfolio comprising stocks of employee-owned wealth management companies listed in the UK Employee Ownership Index. A simple equal-weighted portfolio simulation strategy with annual rebalancing is employed and returns are analysed for the period 01.2002–12.2015.FindingsThe employee-owned firms consistently generate significantly higher returns, averaging 13% per annum. During favourable market conditions, the returns are even more significant at 16.40% higher than the market average annual returns. The outperformance persists in single-year and five-year investment periods, full and sub-sample periods, including bullish, stable and challenging economic times and even at high transaction costs and zero dividends. This superior performance is linked to a positive feedback loop created by homogeneous knowledge-workers who are incentivised to perform better in employee-owned business setting through participative decision-making and exhibiting risk aversion skills.Practical implicationsAdoption of the employee ownership model of running a business can be highly rewarding within knowledge-intensive firms. This study emphasises the need for a comprehensive database of employee-owned companies, which is currently lacking in the UK.Originality/valueNo prior study could be found to have studied the relationship between employee-owned knowledge-intensive firms and their stock market performance.
When Bitcoin is high: cryptocurrency value, illicit markets and US marijuana bills Savva Shanaev, Efan Johnson, Mikhail Vasenin, Humnath Panta, Binam Ghimire Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, 2024 Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the implications of illicit market use for the value of Bitcoin in an event studies framework. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a data set of 58 state-level marijuana decriminalisation and legalisation bills and referenda in the USA in 2010–2022. Findings Decriminalisation is associated with a strong and consistent positive Bitcoin price response around the event, recreational legalisation induces a more ambiguous reaction and medical legalisation is found to have a negative albeit small impact on Bitcoin value. This suggests decriminalisation enhances shadow economy use value of Bitcoin, whereas recreational and medical legalisation are not consistently reducing illicit drug cryptomarket activity. The effects are robust to various estimation windows, in subsamples, and also when outliers, heavy tails, conditional heteroskedasticity and state size are accounted for. Originality/value New to the literature, the choice of US marijuana bills, specifically as sample events, is based on both theoretical and empirical grounds.
Analyst herding—whether, why, and when? Two new tests for herding detection in target forecast prices Binam Ghimire, Callum Reveley, Savva Shanaev, Humnath Panta Economics and Business Review, 2023 This study proposes two novel tests for security analyst herding based on binomial correlation and forecast error volatility scaling and applies it to investigate herding patterns in analyst target prices in 2008-2020 in the UK. Analysts robustly herd in their valuations, with results consistent across years, sectors, in panel fixed effect, quantile, instrumental variable regressions, and when controlled for optimism and conservatism. Herding becomes prominent for stocks followed by at least five analysts and towards the long sides of Fama-French sorts, reinforcing its non-spurious and behavioral nature. Analyst herd more strongly subject to low volatility and uncertainty.
ESG ratings in motion: the global market response to upgrades and downgrades M Vasenin, S Shanaev, H Panta, B Ghimire Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 1-23 , 2026 2026
Improved Computational Approach for Markowitz Portfolio Optimisation B Ghimire, S Shanaev The Future of Accounting and Finance: Embracing Technology, Digitalisation … , 2026 2026
What Shapes Gearing Strategy? Lessons from GCC Corporations M Qureshi, S Askary, B Ghimire The Future of Accounting and Finance: Embracing Technology, Digitalisation … , 2026 2026
When trade meets tradition: Unpacking cultural differences and their impact on China’s international trade B Yu, X Zhong, B Ghimire, N Sapkota International Review of Financial Analysis, 104488 , 2025 2025
Does it pay to be employee-owned? On the performance of knowledge-intensive firms B Ghimire Employee Relations: The International Journal 47 (2), 263-296 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Trade vs. tradition: Decoding cultural distance and its impact on China's international trade B Yu, X Zhong, B Ghimire, N Sapkota Available at SSRN 5126872 , 2025 2025
A Divergent Valuation Model for the Make-or-Buy Decision on Investments in Disruptive FinTech Innovation: An Incumbent’s Approach J Ruiz del Portal Tranche, B Ghimire Available at SSRN 5112702 , 2025 2025
When Bitcoin is high: cryptocurrency value, illicit markets and US marijuana bills S Shanaev, E Johnson, M Vasenin, H Panta, B Ghimire Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance 32 (4), 501-515 , 2024 2024 Citations: 3
Self-control and job-seeking behaviors among Nepalese Fresh Graduates SP Joshi, RK Dahal, B Ghimire, D Karki Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences 61 (2023), 826-836 , 2023 2023 Citations: 35
Analyst herding-whether, why, and when? Two new tests for herding detection in target forecast prices C Reveley, S Shanaev, Y Bin, H Panta, B Ghimire Economics and Business Review 9 (4), 25-55 , 2023 2023 Citations: 2
A Generalised Seasonality Test and Applications for Cryptocurrency and Stock Market Seasonality S Shanaev, B Ghimire Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 86, 172-185 , 2022 2022
A generalised seasonality test and applications for cryptocurrency and stock market seasonality S Shanaev, B Ghimire The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 86, 172-185 , 2022 2022 Citations: 18
When ESG meets AAA: The effect of ESG rating changes on stock returns S Shanaev, B Ghimire Finance Research Letters 46, 102302 , 2022 2022 Citations: 352
Effects of official versus online review ratings B Ghimire, S Shanaev, Z Lin Annals of Tourism Research 92, 103247 , 2022 2022 Citations: 23
A fitting return to fitting returns: Cryptocurrency distributions revisited S Shanaev, B Ghimire Available at SSRN 3847351 , 2021 2021 Citations: 13
Efficient scholars: academic attention and the disappearance of anomalies S Shanaev, B Ghimire The European Journal of Finance 27 (3), 278-304 , 2021 2021 Citations: 28
Children’s toy or grown-ups’ gamble? LEGO sets as an alternative investment S Shanaev, N Shimkus, B Ghimire, S Sharma The Journal of Risk Finance 21 (5), 577-620 , 2020 2020 Citations: 14
Market Reaction to CEO Turnover: Empirical Evidence from Fortune 500 Firms D Karki, B Ghimire Global Finance Review 2 (1), 615 , 2020 2020 Citations: 6
A generalised seasonality test and applications for stock market seasonality S Shanaev, B Ghimire Available at SSRN 3722154 , 2020 2020 Citations: 2
To Float or to Sink? Revisiting the Causal Effects of Exchange Rate Regimes A Shuraeva, S Shanaev, B Ghimire Revisiting the Causal Effects of Exchange Rate Regimes (June 22, 2020) , 2020 2020
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
When ESG meets AAA: The effect of ESG rating changes on stock returns S Shanaev, B Ghimire Finance Research Letters 46, 102302 , 2022 2022 Citations: 352
Taming the blockchain beast? Regulatory implications for the cryptocurrency Market S Shanaev, S Sharma, B Ghimire, A Shuraeva Research in International Business and Finance 51, 101080 , 2020 2020 Citations: 215
Is all politics local? Regional political risk in Russia and the panel of stock returns S Shanaev, B Ghimire Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance 21, 70-82 , 2019 2019 Citations: 89
An empirical investigation of Ivorian SMEs access to bank finance: Constraining factors at demand-level B Ghimire, R Abo Journal of finance and investment analysis 2 (4), 29-55 , 2013 2013 Citations: 78
The financial pandemic: COVID-19 and policy interventions on rational and irrational markets S Shanaev, A Shuraeva, B Ghimire Available at SSRN 3589557 , 2020 2020 Citations: 63
Credit sector reform and NRB BR Ghimire New Business Age, 47-49 , 2003 2003 Citations: 37
Socially responsible investment and market performance: The case of energy and resource companies J Brzeszczyński, B Ghimire, T Jamasb, G McIntosh The Energy Journal 40 (5), 17-72 , 2019 2019 Citations: 36
Self-control and job-seeking behaviors among Nepalese Fresh Graduates SP Joshi, RK Dahal, B Ghimire, D Karki Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences 61 (2023), 826-836 , 2023 2023 Citations: 35
Efficient scholars: academic attention and the disappearance of anomalies S Shanaev, B Ghimire The European Journal of Finance 27 (3), 278-304 , 2021 2021 Citations: 28
Effects of official versus online review ratings B Ghimire, S Shanaev, Z Lin Annals of Tourism Research 92, 103247 , 2022 2022 Citations: 23
A generalised seasonality test and applications for cryptocurrency and stock market seasonality S Shanaev, B Ghimire The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 86, 172-185 , 2022 2022 Citations: 18
Puzzles in the relationship between financial development and economic growth B Ghimire, G Giorgioni Journal of Applied Finance and Banking 3 (5), 199 , 2013 2013 Citations: 18
Children’s toy or grown-ups’ gamble? LEGO sets as an alternative investment S Shanaev, N Shimkus, B Ghimire, S Sharma The Journal of Risk Finance 21 (5), 577-620 , 2020 2020 Citations: 14
A fitting return to fitting returns: Cryptocurrency distributions revisited S Shanaev, B Ghimire Available at SSRN 3847351 , 2021 2021 Citations: 13
The marginal cost of mining, Metcalfe’s law and cryptocurrency value formation: Causal inferences from the instrumental variable approach S Shanaev, S Sharma, A Shuraeva, B Ghimire SSRN Electronic Journal , 2019 2019 Citations: 12
Finance and growth: an investigation into the role of internal, bank and equity finance B Ghimire, G Giorgioni Economics and Business Review 13 (2), 31-46 , 2013 2013 Citations: 11
Puzzles in financial development and economic growth B Ghimire, G Giorgioni Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, John Foster … , 2009 2009 Citations: 7
Market Reaction to CEO Turnover: Empirical Evidence from Fortune 500 Firms D Karki, B Ghimire Global Finance Review 2 (1), 615 , 2020 2020 Citations: 6
Explaining stock returns in Nepal: Application of single and multi-factor models D Karki, B Ghimire Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis 5 (3), 59-77 , 2016 2016 Citations: 6
Systematic risk determinants of stock returns after financial crisis: Evidence from United Kingdom VQ Trinh, D Karki, B Ghimire Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis 5 (1), 1-28 , 2016 2016 Citations: 5
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