The Agency Cost Effects of Unionization on Firm Value

Using a sample of 99 New Zealand stock-exchange-listed firms we employ agency framework and strategy typology to examine whether introduction of unionization legislation affects value of prospector firms more negatively than defender firms. The results from this examination indicate that firms characterized by strategy of higher Growth-Diversity and Innovation-Risk (prospector firms) experience greater loss in value. We attribute the results to the higher agency costs associated with the strategies adopted by prospector firms. The results hold after controlling for variables such as size, industry membership, labor intensity, and proportion of unionized workers.