Abstract
The study examines how multiple types of owners on boards of listed firms influence the dividend payout decisions of firm according to their distinct social context. Using sample of non-financial firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange, we employed 3385 firm-year observations over the period 2012-2022. We used ordinary least squares regression method to test the hypotheses and further employed system generalized method of moments and two stage least squares method to validate our results. Using the framework of agency theory and social identity theory, we report that family ownership, corporate ownership, and institutional ownership are positively associated with the dividend payout, whereas, lone founder ownership and state ownership are negatively related to dividend payout in our sample firms. Moreover, we found that the agency conflict (principal-principal) moderates all the relationships in the same direction, except in the case of institutional ownership where we found statistically insignificant results. While the empirical literature assumes the owners on the corporate board as a homogenous group, our study adds to the ownership literature by providing the empirical evidence of ownership heterogeneity and their varying influence on firm’s dividend payout decisions.