Share repurchase: a review of the literature

This study aims to synthesise and analyse the existing literature on share repurchases. It summarises the key findings and identifies the potential research gaps in the extant literature. A pool of 206 research articles are chosen based on relevance and impact from a variety of reputed databases spanning over 1981-2020. The authors use the guideline of Templier and Pare (2015) and follow the narrative approach of literature review which consists of gathering and synthesising existing literature on share buyback. The diverse strands of literature on buyback are classified based on different research themes. The results indicate a paucity of research on share buyback in emerging markets (e.g., India and China). Overall, the research in the following areas is found to be sparse: buyback and firm's reputation and the wealth effect of buyback on bondholders. The impact of executive reward schemes post buyback and presence of industry effect remains largely untapped.