This study develops and tests predictions regarding factors that influence early-stage CEO evaluation. We suggest that contextual elements of the CEO succession process will influence the heuristics directors employ to aid in their early evaluation of a CEO because traditional performance...

We develop and test a novel theory about strategic noise with regard to CEO appointments. Strategic noise is an anticipatory and preemptive form of impression management. At the time it announces a new CEO, a board of directors seeks to manage stakeholder impressions by at the same time...

Prior research suggests that: (1) politically active firms have an information advantage over firms that do not engage in the political process, but also that (2) politically active firms are more likely to disclose policy-related information. We examine whether there are externalities...

We examine whether politically active firms play a role in disseminating political information via their management guidance. We use multiple proxies based on campaign financing activity or the presence of a government affairs office to capture whether a firm is politically active. We find that...

Despite the rising use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, there is substantial disagreement across rating agencies regarding what rating to give to individual firms. As what drives this disagreement is unclear, we examine whether a firm’s ESG disclosure helps explain some...

Evidence suggests a large proportion of profitable U.S. firms have low effective tax rates (i.e., an ETR between 0 and 10 percent). Despite widespread interest in how firms avoid paying taxes, we do not know how most firms attain low ETRs and whether they are primarily benefiting from benign or...

We examine whether firms’ political hedging activities are effective at mitigating political risk. Focusing on the risk induced by partisan politics, we measure political hedging as the degree to which firms’ political connections are balanced across Republican and Democratic candidates. We...

Financial statement fraud generates many negative effects, including reducing people’s willingness to participate in the stock market. If it also stigmatizes accounting, it may similarly adversely affect the quantity and quality of workers willing to become accountants, thereby potentially...

Prior research suggests that: (1) politically active firms have an information advantage over firms that do not engage in the political process, but also that (2) politically active firms are more likely to disclose policy-related information. We examine whether there are externalities...

The Behavioral Theory of the Firm suggests that performance below an aspiration triggers problemistic search that can lead to organizational change and risk-taking. This compelling perspective has spawned considerable empirical examination of diverse strategic outcomes as firms’ responses to...