This paper describes and considers explanations for changes in corporate governance and merger activity in the United … States since 1980. Corporate governance in the 1980s was dominated by intense merger activity distinguished by the prevalence … of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and hostility. After a brief decline in the early 1990s, substantial merger activity resumed …

We examine performance and management characteristics of Fortune 500 firms experiencing one of three types of control … change: internally precipitated management turnover, hostile takeover, and friendly takeover. We find that firms experiencing … internally precipitated management turnover perform poorly relative to other firms in their industries, but are not concentrated …

firms with more structured management practices, have substantially higher pay, both on average and across every percentile … management, suggesting this performance-pay relationship arises from more aggressive monitoring and incentive practices for top …

advanced management practices. Many of these practices - including monitoring, goal setting, and the use of incentives - are … unique data set that combines detailed survey data on the management practices of German manufacturing firms with … longitudinal earnings records for their employees to study the relationship between productivity, management, worker ability, and …