We gather data from 77 current mid-level managers and 111 future entry-level managers, to investigate how they value stock options and restricted stock. We refer to our current and future manager groups collectively as quot;managers.quot; We supplement our manager data with a dozen field...

We estimate the relation between top 5 executive stock option (ESO) grants and future earnings to examine whether incentive alignment or rent extraction by top managers explains option granting behavior. The future operating income associated with a dollar of Black-Scholes value of an ESO grant...

Although agency theory suggests that firms ought to index executive compensation to remove market-wide effects (i.e., RPE), there is little evidence to support this theory. Oyer (2004) posits that absence of RPE is optimal if the CEO's reservation wages from outside employment opportunities rise...

We estimate the relation between stock option (ESO) grants to the top five executives and future earnings to examine whether incentive alignment or rent extraction by top managers explains option granting behavior. The future operating income associated with a dollar of Black-Scholes value of an...

A distinctive feature of stock options is that they create incentives for managers to take risks. For a sample of 6,439 CEO-year observations over 1992-1999, we find that risk-taking incentives offered by CEO's stock options (the sensitivity of ESO values to stock return volatility) are...

Although agency theory suggests that firms ought to index executive compensation to remove market-wide effects (i.e., RPE), there is little evidence to support this theory. Oyer (2004) posits that absence of RPE is optimal if the CEO's reservation wages from outside employment opportunities rise...

We examine whether executive stock options (ESO) encourage managers to make risky investments on behalf of shareholders. For a sample of oil and gas producers, we find, as predicted, that the variance of cash flows from exploration activity and the extent of price risk exposure hedged are...

This paper examines the decision to exercise employee stock options (ESOs). Our results indicate a positive relation between the extent of quot;earlyquot; exercise and the unhedged risk of the option. Specifically we document a positive relation between the variance of ESO returns and the extent...

This paper examines the decision to exercise employee stock options (ESOs). Our results indicate a positive relation between the extent of quot;earlyquot; exercise and the unhedged risk of the option. Specifically we document a positive relation between the variance of ESO returns and the extent...

We examine whether executive stock options (ESOs) provide managers with incentives to invest in risky projects. For a sample of oil and gas producers, we examine whether the coefficient of variation of future cash flows from exploration activity (our proxy for exploration risk) increases with...