Prior literature shows that choices regarding board composition are associated with earnings management. We add to this literature by examining the effects of the presence of a foreign board member on earnings management. Using a sample of 3,249 firm-year observations representing 586...

We use the special case of Finland to analyze the role of nomination committees on board diversity and composition. We compare board diversity in two types of firms: firms with a nomination committee composed of board members, and firms where the (usually three) largest shareholders choose a...

This paper examines the impact of independent director busyness on firm value in a setting that addresses a key challenge that the board of directors is an endogenously determined institution. We use the deaths of directors and CEOs as a natural experiment to generate exogenous variation in the...

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act” into federal law, which increased the oversight role for independent directors. The induced consequence was that firms which did not satisfy the requirements of the regulation must improve their board independence level. This...

We examine the value impact of independent directors nominated by activists (Activist IDs). Firms appointing Activist IDs experience larger value increases than firms appointing other directors, particularly when Activist IDs have private firm experience and when their nominators remain as...

The board of directors plays an important role in corporate governance. It is an internal mechanism that controls and monitors the actions of managers and aligns the utility functions between corporate owners and managers. The board of directors performs multiple functions that concern, for...

Executives trade more profitably and opportunistically over the course of the tenure of independent directors (IDs). IDs' increased connections with and hence allegiance to executives are likely the channel through which ID tenure can affect executive trading. Executive opportunism is mitigated...

We examine overconfident CEO directors and find they attend more board meetings, are more likely to serve on the nominating or the compensation committee, have more independent directorships, and foster higher attendance rates on boards. Boards with overconfident directors are more likely to...

Elements of corporate governance must be activated at all scales for the efficient functioning of a nation‘s capital market. The effectiveness of the board of directors depends on factors related to, for example, the composition of the board and its independence. This study aims to investigate...