Using the recent events at AIG as a case‐study, the paper tests the efficacy of the framework of contemporary corporate governance – namely, the monitoring role assigned to the boards of public corporations and an emphasis on director independence. The article refers to statutory filings,...

The existence of ambiguity presents a challenge to decision-makers as it eliminates the ability to apply standard optimization approaches, such as those based on calculating the objective expected values of alternative actions. In reality, ambiguity arises in most strategically important...

We examine the effect of competition shocks induced by major industry-level tariff cuts on forced CEO turnover. Both the likelihood of forced CEO turnover and its sensitivity to performance increase, particularly for firms with low productivity and high default risk. While CEO's incentive pay...

The relationship between exorbitant chief executive officer (CEO) compensation and weak performance has been widely criticised as an abuse of managerial power and the intrusion of agency problems. This study examines whether the agency problem of free cash flow (FCF), identified by Jensen...

While the literature appeals to efficiency arguments from agency theory to explain the relative rise of CEO equity compensation, prior work has given less focus to CEO pay contracts based on equity and cash incentives that directly (analytically) maximize the total return of firm owners. The...

We investigate the association between risk-taking incentives provided by stock-based compensation arrangements and non-GAAP financial disclosures. Controlling for compensation to stock price sensitivity, we find that managers with higher compensation to stock volatility sensitivity (vega) are...

We investigate an emerging pay-performance activism under a natural setting of performance-focused shareholder proposals rule (PSPs) (Rule 14a-8) established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for top management compensation. We find that: (1) PSP sponsors successfully identify...

This study examines the sophistication of rating agencies in incorporating managerial risk-taking incentives into their credit risk evaluation. We measure risk-taking incentives using two proxies: the sensitivity of managerial wealth to stock return volatility (vega) and the sensitivity of...

Results have been mixed regarding whether, and how much, board of director connectedness is beneficial to firm value. Some prior research shows that overly busy directors are ineffective monitors, but these same “busy” directors can be valuable sources of information and other resources. For...