Using a parsimonious setup, we shed light on two channels through which a small amount of social pressure exerted by a CEO on board directors may increase the company value even in the absence of the classic tradeoff between the board's monitoring and advising tasks. First, the pressure reduces...

This paper analyzes board independence and competence as distinct, but inextricably linked aspects of board effectiveness. Competent directors add shareholder value because they have better information about the quality of projects. While a CEO cares about shareholder value, he also wants his...

Extensive research finds that shareholder and CEO preferences affect demand for director services. We find a large body of evidence that independent director reputation incentives influence the supply of director services. These reputation incentives vary across firms and over time,...

We address two aspects of board dynamics — group-think and teamwork — that both arise from increased director overlap. Overlap captures the extent of common service by board directors. Greater overlap can lead to excessive cohesiveness of the group and thus group-think, where the desire for...

In 2020, the average total director compensation in U.S. listed companies stood at $450,680, 6.67 times the median household income. Company pairs with shared directors have more similar pay than can be explained by size, industry, and performance. Following a landmark Delaware court ruling that...

In 2020, the average total director compensation in U.S. listed companies stood at $450,680, 6.67 times the median household income. Company pairs with shared directors have more similar pay than can be explained by size, industry, and performance. Following a landmark Delaware court ruling that...

This study examines the effect of outside director tenure length on firms’ market valuation and the voting behavior of outside directors. We make use of the new rule adopted by the Korean government in 2020 that prohibits outside directors from serving more than six (nine) years in a given...

Executive compensation serves as a metric by which investors measure the quality of a firm's governance. In this paper, I explore how the signaling role of executive compensation impacts the compensation decisions of boards. I show that reputational concerns often cause boards to adopt pay...

By many measures, current CEOs should be the best candidates to serve on boards of directors. They have extensive strategic, operational, and risk management expertise, as well as experiences and leadership attributes that are important for a firm’s long-term success. However, there is...