This study provides evidence suggesting that CEOs’ physical fitness has a positive impact on firm value, consistent with the beneficial effects of fitness on, e.g., cognitive functions, stress coping and job performance. For each of the years 2001 to 2011, we define S&P 1500 CEOs as fit if...

The increasing challenge of how to balance “soft” human factors with “hard” financial factors in mergers and acquisitions (M & A) to be successful is not new. However, the real challenge lies in the question of how, and with which yardstick, to measure and compare the human factor in...

We construct a measure of the pairwise relatedness of firms' human capital to examine whether human capital relatedness is a key factor in mergers and acquisitions. We find that mergers are more likely and merger returns and post-merger performance are higher when firms have related human...

This is the Online Appendix to accompany the paper "Human Capital Relatedness and Mergers and Acquisitions". This appendix contains additional results that are referred to but not contained in the paper.Original paper available at: 'https://ssrn.com/abstract=2996878'...

Extending the theories of employee incentives and inalienability of human capital, we investigate the link between a firm's engagement in employee issues and the returns to shareholders around mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and analyze an international sample of 4,565 M&A deals from 48...

We document firm-level changes following mergers and acquisitions (M&As) which mirror aggregate shifts in the US labor market observed in response to greater use of automation. Specifically, we show post M&A establishments become less routine task intensive, more high-skilled, and pay more...

We study the restructuring of the labor force after mergers and acquisitions. Overall restructuring is large. Net employment of targets declines by more than half within two years after acquisitions relative to a matched sample, and is concentrated in targets that close all establishments. There...

In two natural experiments based on H-1B visa lotteries and a drastic cut in the annual H-1B visa quota, we document that firms respond to shortages in high-skilled workers by acquiring target firms that have these workers. Additional tests show that desire for the target's skilled labor is an...

The aim of this technical note is precisely to consider the human dimension of mergers and acquisitions and the way these processes impact people. In the substantial body of scientific literature that exists on this topic, authors discuss the rules and “magic” formulas that lead to a...