In recent years, legal options (ex ante and ex post choices created by law) have gained acceptance in the European Union. Notwithstanding the move toward soft law measures, the EC's appetite for options or pro-choice company law provisions remains unclear. There are significant barriers to the...

We survey institutional investors to better understand their role in the corporate governance of firms. Consistent with a number of theories we document widespread behind-the-scenes intervention as well as governance-motivated exit. Both governance mechanisms are viewed as complementary devices,...

The last decade has challenged the paradigm of the hedge fund industry as a unique performer. We identify three main factors that have affected the operation of hedge funds: competition from mutual funds, the market environment, and tighter regulation. Recent trends in the financial industry...

We survey law firms, firms and institutional investors to better understand their preferred method of intra-corporate dispute resolution in Brazil. Consistent with a number of theories, we find that these organizations prefer arbitration to judicial claims as the method of intra-corporate...

We use a unique dataset to examine the link between ESG disclosure and quality through a cross-country comparison of disclosure requirements and stewardship codes. We find a strong relationship between the extent of ESG disclosure and the quality of a firm's disclosure. Furthermore, we find that...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are very important to any economy. They are great job creators, helping to reduce poverty and achieve higher levels of development in all economic sectors. However, SMEs are susceptible to inadequate law and regulation, mainly in countries implementing...

With financial institutions increasingly outsourcing their activities, they face a record number of fraud and misconduct cases arising from third-party services. We survey financial institutions to better understand which governance mechanisms may improve the monitoring and management of...

In a technology-driven, digital world, many of the largest and most successful businesses now operate as “platforms.” Such firms leverage networked technologies to facilitate economic exchange, transfer information, connect people, and make predictions. Platform companies are already...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are very important to any economy. They are great job creators, helping to reduce poverty and achieve higher levels of development in all economic sectors. However, SMEs are susceptible to inadequate law and regulation, mainly in countries implementing...

Direct investments are the preferred vehicle for large institutional investors to have control over their portfolio investments. We study the deal structure of direct investments by sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in private equity transactions. We find that SWFs shift from investing in private...