The past decades witnessed a broad trend towards flatter organizations with less hierarchical layers. A reduction of the number of management levels in a corpora- tion can have both positive and negative effects on firm performance with the net effect being theoretically unclear ex ante. The...

Since several decades, information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as new organizational designs change the working life in firms. Using nationally representative Swiss firm-level panel data, the present paper analyzes the relationship between these developments and examines,...

The traditional methodology examining optimal boards relates a simple board variable (e.g., independence or board demography) to firm performance, however, ig- noring other board characteristics. This paper investigates how the education and business experience of directors affect firm...

Regulators and shareholders are calling for independent directors. Independent directors, however, have numerous external professional commitments. Using To- bin's Q as an approximation of market valuation and controlling for endogeneity, our empirical analysis reveals that neither external...

The legal environment is one important determinant of corporate governance. However, within legal families, also cultural differences can explain the level of corporate governance to some extent. We analyze this relationship for the case of Switzerland. Swiss firms are mainly located in two...

Although the performance effects of multitasking were analyzed intensively in the past, little is known about the impact of the adoption time of multitasking on corporate performance. Possibly, the quantity of the reorganization is crucial and early movers experience a comparative competitive...

Increasing the attractiveness of voting is often seen as a remedy for unequal par- ticipation and the influence of special-interest groups on public policy. However, lower voting costs may also bring less informed citizens to the poll inviting efforts to sway these voters. We substantiate this...