In the large literature on firm performance, economists have given little attention to entrepreneurs. We use deaths of more than 500 entrepreneurs as a source of exogenous variation, and ask whether this variation can explain shifts in firm performance. Using longitudinal data, we find large and...

This paper aims to revisit the link between corporate governance, value, and firm performance by focusing on convergence, understood as the way that non-US firms are adopting US best practice in terms of corporate governance, and the implications of this adoption. We examine theoretical...

A tradition from Knight (1921) argues that more risk tolerant individuals are more likely to become entrepreneurs, but perform worse. We test these predictions with two risk tolerance proxies: stock market participation and personal leverage. Using investment data for 400,000 individuals, we...

Using comprehensive, shipment-level merchandise trade data, we examine the extent to which New Zealand exporters maintain stable New Zealand dollar prices by passing on exchange rate changes to foreign customers. We find that the extent to which firms absorb exchange rate fluctuations in the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how family ownership enhances or damages firm value. Design/methodology/approach – The paper studies a sample of Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) between 1999 and 2007 and apply multivariate regression...

We examine firms' motivation to change their main bank and how this switch affects loans, interest payments, and firm performance. Applying treatment effect analysis to unique firm-bank matched Ukrainian data, we find that larger and more highly leveraged companies are more likely to switch...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of shareholding stability of institutional investors on firm performance. We analyze 647 sample companies listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange from 2005 to 2009 using the coefficient of variance of institutional holding proportion as the...

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate an interesting yet mostly ignored distinction within external CEO successions: outside successors who have previous CEO experience and those who do not. It examines stock market reaction, compensation and firm performance prior and post-succession....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation between chief executive officer (CEO) compensation and firm performance proxied by efficiency estimated from data envelopment analysis (DEA) of the US property-liability (P&L) insurance industry. Design/methodology/approach –...

Purpose – A subject of continuous debate in the field of organizational change research and management practices is on whether downsizing strategies result in improved firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically examine dynamic firm capabilities as a major missing...