I explore whether educational connections between managers of venture capital (VC) firms can alleviate coordination costs, and thereby enhance collaboration, when engaging in economic ties with other organizations. Two given VC firms are three times as likely to syndicate an investment together...

The literature on managerial style posits a linear relation between a CEO's past experiences and firm risk. We show that there is a non-monotonic relation between the intensity of CEOs' early-life exposure to fatal disasters and corporate risk-taking. CEOs who experience fatal disasters without...

Does an equity analyst's trust in others impact the processing of information from outside sources? We investigate this question using a measure of trust based on surveys conducted in analysts' countries of origin. We find that more trusting analysts not only react faster to management guidance...

We examine the effects of diversity in the board of directors on corporate policies and risk. Using a multi-dimensional measure, we find that greater board diversity leads to lower volatility and better performance. The lower risk levels are largely due to diverse boards adopting more persistent...

We provide novel evidence of an economically significant “seller's put” implied in M&A deals. Sellers maintain extensive legal rights to walk away from an initial deal – presumably when their value increases – while bidders are more constrained in their ability to withdraw. We model M&A...

Firm value can change substantially between the time deal terms for a public target are set and closing, risking renegotiation or termination. We find increases in market volatility decrease subsequent deal activity, but only for public targets subject to an interim period. The effect is...