Collaborative partnerships create interfirm linkages that potentially tie the fortunes of partnering firms to changing circumstances and decisions of each other. Yet not much is known about how firms in such partnerships are affected by their partners' post-formation decisions outside of...

As shown in previous studies, founder-led firms perform better than those run by professional managers. Does this reflect the special relation of founders to their firms or do entrepreneurs possess attributes and experiences that are valuable even at firms not founded by them? Drawing on the...

Recent surveys indicate that industry expertise is the most sought-after director qualification. Yet evidence on the value of such expertise is limited. This paper shows that firms that are difficult for non-experts to monitor and advise are more likely to appoint industry expert directors. Such...

We study the effect of bank governance on risk-taking in commercial lending. Banks with more effective boards are less likely to lend to riskier borrowers. This effect is restricted to periods of distress in the banking industry. Banks with more effective boards are less likely to lend to...

A significant and growing percentage of U.S. firms now have boards where the CEO is the only employee director (i.e., fully independent boards). This paper studies whether and how this practice impacts board effectiveness. I find that fully independent boards are associated with a significant...

We study the determinants and effects of the relative compensation of top executives and lower-level employees. First, we show that CEO–employee pay ratio depends on the balance of power between the CEO (relative to the board) and ordinary employees (relative to management). Second, our...