We examine the value impact of independent directors nominated by activists (Activist IDs). Firms appointing Activist IDs experience larger value increases than firms appointing other directors, particularly when Activist IDs have private firm experience and when their nominators remain as...

We identify a sample of firms with directors employed by institutional investors and examine the effect of a direct channel of institutional monitoring. Using difference-in-differences tests, we find weak evidence that institutional directors have a positive effect on informational efficiency....

Theories of corporate boards assume that board members of a firm generate private information about the quality and performance of its CEO in the process of monitoring and advising him, and may use this information to decide whether or not to fire him. In this paper, I make use of data on...

We adopt a novel approach to explain why firms opt for or against CEO duality and the value implications of this choice. Exploiting the 2009 amendments to Regulation S-K, we provide unique evidence on the first-time disclosure of the reasons firms state for combining (separating) the roles of...

Using unique data on board meeting types of Chinese firms, we examine the effect of remote board meetings on board monitoring effectiveness. We find that compared to face-to-face meetings, remote meetings are associated with better meeting attendance behavior of directors, higher likelihood of...

We examine whether gender diverse boards prioritize product market concerns over capital market incentives when proprietary cost is high. Using a matched sample of the United States (US) listed companies and difference-in-differences research designs, we find that firms with gender diverse board...

We investigate how a shock to corporate demand for experienced directors (i.e., U.S. Congress’ grant of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to China in 2000) affects U.S. firms’ board structure and board advisory role. We find that firms appoint more outside directors with China-related...

Mandated board gender-balancing is a social-policy instrument, which in principle is unrelated to concerns about firms' economic performance. Nonetheless, imposing such a policy may have unintended consequences (positive or negative) for firm value, which is important for all of the firm's...

We examine how board monitoring affects the ability of short sellers to correctly predict earnings surprise and the profitability of short selling. The results show that short sellers’ predictions are less accurate in firms with independent boards relative to firms with non- independent...

The board of directors plays an important role in corporate governance. It is an internal mechanism that controls and monitors the actions of managers and aligns the utility functions between corporate owners and managers. The board of directors performs multiple functions that concern, for...