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CEO Turnover and Retention Light: Retaining Former CEOs on the Board

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  • JOHN HARRY EVANS
  • NANDU J. NAGARAJAN
  • JASON D. SCHLOETZER

Abstract

Prior CEO turnover literature characterizes the board's decision as a choice between retaining versus replacing the CEO. We focus instead on the CEO's decision rights and introduce a third option in which the incumbent CEO is removed but retained on the board for an extended period, which we call Retention Light. Firms may benefit from Retention Light because former CEOs possess unique monitoring and advising abilities, but the former CEO could also exploit available decision rights for personal benefit. A Retention Light CEO's decision rights generally exceed those of CEOs who exit the firm entirely but fall short of the rights of a retained CEO. We find that when prior firm performance is better, the former CEO is more likely to be retained on the board (Retention Light) than to exit the firm. However, this relation is weaker when the CEO reaches normal retirement age at which time CEO power becomes more important. We also provide evidence on how the nature of the CEO's bargaining power varies with his personal attributes and board characteristics in its influence on the Retention Light decision. Retention Light firms are more likely than CEO‐exit firms to select a successor CEO with relatively weaker bargaining power. Finally, Retention Light involving a nonfounder CEO is negatively associated with the firm's postturnover financial performance. Overall, Retention Light is a distinct CEO turnover option that has important consequences for board decisions and firm performance.

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  • John Harry Evans & Nandu J. Nagarajan & Jason D. Schloetzer, 2010. "CEO Turnover and Retention Light: Retaining Former CEOs on the Board," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 1015-1047, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:48:y:2010:i:5:p:1015-1047
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-679X.2010.00383.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Wided Bouaine & Lanouar Charfeddine & Mohamed Arouri & Frédéric Teulon, 2014. "The influence of CEO departure type and board characteristics on firm performance," Working Papers 2014-87, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    3. Balsam, Steven & Kwack, So Yean & Lee, Jae Young, 2017. "Network connections, CEO compensation and involuntary turnover: The impact of a friend of a friend," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 220-244.
    4. Jeong, Nara & Kim, Nari & Arthurs, Jonathan D., 2021. "The CEO’s tenure life cycle, corporate social responsibility and the moderating role of the CEO’s political orientation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 464-474.
    5. Ye, Miaomiao & Li, Mengzhe & Zeng, Qiannan, 2022. "Former CEO director and executive-employee pay gap," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Vu Quang Trinh & Aly Salama & Teng Li & Ou Lyu & Savvas Papagiannidis, 2023. "Former CEOs chairing the board: does it matter to corporate social and environmental investments?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1277-1313, November.
    7. Andres, Christian & Fernau, Erik & Theissen, Erik, 2014. "Should I stay or should I go? Former CEOs as monitors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 26-47.
    8. Inho Suk & Seungwon Lee & William Kross, 2021. "CEO Turnover and Accounting Earnings: The Role of Earnings Persistence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 3195-3218, May.
    9. Jiang Cheng & J. David Cummins & Tzuting Lin, 2017. "Organizational Form, Ownership Structure, and CEO Turnover: Evidence From the Property–Casualty Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 84(1), pages 95-126, March.
    10. Chen, Tai-Yuan & Zhang, Guochang & Zhou, Yi, 2018. "Enforceability of non-compete covenants, discretionary investments, and financial reporting practices: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 41-60.
    11. Li, Feng & Srinivasan, Suraj, 2011. "Corporate governance when founders are directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(2), pages 454-469.
    12. Jie Chen & Xicheng Liu & Wei Song, 2018. "CEO general managerial skills and corporate social responsibility," Working Papers 2018-16, Swansea University, School of Management.
    13. Ogoe, Satoshi & Suzuki, Katsushi, 2023. "Former CEO advisors and firm performance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Chen, Jie & Liu, Xicheng & Song, Wei & Zhou, Si, 2020. "General managerial skills and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 43-59.
    15. Li, Mengzhe & Lan, Fei, 2022. "Former CEO directors and cash holdings," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 320-334.
    16. Jalal, Abu M. & Prezas, Alexandros P., 2012. "Outsider CEO succession and firm performance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 399-426.
    17. Jingoo Kang & Andy Y. Han Kim, 2017. "The Relationship Between CEO Media Appearances and Compensation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 379-394, June.
    18. Beneish, Messod D. & Marshall, Cassandra D. & Yang, Jun, 2017. "Explaining CEO retention in misreporting firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 512-535.
    19. Sinan Caykoylu, 2021. "Retired Yet Involved: How Even After the Succession Predecessors of Family Businesses Continue to Influence Their Firms," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(2), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Jiang Cheng & J. David Cummins & Tzuting Lin, 2021. "Are all mutuals the same? Evidence from CEO turnover in the US property–casualty insurance industry," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 46(2), pages 175-205, September.
    21. Ferhat D. Zengul & James D. Byrd & Nurettin Oner & Mark Edmonds & Arline Savage, 2019. "Exploring corporate governance research in accounting journals through latent semantic and topic analyses," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 175-192, October.
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    23. Jingoo Kang, 2016. "Labor market evaluation versus legacy conservation: What factors determine retiring CEOs' decisions about long-term investment?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 389-405, February.
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    25. Aggarwal, Reena & Schloetzer, Jason D. & Williamson, Rohan, 2019. "Do corporate governance mandates impact long-term firm value and governance culture?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 202-217.

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