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Are more able CEOs getting more compensated? Evidence from the pay-for-performance sensitivity of equity-based incentives

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  • Gan, Huiqi
  • Park, Myung Seok

Abstract

This study investigates whether the managerial ability of a chief executive officer (CEO) is associated with the CEO's pay-for-performance sensitivity (PPS) of the equity-based compensation. We predict that more talented CEOs receive a higher PPS of equity incentives. Using the managerial ability score (Demerjian, Lev, & McVay, 2012) and PPS measures of options and stocks (Core & Guay, 1999), we find that a CEO's PPS of the equity-based compensation is significantly increasing in the CEO's ability. We also find that the association between managerial ability and the PPS of stock incentives is more evident for small firms. Furthermore, our results show that high ability CEOs are associated with a steeper PPS of option incentives, especially when they are not near retirement. Together, our findings suggest that firms generally incorporate the relative efficiency factor of CEO's ability in designing the CEO's equity-based compensation contracts, and thus the cross-sectional variation in the CEO's PPS is positively influenced by the CEO's ability.

Suggested Citation

  • Gan, Huiqi & Park, Myung Seok, 2016. "Are more able CEOs getting more compensated? Evidence from the pay-for-performance sensitivity of equity-based incentives," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 64-76.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:advacc:v:34:y:2016:i:c:p:64-76
    DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2016.07.008
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    Cited by:

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    2. Guo, Xiaohu & Gupta, Vishal K. & Jackson, William E. & Mortal, Sandra C., 2021. "Is there a racial gap in CEO compensation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
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    4. Dina El Mahdy, 2020. "The unintended consequences of voluntary adoption of clawback provisions on managerial ability," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 3493-3526, December.

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