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Are overconfident CEOs better leaders? Evidence from stakeholder commitments

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  • Phua, Kenny
  • Tham, T. Mandy
  • Wei, Chishen

Abstract

We find evidence that the leadership of overconfident chief executive officers (CEOs) induces stakeholders to take actions that contribute to the leader's vision. By being intentionally overexposed to the idiosyncratic risk of their firms, overconfident CEOs exhibit a strong belief in their firms’ prospects. This belief attracts suppliers beyond the firm's observable expansionary corporate activities. Overconfident CEOs induce more supplier commitments including greater relationship-specific investment and longer relationship duration. Overconfident CEOs also induce stronger labor commitments as employees exhibit lower turnover rates and greater ownership of company stock in benefit plans.

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  • Phua, Kenny & Tham, T. Mandy & Wei, Chishen, 2018. "Are overconfident CEOs better leaders? Evidence from stakeholder commitments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(3), pages 519-545.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:127:y:2018:i:3:p:519-545
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2017.12.008
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CEO overconfidence; Leadership; Customer-supplier; Employee ownership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

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