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Executive compensation in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Beck

    (Technical University of Munich)

  • Gunther Friedl

    (Technical University of Munich)

  • Peter Schäfer

    (Technical University of Munich)

Abstract

Understanding executive compensation and its effects helps design better organizations. Research on this area is thus of paramount importance. For large US companies, the ExecuComp database offers access to standardized and comprehensive executive compensation data. Hence, research on executive compensation has strongly focused on US companies. It is not clear that research results based on US data apply to other countries due to differences in corporate governance and culture. We have built up a database that is similar to ExecuComp for Germany, which is by far the largest economy in Europe. This database includes companies from the two largest German stock indices DAX and MDAX. We make these data available for academic research. We describe the data and we provide important results to outline the opportunities that our database offers. We find that only some of the empirical results for US companies such as the association between company size and pay level generalize to German companies while others such as compensation structure and the vertical pay inequality provide opportunities for further investigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Beck & Gunther Friedl & Peter Schäfer, 2020. "Executive compensation in Germany," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(5), pages 787-824, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jbecon:v:90:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1007_s11573-020-00978-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11573-020-00978-y
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    Cited by:

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    2. Niklas Kreilkamp & Sascha Matanovic & Maximilian Schmidt & Arnt Wöhrmann, 2023. "How executive incentive design affects risk-taking: a literature review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2349-2374, October.
    3. Sangyong Han & Hyejeong Mun, 2021. "CEO Compensation in Korea: Is It Different than in the US? A Comparison between Korean Non-Life Insurance Firms and US Property-Liability Insurance Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Effnu Subiyanto & Roy Kurniawan, 2022. "Designing fair annual bonus formulations for workers: A case study of the state-owned enterprise cement holding in Indonesia," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Mirko Profitlich & Yassin Denis Bouzzine & Rainer Lueg, 2021. "The Relationship between CFO Compensation and Corporate Sustainability: An Empirical Examination of German Listed Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Magali Costa & Inês Lisboa & René Marzinzik, 2023. "Is Additional CEO Remuneration a Performance Driver? DAX CEOs Evidence," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Aust, Viktoria & Pelger, Christoph & Drefahl, Christian, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between valuation and stewardship uses of accounting information: Empirical evidence from German listed firms," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    8. Franziska Handschumacher-Knors, 2023. "Does a gender pay gap exist on executive boards? An empirical multilevel analysis of executive board compensation in German listed companies," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 325-357, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Executive compensation; Data collection; Corporate governance; Compensation structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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