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High powered Incentives and Fraudulent Behavior: Stock based versus Stock Option based Compensation

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  • R. Andergassen

Abstract

In this paper shareholders face the trade-off between providing managers with incentives to exert beneficial effort and to engage in costly fraudulent activity. We solve for the optimal compensation package, given that shareholders can either grant (restricted) stock or stock options and given fixed average compensation costs. We show that if the negative effect of fraud on the company s value is sufficiently large then stock based compensation is optimal. Otherwise, stock option based compensation is optimal. Furthermore, we show that the fraud to effort ratio is increasing in the strike price and that the optimal strike price is decreasing in the size of the negative effects of fraud on the company s value.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Andergassen, 2005. "High powered Incentives and Fraudulent Behavior: Stock based versus Stock Option based Compensation," Working Papers 542, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    • Handle: RePEc:bol:bodewp:542
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    Cited by:

    1. Le Maux, Benoît & Necker, Sarah & Rocaboy, Yvon, 2019. "Cheat or perish? A theory of scientific customs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    2. Rudy Santore & Martin Tackie, 2013. "Stock option contract design and managerial fraud," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(2), pages 1283-1289.
    3. Cheng-Feng Cheng, 2012. "Evaluate the Effectiveness of Manager Compensation," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 11(1), pages 25-44, June.
    4. Loyola, Gino & Portilla, Yolanda, 2020. "Managerial compensation as a double-edged sword: Optimal incentives under misreporting," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 994-1017.
    5. Zhu, Chunhui & Zhang, Teng & Li, Shaoyu, 2021. "Why more restricted stocks, less stock options?--An explanation based on the preference of regulators of China?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Wu, Yan Wendy, 2011. "Optimal executive compensation: Stock options or restricted stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 633-644, October.
    7. Andergassen, Rainer, 2016. "Managerial compensation, product market competition and fraud," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-15.
    8. Yin-Hua Yeh & Zih-Heng Lai, 2014. "The Causes and Risk-Taking on the Change of CEO Equity-Based Compensation Structure," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 4(2), pages 30-48, December.

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