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Do CEOs matter?

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Author Info
Bennedsen, Morten
Perez-Gonzalez, Francisco
Wolfenzon, Daniel
Abstract

Estimating the value of top managerial talent is a central topic of research that has attracted widespread attention from academics and practitioners. Yet, studying the impact of managers on firm performance is difficult because of endogeneity and omitted variables concerns. In this paper, we test for the impact of managers on firm performance in two ways. First, we examine whether top executive deaths have an impact on firm performance, focusing on the manager and firm characteristics that are associated to large manager-death effects. Second, we test for the interaction between the personal and professional activities of managers by examining the effect of deaths of immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, etc) on firm performance. Our main findings are three. First, CEO deaths are strongly correlated with declines in firms operating profitability, asset growth and sales growth. Second, the death of board members does not seem to affect firm prospects, indicating that not all senior managers are equally important for firms' outcomes. Third, CEOs' immediate family deaths are significantly negatively correlated to firm performance. This last result suggests a strong link between the personal and business roles that top management plays, a connection that is present even in large firms. Overall, our findings demonstrate CEOs are extremely important for firms' prospects.

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File URL: http://hermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp/rs/bitstream/10086/13479/1/wp2006-21a.pdf
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Paper provided by Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University in its series CEI Working Paper Series with number 2006-21.

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Length: 34 p.
Date of creation: Mar 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hit:hitcei:2006-21

Note: First draft: October 15, 2006
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  1. Hanno Lustig & Chad Syverson & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2009. "Technological Change and the Growing Inequality in Managerial Compensation," NBER Working Papers 14661, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ulf von Lilienfeld-Toal & Stefan Ruenzi, 2007. "Why Managers Hold Shares of Their Firms: An Empirical Analysis," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2007-055, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  3. Alex Edmans & Xavier Gabaix & Augustin Landier, 2007. "A Calibratable Model of Optimal CEO Incentives in Market Equilibrium," NBER Working Papers 13372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Adams, Renﾃｩe B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2008. "Women in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Governance and Performance," CEI Working Paper Series 2008-7, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  5. Steven N. Kaplan & Mark M. Klebanov & Morten Sorensen, 2008. "Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?," NBER Working Papers 14195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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