IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pacfin/v91y2025ics0927538x25001258.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internal candidate pool and CEO turnover in Japan: A pre-registered report

Author

Listed:
  • Fujitani, Ryosuke
  • Kusaka, Yuho
  • Ning, Donglai

Abstract

Although it is well known that internal candidates dominate CEO successions, the implications for monitoring function of CEO turnovers remain underexplored. This pre-registered report argues two opposing predictions: first, the decreased costs of replacing incumbent CEO lead to better incentives; second, entrenchment driven by less strict monitoring by internal candidates leads to less alignment of incumbent CEOs with the interests of shareholders. To identify these two possible predictions, we examine the sensitivity of CEO turnover to two firm performance components (luck and skill) in Japan, in which lifetime employment and age structure matter when selecting new CEOs. This study contributes to a new understanding of how a larger CEO internal candidate pool affects the performance evaluation of management turnover.

Suggested Citation

  • Fujitani, Ryosuke & Kusaka, Yuho & Ning, Donglai, 2025. "Internal candidate pool and CEO turnover in Japan: A pre-registered report," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:91:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25001258
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102788
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927538X25001258
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.pacfin.2025.102788?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eisfeldt, Andrea L. & Kuhnen, Camelia M., 2013. "CEO turnover in a competitive assignment framework," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(2), pages 351-372.
    2. Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Organizational Complexity and Succession Planning," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 661-683, September.
    3. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    4. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1989. "Management entrenchment : The case of manager-specific investments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 123-139, November.
    5. Lixiong Guo & Ronald W. Masulis, 2015. "Board Structure and Monitoring: New Evidence from CEO Turnovers," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(10), pages 2770-2811.
    6. Dirk Jenter & Katharina Lewellen, 2021. "Performance-Induced CEO Turnover [The “Wall Street Walk” and shareholder activism: Exit as a form of voice]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(2), pages 569-617.
    7. Carola Frydman, 2019. "Rising Through the Ranks: The Evolution of the Market for Corporate Executives, 1936–2003," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(11), pages 4951-4979, November.
    8. Denis, David J. & Denis, Diane K. & Sarin, Atulya, 1997. "Ownership structure and top executive turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 193-221, August.
    9. Anzhela Knyazeva & Diana Knyazeva & Ronald W. Masulis, 2013. "The Supply of Corporate Directors and Board Independence," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(6), pages 1561-1605.
    10. Dirk Jenter & Fadi Kanaan, 2015. "CEO Turnover and Relative Performance Evaluation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(5), pages 2155-2184, October.
    11. Kaicheng Chen & Robert S. Martin & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2023. "Another Look at the Linear Probability Model and Nonlinear Index Models," Papers 2308.15338, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    12. Yermack, David, 1996. "Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 185-211, February.
    13. Xu, Jin & Yang, Jun, 2016. "Golden hellos: Signing bonuses for new top executives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 175-195.
    14. Hermalin, Benjamin E & Weisbach, Michael S, 1998. "Endogenously Chosen Boards of Directors and Their Monitoring of the CEO," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 96-118, March.
    15. Naveen D Daniel & Yuanzhi Li & Lalitha Naveen & Francesca Cornelli, 2020. "Symmetry in Pay for Luck," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(7), pages 3174-3204.
    16. Weisbach, Michael S., 1988. "Outside directors and CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 431-460, January.
    17. Uchida, Konari, 2011. "Does corporate board downsizing increase shareholder value? Evidence from Japan," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 562-573, October.
    18. Alex Edmans & Xavier Gabaix, 2016. "Executive Compensation: A Modern Primer," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(4), pages 1232-1287, December.
    19. Alex Edmans & Xavier Gabaix & Dirk Jenter, 2017. "Executive Compensation: A Survey of Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 23596, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Goyal, Vidhan K. & Park, Chul W., 2002. "Board leadership structure and CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 49-66, January.
    21. Ai, Chunrong & Norton, Edward C., 2003. "Interaction terms in logit and probit models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 123-129, July.
    22. Lucian A. Taylor, 2010. "Why Are CEOs Rarely Fired? Evidence from Structural Estimation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2051-2087, December.
    23. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2008. "Boards: Does one size fit all," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 329-356, February.
    24. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2001. "Are CEOs Rewarded for Luck? The Ones Without Principals Are," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 901-932.
    25. Steven N. Kaplan & Bernadette A. Minton, 2012. "How Has CEO Turnover Changed?," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 12(1), pages 57-87, March.
    26. Antounian, Christelle & Dah, Mustafa A. & Harakeh, Mostafa, 2021. "Excessive managerial entrenchment, corporate governance, and firm performance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    27. Francesca Cornelli & Zbigniew Kominek & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2013. "Monitoring Managers: Does It Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(2), pages 431-481, April.
    28. Kaplan, Steven N. & Minton, Bernadette A., 1994. "Appointments of outsiders to Japanese boards: Determinants and implications for managers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 225-258, October.
    29. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R. & Tsoulouhas, Theofanis, 2006. "Are outsiders handicapped in CEO successions?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 619-644, June.
    30. Eliezer M. Fich & Anil Shivdasani, 2006. "Are Busy Boards Effective Monitors?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 689-724, April.
    31. Boone, Audra L. & Casares Field, Laura & Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Raheja, Charu G., 2007. "The determinants of corporate board size and composition: An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 66-101, July.
    32. Miyajima, Hideaki & Ogawa, Ryo & Saito, Takuji, 2018. "Changes in corporate governance and top executive turnover: The evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 17-31.
    33. Greene, William, 2010. "Testing hypotheses about interaction terms in nonlinear models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 291-296, May.
    34. Hideaki Miyajima & Ryo Ogawa & Takuji Saito, 2018. "Changes in Corporate Governance and Top Executive Turnover: The Evidence from Japan," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Governance (NBER-TCER-CEPR Conference), National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Brian Cadman & Richard Carrizosa & Xiaoxia Peng, 2020. "Inducement grants, hiring announcements, and adverse selection for new CEOs," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 279-312, March.
    36. Thomas J. Chemmanur & Viktar Fedaseyeu, 2018. "A Theory of Corporate Boards and Forced CEO Turnover," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(10), pages 4798-4817, October.
    37. Dragana Cvijanović & Nickolay Gantchev & Rachel Li, 2023. "CEO Succession Roulette," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(10), pages 5794-5815, October.
    38. DeFond, Mark L. & Park, Chul W., 1999. "The effect of competition on CEO turnover1," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-56, February.
    39. Margarethe F. Wiersema & Yoichiro Nishimura & Katsushi Suzuki, 2018. "Executive succession: The importance of social capital in CEO appointments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 1473-1495, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dirk Jenter & Katharina Lewellen, 2021. "Performance-Induced CEO Turnover [The “Wall Street Walk” and shareholder activism: Exit as a form of voice]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(2), pages 569-617.
    2. Srivastav, Abhishek & Keasey, Kevin & Mollah, Sabur & Vallascas, Francesco, 2017. "CEO turnover in large banks: Does tail risk matter?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 37-55.
    3. Chang, Sea-Jin & Oh, Ji Yeol Jimmy & Park, Kwangwoo, 2024. "Crowd-sourced CEO approval and turnover," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    4. Huang, Sheng & Maharjan, Johan & Thakor, Anjan V., 2020. "Disagreement-induced CEO turnover," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Lamoreaux, Phillip T. & Litov, Lubomir P. & Mauler, Landon M., 2019. "lead Independent Directors: Good governance or window dressing?," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 47-69.
    6. Graham, John R. & Kim, Hyunseob & Leary, Mark, 2020. "CEO-board dynamics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(3), pages 612-636.
    7. Bu, Luofan & Chan, Kam C. & Choi, Ahrum & Zhou, Gaoguang, 2021. "Talented inside directors and corporate social responsibility: A tale of two roles," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Peter Cziraki & Dirk Jenter, 2021. "The Market for CEOs," CESifo Working Paper Series 9143, CESifo.
    9. Inho Suk & Seungwon Lee & William Kross, 2021. "CEO Turnover and Accounting Earnings: The Role of Earnings Persistence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 3195-3218, May.
    10. Cyrus Aghamolla & Tadashi Hashimoto, 2021. "Aggressive Boards and CEO Turnover," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 59(2), pages 437-486, May.
    11. John Harry Evans & Nandu J. Nagarajan & Jason D. Schloetzer, 2010. "CEO Turnover and Retention Light: Retaining Former CEOs on the Board," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 48(5), pages 1015-1047, December.
    12. Ma, Mingze, 2022. "Gendered performance evaluation in CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Ji, Jiao & Talavera, Oleksandr & Yin, Shuxing, 2016. "CEO Dismissal, Compensation and Topics of Board Meetings: The Case of China," MPRA Paper 70232, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Renee B. Adams & Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2010. "The Role of Boards of Directors in Corporate Governance: A Conceptual Framework and Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 58-107, March.
    15. Hermalin, Benjamin E. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2017. "Assessing Managerial Ability: Implications for Corporate Governance," Working Paper Series 2017-01, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    16. Choi, Seungho & Xu, Jing, 2022. "What do boards consider in CEO performance evaluation? Evidence from executive turnover," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    17. Ahn, Seoungpil & Shrestha, Keshab, 2013. "The differential effects of classified boards on firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 3993-4013.
    18. He, Xiaoxiao & Zhu, Margaret Rui, 2020. "Are interim CEOs just caretakers?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Crespí-Cladera, Rafel & Pascual-Fuster, Bartolomé, 2014. "Does the independence of independent directors matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 116-134.
    20. Drobetz, Wolfgang & von Meyerinck, Felix & Oesch, David & Schmid, Markus, 2014. "Board Industry Experience, Firm Value, and Investment Behavior," Working Papers on Finance 1401, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance, revised Dec 2015.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:91:y:2025:i:c:s0927538x25001258. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/pacfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.