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What happens to CEO compensation following turnover and succession?

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  • Elsaid, Eahab
  • Davidson III, Wallace N.

Abstract

When boards hire CEOs, the board and successor CEO have an opportunity to redesign the predecessor's compensation contract. The CEO's relative bargaining power will influence the outcome of compensation negotiations. Analyzing 508 successions, we find that total compensation of successor CEOs increases by 69% over their predecessor, but the structure of successor compensation is heavily influenced by the predecessors' contracts. When the board's bargaining power is large, successors have a greater proportion of pay-at-risk and smaller proportion of salary. When the CEO's bargaining power is large, there is a smaller proportion of pay-at-risk and relatively greater proportion of salary.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsaid, Eahab & Davidson III, Wallace N., 2009. "What happens to CEO compensation following turnover and succession?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 424-447, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:49:y:2009:i:2:p:424-447
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    3. Wang, Hongxia & Davidson III, Wallace N. & Wang, Xiaoxin, 2010. "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and CEO tenure, turnover, and risk aversion," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 367-376, August.
    4. Brockman, Paul & Lee, Hye Seung (Grace) & Salas, Jesus M., 2016. "Determinants of CEO compensation: Generalist–specialist versus insider–outsider attributes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 53-77.
    5. Joel Rudin & Jooh Lee, 0. "The Impact of Corporate Reputation Ratings on CEO Compensation Under Diverse Economic Conditions," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-11.
    6. Taekjin Shin, 2012. "CEO Compensation and Shareholder Value Orientation Among Large US Firms," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 43(4), pages 535-559.
    7. Angelica Gonzalez & Paul André, 2014. "Board Effectiveness and Short Termism," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 185-209, January.
    8. Eahab Elsaid & Wallace Davidson & Xiaoxin Wang, 2011. "CEO successor compensation: outside versus inside successions," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(2), pages 187-205, May.
    9. Elsaid, Eahab & Davidson III, Wallace N. & Benson, Bradley W., 2009. "CEO compensation structure following succession: Evidence of optimal incentives with career concerns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 1389-1409, November.
    10. Jalal, Abu M. & Prezas, Alexandros P., 2012. "Outsider CEO succession and firm performance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 64(6), pages 399-426.
    11. Katarzyna Cieślak, 2018. "Agency conflicts, executive compensation regulations and CEO pay-performance sensitivity: evidence from Sweden," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(3), pages 535-563, September.

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