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Governance and CEO Turnover: Do Something or Do the Right Thing?

Author

Listed:
  • Raymond J. Fisman

    (Columbia Business School, New York, New York 10027)

  • Rakesh Khurana

    (Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

    (Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • Soojin Yim

    (Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322)

Abstract

We study how corporate governance affects firm value through the decision of whether to fire or retain the chief executive officer (CEO). We present a model in which weak governance---which prevents shareholders from controlling the board---protects inferior CEOs from dismissal, while at the same time insulates the board from pressures by biased or uninformed shareholders. Whether stronger governance improves retain/replace decisions depends on which of these effects dominates. We use our theoretical framework to assess the effect of governance on the quality of firing and hiring decisions using data on the CEO dismissals of large U.S. corporations during 1994--2007. Our findings are most consistent with a beneficent effect of weak governance on CEO dismissal decisions, suggesting that insulation from shareholder pressure may allow for better long-term decision making. This paper was accepted by Brad Barber, finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Raymond J. Fisman & Rakesh Khurana & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf & Soojin Yim, 2014. "Governance and CEO Turnover: Do Something or Do the Right Thing?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(2), pages 319-337, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:60:y:2014:i:2:p:319-337
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2013.1759
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Richard J. Gentry & Joseph S. Harrison & Timothy J. Quigley & Steven Boivie, 2021. "A database of CEO turnover and dismissal in S&P 1500 firms, 2000–2018," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 968-991, May.
    3. Pablo Ruiz‐Verdú & Ravi Singh, 2021. "Public Thrift, Private Perks: Signaling Board Independence with Executive Pay," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(2), pages 845-891, April.
    4. Choi, Seungho & Xu, Jing, 2022. "What do boards consider in CEO performance evaluation? Evidence from executive turnover," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    5. Luc Renneboog & Yang Zhao, 2020. "Director networks, turnover, and appointments," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(1), pages 44-76, January.
    6. Sudipto Dasgupta & Thomas H. Noe, 2019. "Does Pay Activism Pay Off for Shareholders? Shareholder Democracy and Its Discontents," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(4), pages 1810-1832, April.
    7. Roychoudhury, Saurav & Bhowmik, Anuj & Chattopadhyay, Srobonti, 2015. "Innovation, Governance and Competition," MPRA Paper 61557, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Kevin Mayo & George Ball & Alex Mills, 2022. "CEO Tenure and Recall Risk Management in the Consumer Products Industry," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(2), pages 743-763, February.
    9. Duflo, Esther & Dupas, Pascaline & Kremer, Michael, 2015. "School governance, teacher incentives, and pupil–teacher ratios: Experimental evidence from Kenyan primary schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 92-110.
    10. Christian Dreyer & Oliver Schulz, 2023. "Policy uncertainty and corporate investment: public versus private firms," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1863-1898, July.
    11. Kang, Hyung Cheol & Lee, Ji Hye & Byun, Hee Sub, 2021. "Do Family CEOs “Dump” Firms with Declining Value to Professional CEOs?: Evidence from CEO Turnover," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 62(2), pages 74-100, December.
    12. Ruiz-Verdú, Pablo & Singh, Ravi, 2014. "Board Independence, CEO Pay, and Camouflaged Compensation," DEE - Working Papers. Business Economics. WB wb140704, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    13. Tuck Siong Chung & Angie Low & Roland T. Rust, 2023. "Executive confidence and myopic marketing management," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 1118-1142, September.
    14. Yahya Uthman Abdullahi & Rokiah Ishak & Norfaiezah Sawandi, 2018. "Outsider vs insider: Does firm governance matter?," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 14(3), pages 689-699, June.
    15. Antonio Falato & Dalida Kadyrzhanova, 2012. "CEO successions and firm performance in the US financial industry," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2012-79, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    16. Nadia Loukil & Ouidad Yousfi, 2022. "Do CEO’s traits matter in innovation outcomes?," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 375-403, September.
    17. Bang Dang Nguyen, 2015. "Is More News Good News? Media Coverage of CEOs, Firm Value, and Rent Extraction," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-38, December.
    18. 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.
    19. Correa, Ricardo & Lel, Ugur, 2016. "Say on pay laws, executive compensation, pay slice, and firm valuation around the world," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 500-520.
    20. Anup Agrawal & Tareque Nasser, 2019. "Blockholders on Boards and CEO Compensation, Turnover and Firm Valuation," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(03), pages 1-67, September.
    21. Xu, Jian & Zheng, Jiaxing, 2022. "Mass media, air quality, and management turnover," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    22. Lin, Yu-En & Li, Yi-Wen & Cheng, Teng Yuan & Lam, Keith, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and investment efficiency: Does business strategy matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    23. Cord H. Burchard & Juliane Proelss & Utz Schäffer & Denis Schweizer, 2021. "Bad news for announcers, good news for rivals: Are rivals fully seizing transition‐period opportunities following announcers' top management turnovers?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 579-607, March.
    24. Qin, Bo & Yang, Lu, 2022. "CSR contracting and performance-induced CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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