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Understanding Corporate Governance Through Learning Models of Managerial Competence

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  • Benjamin E. Hermalin
  • Michael S. Weisbach

Abstract

A manager's shareholders, board of directors, and potential future employers are continually assessing his ability. A rich literature has documented that this insight has profound implications for corporate governance because assessment generates incentives (good and bad), introduces assorted risks, and affects the various battles that rage among the relevant actors for corporate control. Consequently, assessment (or learning) is a key perspective from which to study, evaluate, and possibly even regulate corporate governance. Moreover, because learning is a behavior notoriously subject to systematic biases, this perspective is a natural avenue through which to introduce behavioral and psychological insights into the study of corporate governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin E. Hermalin & Michael S. Weisbach, 2014. "Understanding Corporate Governance Through Learning Models of Managerial Competence," NBER Working Papers 20028, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20028
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    Cited by:

    1. Chari, Murali D.R. & David, Parthiban & Duru, Augustine & Zhao, Yijiang, 2019. "Bowman's risk-return paradox: An agency theory perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 357-375.
    2. Yihui Pan & Tracy Yue Wang & Michael S Weisbach, 2018. "How Management Risk Affects Corporate Debt," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(9), pages 3491-3531.
    3. Narayanan Jayaraman & Vikram Nanda & Harley E. Ryan, 2022. "The influence of learning and bargaining on CEO–chair duality: Evidence from firms that pass the baton," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 297-350, March.
    4. Pan, Yihui & Wang, Tracy Yue & Weisbach, Michael S., 2014. "Does Uncertainty about Management Affect Firms' Costs of Borrowing?," Working Paper Series 2014-14, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • 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

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