In this Closer Look, we consider current trends in shareholder activism and their potential impact. We examine the introduction of universal proxies, the increase in “activism experience” among directors, and the changing strategies of activists. With the regulatory and market environments...

In Closer Look, we highlight significant “holes” in our knowledge of corporate governance. These are central issues where insufficient or inadequate study has left us unable to answer basic questions, and where key assumptions relied upon by experts have not been verified or validated. While...

Recent years have seen a reemergence of the practice of awarding “mega grants” to CEOs. Mega grants are large, one-time equity awards granted in lieu of or in addition to annual awards with the intended purpose of providing significant incentive to the CEO to achieve long-term targets. The...

In this Closer Look, we examine individual investor perception of ESG to gauge their concern for environmental and social issues, their view of whether fund managers should use their voting power to influence ESG practices, and their willingness to sacrifice return in the advancement of ESG...

An extensive literature examines whether senior executives’ contractual incentives influence their financial reporting decisions. However, little is known about whether— and how—the incentives of lower-level (or “rank-and-file”) employees, who are perhaps even more directly involved in...

We examine CEO turnover and succession planning using a unique and highly comprehensive data set from the company exechange. Exechange applies a novel methodology that evaluates the circumstances surrounding a CEO departure to determine the degree to which the turnover event might be voluntary...

ESG ratings firms provide information to investors, analysts, and corporate managers about the relation between corporations and non-investor stakeholders interests. Recently, ESG ratings providers have come under scrutiny over concerns of the reliability of their assessments. In this Closer...