We examine the effects of equity ownership by exchange traded funds (ETFs) on corporate cash holdings. We find that firms increase their cash holdings in response to higher anticipated risks generated by ETFs. To establish a causal interpretation, we use the Russell 1000/2000 index...

This paper examines whether CEOs with shorter initial contract lengths suffer from greater pressure and consequently engage in more visible efforts via mergers and acquisitions (M&As). By using CEO initial fixed-term contracts and exploiting U.K. corporate governance reform as an exogenous...

This paper extends our knowledge of corporate debt maturity structure by examining whether and to what extent overconfident CEOs affect maturity decisions. Consistent with a demand side story, we find that firms with overconfident CEOs tend to adopt a shorter debt maturity structure by using a...

This paper examines the impact of concentrated equity ownership (blockholders) on the corporate debt maturity structure within the framework of agency theory. Using a novel and hand-collected data set from 2000 to 2015 in Australia, we find support for our hypothesis that debt maturity is a...

We examine whether and to what extent business shocks explain the puzzling instabilities of corporate leverage. We find that business shocks explain a large portion of the unexplained leverage deviation, cross-sectional leverage position migration, and evaporating leverage similarities in the...

We examine the empirical relation between labor unions and firm indebtedness in the contemporary United States. Our identification strategy exploits two negative exogenous shocks in union power and the threat of unionization. Further, in the context of panel regressions, we develop a novel...

This paper examines whether CEO turnover within a bankrupt firm predicts the firm's likelihood to reemerge from bankruptcy proceedings as a reorganized entity. Using 836 bankruptcy cases filed under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code from 1989 through 2016, we show that firms that...

This paper uses a survey of Australian Corporate Treasurers to shed light on the gap between the theory and practice of corporate finance in Australia. Seven areas are examined: capital structure, payout policy, cash holdings, initial public offerings, seasoned equity offering, mergers and...

This paper examines executive and nonexecutive performance-vested (p-v) restricted stock grants and the extent to which setting an attainable goal affects corporate innovation. Using a Monte-Carlo simulation framework and exploiting an exogenous variation in Offshore Service Outsourcing (OSO)...