Efficient contracting predicts that ex-ante severance pay contracts are offered to CEOs as protection against downside risk and to encourage investment in risky positive net-present-value projects. Consistent with this prediction, we find that ex-ante contracted severance pay is positively...

Option grant vesting terms are a contractual provision that is shaped by accounting standards and other economic factors. We examine the effect of accounting standards, specifically SFAS 123(R), on the vesting terms of stock option grants while also modeling other economic determinants of this...

We study the role of explicit and implicit incentives in a competitive labor market with no internal promotion opportunities. We find that explicit incentives explain only a small fraction of the total incentives, as the likelihood of new employment and renegotiation of current employment on...

We examine how adverse selection problems when hiring new external CEOs affect contractual features of inducement grants. Focusing on the sensitivity of inducement grants to the new CEO announcement return ($Sensitivity), we find that firms provide inducement grants that are more sensitive to...

We analyze the promotions and firings of NCAA Division 1 college basketball and college football coaches to assess whether these coaches are rewarded for the academic performance of their players in promotion and retention decisions. We find that an increase in Academic Progress Rate, as...

Prior research establishes that boards of directors can encourage risk-averse managers to take risky actions by providing stock options and severance pay. We demonstrate that the ability of these incentives to encourage risk-taking hinges on the level of uncertainty facing the manager, and that...

Option grant vesting terms are a contractual provision that is shaped by accounting standards and other economic factors. We examine the effect of accounting standards, specifically SFAS 123(R), on the vesting terms of stock option grants while also modeling other economic determinants of this...

Contingent considerations (“earnouts”) in acquisition agreements provide sellers with future payments conditional on meeting certain conditions. Prior research provides evidence that acquiring firms use earnouts to minimize agency costs associated with acquisitions. Using earnout fair value...

We investigate how firm cost structure influences the information environment by studying the relation between the degree of operating leverage, earnings properties, and the usefulness of earnings to shareholders. Because the degree of operating leverage increases the impact of the incremental...

We investigate the relation between investor horizon and disclosure policy. We develop and analyze a rational expectations model where the original investors commit to a disclosure policy. Counter to casual intuition, short-horizon investors prefer more disclosure and are willing to bear costs...