This study investigates why firms adopt long-term performance plans. The results provide evidence that firms that adopt long-term performance plans have higher risk as measured by Beta, have lower percentages of managerial stockholdings, have higher levels of investment in research and...

This study compares four broadly available industry classification schemes in a variety of applications common to capital market research. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes have been available since 1939 but are being replaced by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)...

We compare 20 years of data from Thompson Financial SDC Platinum (SDC)'s Mergers and Acquisitions database with a hand-collected database, providing evidence on the completeness and accuracy of SDC data across time. We find that our hand-collected data is generally more accurate than SDC, but...

We track trading activity in the days preceding acquisition announcements for target firms and find that abnormally high trading volume precedes significant price movement. Using additional intraday data, we find increased active-selling in target stocks before acquisition announcements that...

From an agency perspective, leverage may have a positive effect on firm performance by limiting managers’ ability to allocate resources to unproductive uses, as well as increasing pressure on them to perform well. Consequently, we might expect leverage to have a positive impact on acquisition...