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...

In this study, we investigate why CEOs seem to be held more accountable for poor firm performance in some countries than others. We integrate research from comparative corporate governance and agency theory to identify and evaluate four fundamental assumptions underlying most theoretical...