Internal documents released through the Enron litigation allow for a more detailed examination of the activities of top executives than is typically possible. This clinical study of Enron's Ken Lay highlights the difference between popular opinion on the role and knowledge of CEOs with that...

This study uses agency theory to develop testable implications about three provisions commonly observed in franchise contracts: (1) restrictions on passive ownership, (2) area development plans, and (3) mandatory advertising expenditures. The primary hypothesis is that these provisions are most...

This paper develops cross-sectional implications about the assignment of rights in franchise contracts. These implications are tested using a large sample of franchise agreements. The tests support the predictions and suggest that restrictive provisions (such as mandatory advertising,...

In this paper we analyze how the stock-market reaction to the adoption of poison pills and the subsequent outcome of takeover attempts vary with the composition of the firm's shares among competing bidders and by other firms to entrench managers at the shareholders' expense. Our results also...

Shareholders activists and regulators are pressuring U.S. firms to separate the titles of CEO and Chairman of the Board. They argue that separating the titles will reduce agency costs in corporations as well as potentials benefits. Our empirical evidence provides preliminary support for the...

This article provides evidence on the determinants of royalties and upfront fees in share contracts by examining how state franchise termination laws affect franchise contracts. The results are consistent with the joint hypothesis that the two-sided moral hazard model explains the terms in...

This paper provides evidence on a previously unidentified source of managerial incentives: concerns about post-retirement board service. Both the likelihood that a retired CEO serves on his own board two years after departure, as well as the likelihood of serving as an outside director on other...