Generalist CEOs receive higher pay than specialist CEOs. We examine the implications of CEO expertise for the structure of executive compensation. We follow contract theory and predict that information asymmetry induces generalist CEOs to overstate their ability to a larger extent when...

Large-scale increases in discrimination can lead to dismissals of highly qualified managers. We investigate how expulsions of senior Jewish managers, due to rising discrimination in Nazi Germany, affected large corporations. Firms that lost Jewish managers experienced persistent reductions in...

Spitzensportlern werden in der Literatur ähnliche Persönlichkeitseigenschaften wie Führungskräften in der Wirtschaft zugeschrieben. Unter Nutzung des Fünf- Faktoren-Modells der Persönlichkeit lässt sich in einer geringen Anzahl an Studien im deutschsprachigen Raum für beide Gruppen ein...

Using 9,801 director appointments during 2003-2014, we document the dramatic impact of connections - 69% of new directors have professional ties to incumbent boards, a group representing 13% of all potential candidates. Consistent with facilitating coordination and reducing search costs,...

Are overconfident executives more likely to be promoted to CEOs? Using an option-based overconfidence measure, we show that firms with overconfident executives tend to hire internally. Further, when firms hire internally, they are more likely to pick a more confident candidate. The results...

We document a stylized fact that more than 10% of S&P 1500 companies have hired a CEO who starts the job near or above the retirement age of 65 years old (Retiring CEOs). This phenomenon exists among all industries and persists over time. This finding is puzzling because conventional wisdom...

Prior economic research is very critical about family CEOs and family management. Nepotism, altruism, lower managerial abilities, and a small pool of qualified family candidates are cited as reasons that speak against family management. Still, the empirical reality is different. A surprisingly...

We investigate whether competitive selection processes generate gender inequality in the context of a prestigious graduate fellowship program. All applications are scored remotely by expert reviewers and the highest ranked are invited to an in-person interview. The data show a very large gender...

We use a scientifically-based measure of executive facial attractiveness that is correlated with survey assessments, but not as noisy, and find a positive link between attractiveness and CEO selection. We find evidence that better interpersonal relationships is one mechanism through which CEO...

"Every year, companies spend billions of dollars in board time and headhunter fees on CEO search. In fact, by many accounts, the selection of the next CEO is the single most important task of the board of directors. Yet, despite the huge amount of time, money, and attention given to the task,...

"Over the years, there has been more and more research to test the validity of personnel assessment methods, an area which is far from easy. This book compares traditional practices against new techniques, including social media analytics, wearables, mobile phone logs, and gamification....

Large-scale increases in discrimination can lead to dismissals of highly qualified managers. We investigate how expulsions of senior Jewish managers, due to rising discrimination in Nazi Germany, affected large corporations. Firms that lost Jewish managers experienced persistent reductions in...

Teil 1: Grundlagen und Rahmenbedingungen für die Nachfolgeplanung in Non-Profit-Organisationen -- Strategische Nachfolgeplanung in Non-Profit-Organisationen: ein Überblick -- Die rechtliche Organisationsstruktur gemeinnütziger Träger im Wandel -- Passt oder passt es nicht? Werte,...

Can an algorithm assist firms in their hiring decisions of corporate directors? This paper proposes a method of selecting boards of directors that relies on machine learning. We develop algorithms with the goal of selecting directors that would be preferred by the shareholders of a particular...

This paper analyzes the labor market (turnover and appointments) of executive and non-executive directors by means of social network methodology. We find that directors with strong networks are able to obtain labor market information that enables them to leave their firm more easily for better...

Executive management as a distinct occupational category from general management seems to be becoming increasingly professionalized. From a power perspective, CEOs dominate the decision-making apparatus of our major business enterprises. From an attribute approach to professionalization, there...

We use detailed assessments of CEO personalities to explore the option-based measure of CEO overconfidence, Longholder, introduced by Malmendier and Tate (2005a) and widely used in the behavioral corporate finance and economics literatures. Longholder is significantly related to several specific...