Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 102 No. 2 2011
Corporate governance when founders are directors
Abstract
We examine chief executive officer (CEO) compensation, CEO retention policies, and mergers and acquisition (M&A) decisions in firms in which founders serve as a director with a nonfounder CEO (founder-director firms). We find that founder-director firms offer a different mix of incentives to their CEOs than other firms. Pay-for-performance sensitivity for nonfounder CEOs in founder-director firms is higher and the level of pay is lower than that of other CEOs. CEO turnover sensitivity to firm performance is also significantly higher in founder-director firms compared with nonfounder firms. Overall, the evidence suggests that boards with founder-directors provide more high-powered incentives in the form of pay and retention policies than the average US board. Stock returns around M&A announcements and board attendance are also higher in founder-director firms compared with nonfounder firms.
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jfineco.2010.11.006
- Volume
- 102
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 454-469
- Language
- en
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex