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Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We develop a theory of non-monetary costs incurred by chief executive officers (CEOs) when deciding about layoffs and test its predictions on French data. Our results support the idea that, being embedded in their social environment, CEOs find it more difficult to fire employees closer to their own workplace. This effect is stronger whenever social interactions are less anonymous in the CEOs' local environment. It is weaker when CEOs live further away from where they work, because of limited exposure to local discontent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the game-changing paradigm in modern manufacturing, known as the "smart factory," from an organizational perspective. Factories get smarter—or smartized—by becoming more data-intensive and more tightly integrating operations with management. We design a unique survey to measure this intangible organizational capital accumulation process for 939 Korean manufacturing plants. Observing heterogeneous levels of smartization across factories, we explore their relationship with three performance dimensions: productivity, cost efficiency, and product variety. The drivers of smartization are also identified. Our analysis uncovers a strong association between smartization and heightened productivity, with varying interactions with other performance metrics based on the specific manufacturing process (e.g. lower defect rate only in assembly line process). Importantly, we find that investments in digital technologies drive smartization only when complemented by structured incentive management and proper chief executive officer (CEO) leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leaders of business are a continued focus of interest in management research and in the broader society. Their attributes speak to social mobility, inequality, and who holds positions of power and influence in society. This article examines the attributes of the ten highest-ranked executives of the largest corporate enterprises in the United States—the Fortune 100—and compares how they have changed over the past 40 years, a period when many assumptions about businesses and the people who run them have changed. While there has been significant change in some areas, such as the increase in the proportion of women and foreign-born executives and the rise in outside hiring, there is no evidence of an increase in younger leaders who advance faster than their predecessors and spend an ever-shorter time with their employer. In fact, top executives now are as old as their peers were in the 1950s, and their tenure with their employer is rising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature on the engagement quality (EQ) review argues that EQ reviewers should provide more efforts into the review process when fieldwork auditors' judgments and conclusions on the financial statements are potentially biased. Little empirical study has been done, however, partly due to the confidentiality of the detailed data on EQ reviewers' audit hours. The purpose of the article is to shed light on the existing literature by conducting an empirical investigation using a unique actual data set available in Korea. The results show that the EQ review hours are positively associated with CEO turnovers, a proxy for the audit risk, which supports the prediction of the theory on the EQ review. Additional analyses show that such results are stronger under (a) the upward earnings management and (b) the forced CEO turnover. The article extends the existing literature on the EQ review process and enhances the understanding of the engagement-level quality control in the volatile audit environment by providing empirical evidence to the analytic discussions on the EQ review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using Chinese data, we examine whether synchronous remote board meetings, which facilitate status equalization among directors and alleviate their pressure for conformity, affect board monitoring effectiveness. We find that compared to face-to-face meetings, synchronous remote meetings are associated with directors' better meeting attendance behavior, a higher likelihood of director dissent on monitoring-related proposals, higher forced CEO turnover-performance sensitivity, and more effective investments. These results hold when we use remote meetings that include both synchronous and asynchronous remote meetings. Proposal-director level analysis further shows that remote meetings reduce the pressure to conform faced by young first-term directors and socially connected directors. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses FAS 123R regulation to examine how reduction in CEO compensation incentives affects managerial "playing it safe" behavior. Using proxies reflecting deliberate managerial efforts to change firm risk, difference-in-difference tests show that affected firms drastically reduce both systematic and idiosyncratic risks, leading to an 8% decline in total firm risk. These reductions in risk are achieved by shifting to safer, but low-Q, segments while closing the riskier ones, without significant changes in investment levels. Our findings suggest that decrease in risk-taking incentives provided by option compensation, when not compensated for by alternative incentives or governance mechanisms, exacerbates risk-related agency problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document that firms that expect their CEOs' compensation to exceed the median CEO compensation of their Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) peers influence ISS to revise these peer sets. Controlling for changes in firm characteristics that ISS uses to select peers, we find that ISS applies an abnormally high turnover rate in the members of these peer sets and increases the representation of focal firms' chosen peers. This turnover results in increases in the medians of the ISS peers' CEO compensation and size. We find that these firms underperform and conclude that they attempt to camouflage high CEO pay to mitigate outrage costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management incentives for engaging and excelling in corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance is an important theme as business sustainability gains momentum. We examine the role of tournament incentives, which are created by competition among non-CEO (chief executive officer) senior executives (vice presidents [VPs]) for promotion to the CEO position, in firms' CSR performance. Using a sample of U.S. Standard & Poor (S&P) 1500 firms from 1993 to 2014, we find that tournament incentives proxied by pay gaps between CEOs and VPs are negatively associated with CSR performance, suggesting that competition for promotion could be detrimental for CSR performance. We further show that such association is more pronounced when the perceived probability of promotion increases prior to CEO turnover. This article provides policy, practical, and education implications and contribute to the literature on the integration of CSR into the business culture and strategic management processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines whether and how stock mispricing can affect the probability of CEO turnover. In a sample of 1,573 US public firms, I find that, after controlling for fundamental performance, a 1-standard-deviation negative uninformative stock price shock increases the likelihood of CEO turnover by 10%. The mispricing-turnover sensitivity is stronger at firms with an independent board, and a difference-in-difference analysis further supports that finding. Ancillary results suggest that independent directors' career concerns may play a role in the response of independent boards to mispricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CEOs are increasingly called upon to take public stands on political issues, a phenomenon dubbed "political activism." These stands tend to have either moral foundations or moral implications, yet it is unclear whether stakeholders truly want CEOs to make stands, and, if so, how philosophically grounded they are in their stated positions. This paper explores the philosophical worldview questions relevant to current issues facing organizations, particularly those that have been characterized as "wokeism." It then examines how these worldview positions translate or apply to these issues in ways that seemingly contradict CEOs' stands. Finally, it explores how the concept of the social imaginary, CEOs' political beliefs, mass media's reciprocal effects, and CEO narcissism may influence CEOs to take "woke" political activist positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To succeed in growing and scaling their organization, start-ups must establish roles, routines, rules, and plans that coordinate organizational activities. However, early-stage start-ups often lack such coordination mechanisms. Through a longitudinal qualitative multiple-case study of five start-ups, we develop a theoretical framework for how start-ups develop and improve coordination over time. We find that start-ups establish coordination through a learning sequence consisting of four distinct learning styles. To develop coordination successfully, start-ups anticipate coordination problems before they escalate, steal ideas and frameworks from others, experimentally implement coordination, and combine and simplify coordination mechanisms. By providing a processual understanding of how start-ups develop coordination, we contribute to the literature on coordination in start-ups, which has tended toward static explanations. We also add to the literatures on emergent coordination and organizational learning, as we highlight the role of deliberate learning in developing coordination, and how different learning styles link together to create learning sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current study aims to investigate the mediating role of executive stock options in the nonlinear relationship between financial constraints and research and development (R&D) investment through two measures of financial constraints. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a sample of 90 French firms for the period extending from 2008 to 2020. The authors employ a panel threshold method to analyze whether the impact of financial constraints on R&D investment depends on the level of financial constraints or not. Findings: Using SA index (Hadlock and Pierce, 2010) and FCP index (Schauer et al., 2019) as measures of financial constraints, the authors demonstrate that the relationship between financial constraints and R&D investment is nonlinear. Moreover, the authors find that executive stock options mediate partially the relationship between financial constraints and R&D investment. More specifically, the authors show that stock options could play two roles depending on the level of the financial constraints; inconsistent mediation for firms with low/medium level of financial constraints and partial mediation for highly constrained firms. Originality/value: This paper is the first to the best of the authors' knowledge to investigate the nonlinear relationship between financial constraints and R&D investment as well as the mediating role of executive stock option using dynamic panel threshold models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to emphasize the important role of performance-oriented human resource (HR) practices and gender equality perceptions in supervisors and chief executive officers (CEOs) for career development among women in management. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a quantitative methodology to examine relationships among variables. The authors conducted a survey to investigate factors influencing the career development of women managers in professional settings, with a sample of 1,502 female managers in South Korea. Findings: The relationship between performance-oriented HR practices and career development for women managers was supported. In addition, self-leadership significantly mediated the relationship between performance-oriented HR practices and career development. Finally, double moderator effects of gender equality perceptions of CEOs and supervisors on the relationship between performance-oriented HR practices and self-leadership were significant. Originality/value: This study emphasizes that career development for women in South Korea depends on gender equality awareness and institutional reorganization for best practices at top management levels. Specifically, this study identified the essential role of performance-based HR practices to support self-leadership and career development in women managers. Furthermore, this study recognized gender equality perceptions of CEOs and supervisors as a critical factor in the successful career development of women managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of CEO narcissism on eco-innovation. Moreover, we explore the moderating influence of CEO ancestor origins and CEO tenure on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a comprehensive dataset comprising 198 non-financial U.S. firms spanning the years 2010–2021, we apply OLS regression. Findings: Our research findings are as follows: (1) CEO narcissism negatively affects eco-innovation. (2) CEO ancestor origins play a moderating role, with this effect being attenuated for CEOs with ancestral origins from highly sustainable backgrounds. (3) CEO tenure strengthens the relationship between CEO narcissism and eco-innovation. This study sheds light on the significance of CEO personality traits in influencing eco-innovation decision-making. The results offer valuable insights for stakeholders, boards of directors and investors. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, none of the studies on sustainable tools have examined the moderating effect of CEO demographics characteristics on the CEO personality traits –eco-innovation nexus, and this offers a great opportunity to make new contributions to the extant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the association between chief executive officer (CEO) educational backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and climate change disclosure within Indonesian companies. Design/methodology/approach: Using data spanning from 2017 to 2022 from all publicly traded companies, the study uses ordinary least squares with fixed effects and robust standard error to evaluate the proposed hypothesis. In addition, a series of endogeneity tests are incorporated to bolster the robustness of the findings. Findings: The study reveals that CEOs with a STEM educational background are more inclined to participate in corporate climate change disclosure compared to their counterparts with a non-STEM background. These results emphasize the significant role CEO educational backgrounds play in shaping a company's approach to sustainability, specifically in the realm of climate change disclosure. The insights gleaned from this research hold valuable implications for various stakeholders, including top management and investors aiming to enhance corporate sustainability. Recognizing the influence of CEO characteristics, particularly a STEM educational background, proves pivotal in improving corporate climate change disclosure. Stakeholders can leverage this understanding to formulate and implement effective strategies toward realizing a company's sustainability vision. Originality/value: Notably, this study stands out as it was conducted within the context of Indonesia, a nation actively encouraging nonsocial graduates to assume crucial positions within the Republic of Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops and empirically tests a new version of the trade‐off theory of corporate capital structure choices that accounts for CEOs' biased beliefs, with a focus on overcaution. We characterize the bias as a distortion of expected rates of return on equity and debt that, for Overcautious CEOs, are overestimated compared to a rational CEO. The theory shows that if CEOs have higher bias in equity, than in debt‐value estimation, overcautious CEOs will choose lower levels of debt compared to rational CEOs, and, if the degree of overcaution is sufficiently high, they will adopt a zero‐leverage policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research suggests that generalist CEOs, who possess managerial skills that are transferrable across firms and industries, are more able to bear downside risk than specialist CEOs with non-transferrable managerial expertise. In this paper, we examine whether generalist CEOs are better positioned to engage in risky tax avoidance strategies than specialist CEOs. Our empirical results support this prediction and show that firms with generalist CEOs tend to engage in more tax avoidance than those with specialist CEOs. Our identification strategy includes an instrumental variable method and a difference-in-differences test using CEO turnover as a quasi-natural experiment to correct for endogeneities. A battery of robustness checks and cross-sectional tests strengthens our findings. Taken together, our findings imply that general managerial skills of CEOs matter more for tax planning than do specific managerial skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) are integral leaders of health care organisation. Over the last two decades in United States (US) hospitals, it has been noted that CEO turnover rates are increasing, and it was reported that the CEO turnover rates have augmented from 14% in 2008 to 18% in 2017 in the private sector. In Australia, it was discovered that during two years, 41 executives had 18 distinct positions. It has been highlighted that the increasing CEO turnover is a major issue for Australian and international health care organisations. Some of the negative consequences of CEO turnover include organisational instability, high financial costs, loss of human capital and adverse effects on staff morale and patient care. Objective: Our scoping review aimed to map and summarise the evidence associated with CEO turnovers in both health and non-health setting, and answer the following questions: 1. What are the reasons for CEO departure?, 2. What are the strategies to minimise CEO turnover? Results: A protocol explaining the objectives, inclusion criteria and methods for this scoping review were specified in advance and published. This scoping review included 17 studies (13 health and 4 non-health setting) published over a 31-year period that investigated and described the increasing CEO turnover rates. All 17 studies identified causes of CEO turnover along with certain studies identifying facilitators of CEO retention. We classified CEO's departure reasons into three major themes: organizational, performance, and personal. Organisational factors include CEO departures due to issues within the organisation, performance factors include issues with CEO's work and personal factors captures personal reasons for CEO's leaving their job. Conclusion: CEOs are under immense pressure to deliver good results and drive growth while satisfying the interests of internal and external stakeholders. There are various reasons for CEO's departure however the most common factor identified is organisational. Contribution of paper statement: What is already known Causes and consequences of CEO turnover in both health and non-health settings. What this paper adds Three main factors associated with CEO turnover such as organisational, performance and personal factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study finds that relative to firms managed by local CEOs, firms managed by CEOs who have returned from overseas (returnee CEOs) exhibit significantly higher audit fees. We also find this positive association to be stronger for returnee CEOs who manage firms with greater agency problems, have overseas experience in countries with better developed institutions, or have greater business knowledge. Further analyses indicate that firms managed by returnee CEOs tend to exhibit better financial reporting quality, lower propensities for financial fraud, and fewer earnings restatements in subsequent years. In addition, firms managed by returnee CEOs are associated with greater internationalization and higher propensities for seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) than firms managed by local CEOs. Overall, our findings are most consistent with the conjecture that returnees tend to bring ethics and practices that ensure higher financial reporting quality back to their home countries. Our findings offer a plausible explanation that returnee talents could increase firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of investor attention and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) power on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within Vietnamese family businesses. Unlike most of the past literature, this study further investigates the potential moderating effects of CEOs' power on the relationship between investor attention and CSR. Utilizing the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), this study analyzes a dataset comprising 116 Vietnamese family businesses from 2005 to 2020. The findings reveal an inverted U-shape between CEO power and CSR within family businesses; meanwhile, investor attention demonstrates a negative impact on CSR. Moreover, the results report that CEO power is a moderating factor in the relationship between investor attention and CSR. These results are consistent with various theoretical frameworks, including agency theory, overinvestment, career concern, career horizon, and conflict-resolution hypotheses. Finally, our study offers management implications to foster the sustainable development of CSR within family businesses, particularly within emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]