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CEO Ownership and Discretionary Investments

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  • Aloke Ghosh
  • Doocheol Moon
  • Kishore Tandon

Abstract

This study investigates empirically the relationship between CEO ownership and discretionary investments such as R&D and capital expenditures. We assert that the under‐investment problem is high for R&D‐intensive projects, while the over‐investment problem is high for capital expenditures because of differences in risk between the two types of investments. Building on the linkages between investments and investment‐related agency problems, we hypothesize that the relationship between CEO ownership and investments depends on whether increasing ownership mitigates or exacerbates the under‐ or over‐investment problem. We find a non‐linear association between CEO stock ownership and R&D investments; R&D investments increase and then decline across increasing levels of ownership. Further, we find that R&D investments and CEO stock options are positively associated at high levels of option holdings. In contrast, capital expenditures do not vary with CEO ownership (stock or options). Finally, consistent with our underlying assumption, we find that the influence of R&D investments on future firm risk is significantly larger than that of capital expenditures. Our findings indicate that managerial risk aversion affects discretionary investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Aloke Ghosh & Doocheol Moon & Kishore Tandon, 2007. "CEO Ownership and Discretionary Investments," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5‐6), pages 819-839, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jbfnac:v:34:y:2007:i:5-6:p:819-839
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-5957.2007.02011.x
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    2. Ciaran Driver & Maria João Coelho Guedes, 2017. "R&D and CEO departure date: do financial incentives make CEOs more opportunistic?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 26(5), pages 801-820.
    3. Driver, Ciaran & Guedes, Maria João Coelho, 2012. "Research and development, cash flow, agency and governance: UK large companies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1565-1577.
    4. Ahmed Hassanein & Jamal Ali Al-Khasawneh & Hany Elzahar, 2022. "R&D expenditure and managerial ownership: evidence from firms of high-vs-low R&D intensity," Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 654-672, January.
    5. Huai-Chun Lo & Shin-Rong Shiah-Hou, 2022. "The effect of CEO power on overinvestment," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 23-63, July.
    6. Thomas Poulsen, 2013. "Corporate control and underinvestment," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(1), pages 131-155, February.
    7. Basma Sellami Mezghanni, 2010. "How Ceo Attributes Affect Firm R&D Spending? New Evidence From A Panel Of French Firms," Post-Print hal-00479532, HAL.
    8. Rokiah Ishak Author_Email:, 2011. "Corporate Performance, Ceo Power And Ceo Turnover: Evidence From Malaysian Public Listed Companies," 2nd International Conference on Business and Economic Research (2nd ICBER 2011) Proceeding 2011-480, Conference Master Resources.
    9. Kwon, Sewon & Ahn, Jae Hwan & Kim, Gi H., 2021. "The impact of shareholder intervention on overinvestment of free cash flow by overconfident CEOs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Nguyen, Thu Ha & Pham, Man Duy (Marty) & Xiao, Yang, 2024. "How well is employee ownership working? Evidence from non-financial misconduct," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Isabelle Breton-Miller & Danny Miller & Zhenyang Tang & Xiaowei Xu, 2024. "CEO Religion and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Socio-behavioral Model," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(1), pages 167-189, November.
    12. Lai, Jung-Ho & Chen, Li-Yu & Chang, Shao-Chi, 2012. "The board mechanism and entry mode choice," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 379-392.
    13. Rizwan Ali & Ramiz Ur Rehman & Sana Suleman & Collins Gyakari Ntim, 2022. "CEO attributes, investment decisions, and firm performance: New insights from upper echelons theory," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(2), pages 398-417, March.
    14. Imen Tebourbi & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Hanh Thi My Le & Qian Long Kweh, 2020. "R&D investment and future firm performance: The role of managerial overconfidence and government ownership," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(7), pages 1269-1281, October.

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