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CEO equity risk bearing and strategic risk taking: The moderating effect of CEO personality

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  • Mirko H. Benischke
  • Geoffrey P. Martin
  • Lotte Glaser

Abstract

Research Summary We draw upon applied psychology literature to explore interagent differences in perceived risk to their equity when making strategic risk decisions. Our theory suggests behavioral agency's predicted negative relationship between equity risk bearing and strategic risk taking is contingent upon four personality traits. Our empirical analyses, based on personality profiles of 158 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of S&P 1,500 firms in manufacturing industries, indicate the relationship between executive risk bearing and strategic risk taking crosses from negative to positive for high extraversion, greater openness, and low conscientiousness. These findings demonstrate that agency based predictions of CEO risk taking in response to compensation—and board attempts at creating incentive alignment using compensation—are enhanced by integrating insights from personality trait literature. Managerial Summary We study the effect of CEO personality on their behavioral responses to stock option pay. Our findings reveal that CEOs that score high on extraversion or openness and low on conscientiousness are less likely to decrease their firm's strategic risk taking as the value of their stock options increases. That is, the tendency of CEOs to become more risk averse in their strategic choices as their option wealth increases (due to loss aversion) is weaker for highly extraverted and more open CEOs, but stronger for more conscientiousness CEOs. Overall, our findings suggest that board of directors need to consider personality traits of their CEOs when designing compensation packages with the intention to align incentives of CEOs with shareholder risk preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Mirko H. Benischke & Geoffrey P. Martin & Lotte Glaser, 2019. "CEO equity risk bearing and strategic risk taking: The moderating effect of CEO personality," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 153-177, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:40:y:2019:i:1:p:153-177
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.2974
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    3. Yeoh, Siew-Boey & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2022. "Generation effects and managerial risk taking," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 918-934.
    4. Liang Chen & Pengxiang Zhang & Sali Li & Scott F. Turner, 2022. "Growing pains: The effect of generational product innovation on mobile games performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 792-821, April.
    5. Richard J. Gentry & Joseph S. Harrison & Timothy J. Quigley & Steven Boivie, 2021. "A database of CEO turnover and dismissal in S&P 1500 firms, 2000–2018," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 968-991, May.
    6. Benischke, Mirko H. & Guldiken, Orhun & Doh, Jonathan P. & Martin, Geoffrey & Zhang, Yanze, 2022. "Towards a behavioral theory of MNC response to political risk and uncertainty: The role of CEO wealth at risk," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    7. Niklas Kreilkamp & Sascha Matanovic & Maximilian Schmidt & Arnt Wöhrmann, 2023. "How executive incentive design affects risk-taking: a literature review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2349-2374, October.
    8. Xiaomei Guo & Changlan Yang & Qi Ban & Yang Xie, 2024. "The Impact of Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Enterprise Risk-Taking: Facilitative or Constraining?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Jun Xie & Wataru Nozawa & Shunsuke Managi, 2023. "The nexus of top executives’ attributes, firm strategies, and outcomes: Large firms versus SMEs," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Rachid Achbah, 2023. "Manager Characteristics and SMEs’ Restructuring Decisions: In-Court vs. Out-of-Court Restructuring," Post-Print hal-04279942, HAL.
    11. Nadia Loukil & Ouidad Yousfi, 2022. "Do CEO’s traits matter in innovation outcomes?," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 375-403, September.
    12. White, Joshua V. & Harms, P.D. & Borgholthaus, Cameron J. & Tuggle, Christopher S., 2023. "I’m not the executive that I used to be: Understanding causes and consequences of personality change in the upper echelons," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Fang Deng & Chunbo Zhou, 2022. "Sustainable Development of Corporate Governance in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry: The Evolution and the Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, April.
    14. Muhammad Sualeh Khattak & Rizwan Ullah, 2021. "The role of entrepreneurial orientation in tangible and intangible resource acquisition and new venture growth," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1619-1637, September.
    15. Jaroslav Kollmann & Jaroslav Kollmann & Jarmila Straková & Antonín Korauš & Mykola Palinchak & Filip Černák, 2023. "Enterprise risk analysis in an engineering company with a focus on custom manufacturing," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 10(3), pages 362-382, March.
    16. Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro & Dieleman, Marleen & Hirsch, Paul & Rodrigues, Suzana B. & Zyglidopoulos, Stelios, 2021. "Multinationals’ misbehavior," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    17. Küsshauer, Alexander & Baum, Matthias, 2023. "The good, the bad and the uncertain: Employers' perceptions of former entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    18. Rachid Achbah, 2024. "Manager Characteristics and SMEs' Restructuring Decisions: In-Court vs. Out-of-Court Restructuring," Papers 2402.18135, arXiv.org.
    19. Xin Li & Qiong Xu & Fei Guo & Hecheng Wang, 2023. "State‐owned equity participation and private sector enterprises' strategic risk taking: Evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(2), pages 1107-1124, March.
    20. Greiner, Michael & Kim, Jaemin & Cordon Thor, Jennifer, 2023. "CEO values as antecedents to corporate political activity: An empirical exploration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    21. Liu, Feng & Wang, Rongping & Fang, Mingjie, 2024. "Mapping green innovation with machine learning: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    22. Laura Neumeyer & Anna Gründler & Anna-Luisa Stöber, 2023. "Don’t Worry, Be Happy—Does the CEO’s Personality Mitigate the Negative Effect of Financial Constraints on Employee Satisfaction?," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 75(1), pages 71-98, March.
    23. Hamid Boustanifar & Edward J. Zajac & Flladina Zilja, 2022. "Taking chances? The effect of CEO risk propensity on firms’ risky internationalization decisions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(2), pages 302-325, March.

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