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Options, option repricing in managerial compensation: Their effects on corporate investment risk

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  • Ju, Nengjiu
  • Leland, Hayne
  • Senbet, Lemma W.

Abstract

While stock options are commonly used in managerial compensation to provide desirable incentives, they can create adverse incentives to distort the choice of investment risk. Relative to the risk level that maximizes firm value, call options in a compensation contract can induce too much or too little corporate risk-taking, depending on managerial risk aversion and the underlying investment technology. We show that inclusion of lookback call options in compensation packages has desirable countervailing effects on managerial choice of corporate risk policies and can induce risk policies that increase shareholder wealth. We argue that lookback call options are analogous to the observed practice of option repricing.

Suggested Citation

  • Ju, Nengjiu & Leland, Hayne & Senbet, Lemma W., 2014. "Options, option repricing in managerial compensation: Their effects on corporate investment risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 628-643.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:29:y:2014:i:c:p:628-643
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2013.11.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Miguel Glória & José Carlos Dias & João Pedro Ruas & João Pedro Vidal Nunes, 2024. "The interaction between equity-based compensation and debt in managerial risk choices," Review of Derivatives Research, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 227-258, October.
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    3. Lei Gao & Andrey Zagorchev, 2020. "Dual-Class Firms and Innovation after NAFTA," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(01), pages 1-33, March.
    4. Çolak, Gönül & Korkeamäki, Timo, 2021. "CEO mobility and corporate policy risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. Atif Ikram & Zhichuan (Frank) Li & Travis MacDonald, 2020. "CEO Pay Sensitivity (Delta and Vega) and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Eitan Moshe Goldman & Peggy Peiju Huang, 2015. "Contractual vs. Actual Separation Pay Following CEO Turnover," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(5), pages 1108-1120, May.
    7. Wei Shan & Ran An, 2018. "Motives of Stock Option Incentive Design, Ownership, and Inefficient Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    8. Alberto Razul & Orlando Gomes & Mohamed Azzim Gulamhussen, 2024. "Bonuses, options, and bank strategies," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-28, January.
    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).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Managerial stock options; Option repricing; Lookback options; Corporate investment risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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