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Shades of grey: Risk-related agency conflicts and corporate innovation

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  • Islam, Emdad
  • Rahman, Lubna

Abstract

We investigate how risk-related agency conflicts affect valuable risky investments. Using an exogenous negative shock to shareholders' litigation rights from an unanticipated court ruling that exacerbates risk-related agency conflicts by shielding managers from shareholders' governance through litigation, we show that innovation inputs and quality decline significantly for treated firms. Small firms lacking counteracting governance mechanisms, such as institutional investors, suffer significantly, while large firms with high institutional investments emerge unscathed. Our results are consistent with theories that predict managerial incentives for ‘playing safe’ lead to value-destroying and risk-reducing actions, especially when counteracting incentive mechanisms are muted.

Suggested Citation

  • Islam, Emdad & Rahman, Lubna, 2023. "Shades of grey: Risk-related agency conflicts and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:83:y:2023:i:c:s0929119923001244
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102475
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risk-related agency conflicts; Innovation; R&D; Shareholders' governance; Litigation rights; Institutional investors;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • 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
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • K41 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Litigation Process
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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