IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v90y2023ics1057521923003460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CEO turnover, product market competition, and leverage policy

Author

Listed:
  • Cao, Cathy Xuying
  • Chen, Chongyang

Abstract

We study how CEO turnover, jointly with product market competition, affects firm leverage policy. About 18% of public nonfinancial US firms in Compustat experience significant switches in their long-term leverage policy every year. Without apparent changes in their operating fundamentals. We find that CEO turnover, especially external and forced turnover, explains shifts in long-term leverage policy. In addition, utilizing the product market fluidity measure and large import tariff changes, we find that, only when coinciding with intensified product market competition, external and forced CEO turnover is significantly and positively associated with the likelihood of firms leveraging up from zero to positive. Our evidence suggests that external and forced CEO turnover is an important vehicle for accomplishing changes in corporate policies necessitated by increases in product market competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Cao, Cathy Xuying & Chen, Chongyang, 2023. "CEO turnover, product market competition, and leverage policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:90:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102830
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521923003460
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102830?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2014. "Asymmetric adjustment toward optimal capital structure: Evidence from a crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 226-242.
    2. Eisfeldt, Andrea L. & Kuhnen, Camelia M., 2013. "CEO turnover in a competitive assignment framework," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(2), pages 351-372.
    3. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/2iclr3ojhv9ko9ord4mpg9odaj is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Feng Li & Russell Lundholm & Michael Minnis, 2013. "A Measure of Competition Based on 10‐K Filings," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 399-436, May.
    5. Kose John & Lubomir Litov, 2010. "Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure: New Evidence," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(4), pages 693-742, December.
    6. Si Li & Xintong Zhan, 2019. "Product Market Threats and Stock Crash Risk," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(9), pages 4011-4031, September.
    7. Yihui Pan & Tracy Yue Wang & Michael S. Weisbach, 2016. "CEO Investment Cycles," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(11), pages 2955-2999.
    8. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    9. Guoli Chen & Donald C. Hambrick, 2012. "CEO Replacement in Turnaround Situations: Executive (Mis)Fit and Its Performance Implications," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 225-243, February.
    10. Sudipto Dasgupta & Xi Li & Albert Y Wang, 2018. "Product Market Competition Shocks, Firm Performance, and Forced CEO Turnover," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(11), pages 4187-4231.
    11. Li, Guangzhong & Li, Jie, 2018. "Managerial diversion, product market competition, and firm performance," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 240-264.
    12. Klaus M. Schmidt, 1997. "Managerial Incentives and Product Market Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(2), pages 191-213.
    13. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.
    14. Valta, Philip, 2012. "Competition and the cost of debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 661-682.
    15. Babar, Md. & Habib, Ahsan, 2021. "Product market competition in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    16. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli & Yermack, David L, 1997. "Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1411-1438, September.
    17. Fee, C Edward & Hadlock, Charles J, 2000. "Management Turnover and Product Market Competition: Empirical Evidence from the U.S. Newspaper Industry," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(2), pages 205-243, April.
    18. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Managerial incentives and risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 431-468, February.
    19. Florian S. Peters & Alexander F. Wagner, 2014. "The Executive Turnover Risk Premium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(4), pages 1529-1563, August.
    20. Dirk Jenter & Fadi Kanaan, 2015. "CEO Turnover and Relative Performance Evaluation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(5), pages 2155-2184, October.
    21. Yeh, Yin-Hua & Liao, Chen-Chieh, 2020. "The impact of product market competition and internal corporate governance on family succession," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    22. Do, Trung K. & Huang, Henry Hongren & Ouyang, Puman, 2022. "Product market threats and leverage adjustments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    23. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 107-156.
    24. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1169-1208.
    25. Todd A. Gormley & David A. Matsa, 2014. "Common Errors: How to (and Not to) Control for Unobserved Heterogeneity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(2), pages 617-661.
    26. Cadenillas, Abel & Cvitanic, Jaksa & Zapatero, Fernando, 2004. "Leverage decision and manager compensation with choice of effort and volatility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 71-92, July.
    27. Laurent Fresard, 2010. "Financial Strength and Product Market Behavior: The Real Effects of Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1097-1122, June.
    28. Gerard Hoberg & Gordon Phillips & Nagpurnanand Prabhala, 2014. "Product Market Threats, Payouts, and Financial Flexibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 293-324, February.
    29. Evgeny Lyandres, 2006. "Capital Structure and Interaction among Firms in Output Markets: Theory and Evidence," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(5), pages 2381-2422, September.
    30. DeFond, Mark L. & Park, Chul W., 1999. "The effect of competition on CEO turnover1," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-56, February.
    31. Ashiq Ali & Sandy Klasa & Eric Yeung, 2009. "The Limitations of Industry Concentration Measures Constructed with Compustat Data: Implications for Finance Research," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(10), pages 3839-3871, October.
    32. Cain, Matthew D. & McKeon, Stephen B., 2016. "CEO Personal Risk-Taking and Corporate Policies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 139-164, February.
    33. Michael L. Lemmon & Michael R. Roberts & Jaime F. Zender, 2008. "Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1575-1608, August.
    34. Ma, Mingze, 2022. "Gendered performance evaluation in CEO turnover," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    35. Yan Zhang & Nandini Rajagopalan, 2010. "Once an outsider, always an outsider? CEO origin, strategic change, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 334-346, March.
    36. Strebulaev, Ilya A. & Yang, Baozhong, 2013. "The mystery of zero-leverage firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 1-23.
    37. Huson, Mark R. & Malatesta, Paul H. & Parrino, Robert, 2004. "Managerial succession and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 237-275, November.
    38. Devos, Erik & Dhillon, Upinder & Jagannathan, Murali & Krishnamurthy, Srinivasan, 2012. "Why are firms unlevered?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 664-682.
    39. Dawn Harris & Constance Helfat, 1997. "Specificity of CEO human capital and compensation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(11), pages 895-920, December.
    40. Paul Brockman & Xiumin Martin & Emre Unlu, 2010. "Executive Compensation and the Maturity Structure of Corporate Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1123-1161, June.
    41. Huang, Ronghong & Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng & Faff, Robert W., 2016. "CEO overconfidence and corporate debt maturity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 93-110.
    42. Steven N. Kaplan & Bernadette A. Minton, 2012. "How Has CEO Turnover Changed?," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 12(1), pages 57-87, March.
    43. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June.
    44. Jian, Ming & Lee, Kin Wai, 2011. "Does CEO reputation matter for capital investments?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 929-946, September.
    45. Fan, Yaoyao & Boateng, Agyenim & King, Timothy & MacRae, Claire, 2019. "Board-CEO friendship ties and firm value: Evidence from US firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    46. Gary A. Ballinger & Jeremy J. Marcel, 2010. "The use of an interim CEO during succession episodes and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 262-283, March.
    47. Pornsit Jiraporn & Pandej Chintrakarn & Yixin Liu, 2012. "Capital Structure, CEO Dominance, and Corporate Performance," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 139-158, December.
    48. Ronald W. Anderson & M. Cecilia Bustamante & Stã‰Phane Guibaud & Mihail Zervos, 2018. "Agency, Firm Growth, and Managerial Turnover," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(1), pages 419-464, February.
    49. Denis, David J & Denis, Diane K, 1995. "Performance Changes Following Top Management Dismissals," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-1057, September.
    50. Islam, Md Ariful & Hossain, Shahadat & Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar, 2021. "Outsider CEOs and corporate debt," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    51. Ayse Karaevli & Edward J. Zajac, 2013. "When Do Outsider CEOs Generate Strategic Change? The Enabling Role of Corporate Stability," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7), pages 1267-1294, November.
    52. Faccio, Mara & Marchica, Maria-Teresa & Mura, Roberto, 2016. "CEO gender, corporate risk-taking, and the efficiency of capital allocation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 193-209.
    53. HARRY DeANGELO & RICHARD ROLL, 2015. "How Stable Are Corporate Capital Structures?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(1), pages 373-418, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Islam, Md Ariful & Hossain, Shahadat & Singh, Harjinder & Sultana, Nigar, 2021. "Outsider CEOs and corporate debt," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Babar, Md. & Habib, Ahsan, 2021. "Product market competition in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Atawnah, Nader & Zaman, Rashid & Liu, Jia & Atawna, Thaer & Maghyereh, Aktham, 2023. "Does foreign competition affect corporate debt maturity structure? Evidence from import penetration," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Bakke, Tor-Erik & Feng, Felix Zhiyu & Mahmudi, Hamed & Zhu, Caroline H., 2022. "Foreign competition and CEO risk-incentive compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Desir, Rosemond & Seavey, Scott E. & Thevenot, Maya, 2024. "Information transfer of CEO turnover: Evidence from firm-CEO mismatch," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Inho Suk & Seungwon Lee & William Kross, 2021. "CEO Turnover and Accounting Earnings: The Role of Earnings Persistence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 3195-3218, May.
    7. Colak, Gonul & Liljeblom, Eva, 2022. "Easy cleanups or forbearing improvements: The effect of CEO tenure on successor’s performance," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Brian L. Connelly & Qiang (John) Li & Wei Shi & Kang‐Bok Lee, 2020. "CEO dismissal: Consequences for the strategic risk taking of competitor CEOs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(11), pages 2092-2125, November.
    9. Si Li & Xintong Zhan, 2019. "Product Market Threats and Stock Crash Risk," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(9), pages 4011-4031, September.
    10. Çolak, Gönül & Korkeamäki, Timo, 2021. "CEO mobility and corporate policy risk," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Shang, Chenguang, 2021. "Dare to play with fire? Managerial ability and the use of short-term debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. George Alexandridis & John A. Doukas & Christos P. Mavis, 2019. "Does Firing a CEO Pay Off?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 48(1), pages 3-43, March.
    13. Kieschnick, Robert & Moussawi, Rabih, 2018. "Firm age, corporate governance, and capital structure choices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 597-614.
    14. Do, Trung K. & Huang, Henry Hongren & Ouyang, Puman, 2022. "Product market threats and leverage adjustments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    15. Cook, Douglas O. & Zhang, Weiwei, 2023. "CEO performance impact on medical leave outcomes," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    16. Cronqvist, Henrik & Makhija, Anil K. & Yonker, Scott E., 2012. "Behavioral consistency in corporate finance: CEO personal and corporate leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 20-40.
    17. Todd Mitton, 2022. "Methodological Variation in Empirical Corporate Finance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 35(2), pages 527-575.
    18. Chien, Yi-Hsin & Hung, Mao-Wei, 2020. "The impact of appointment-based CEO connectedness on firms’ performance and profitability," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    19. Kim, Tae-Nyun & Lee, Pil-Seng, 2023. "Product market threats and tax avoidance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    20. Viktoriya Staneva, 2024. "CEO turnovers and capital structure persistence," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 693-721, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    CEO turnover; Leverage policy; Product market competition; Capital structure;
    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
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:90:y:2023:i:c:s1057521923003460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.