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Shareholder governance, bondholder governance, and managerial risk-taking

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  • King, Tao-Hsien Dolly
  • Wen, Min-Ming

Abstract

We examine the relation between the overall corporate governance structure and managerial risk-taking behavior. We find that the overall governance structure has a significant impact on how managers make decisions on investment policy: strong bondholder governance motivates more low-risk investments such as capital expenditure and lower high-risk investments such as R&D expenditures, whereas weak shareholder governance (entrenched managers) leads to more R&D expenditures. Moreover, we find that the effects of governance on investment policy differ significantly between speculative and investment-grade firms. For speculative firms, strong bondholder or shareholder governance leads to more capital expenditures and low R&D investments. For investment-grade firms, strong bondholder or shareholder governance leads to low capital expenditures and an insignificant impact on R&D investments. Furthermore, financing and investment covenants exhibit strong binding power to deter risky investments. Finally, a more dependent (or a less independent) board is associated with low capital expenditures and high R&D investments.

Suggested Citation

  • King, Tao-Hsien Dolly & Wen, Min-Ming, 2011. "Shareholder governance, bondholder governance, and managerial risk-taking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 512-531, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:35:y:2011:i:3:p:512-531
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