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Enjoying the quiet life: Corporate decision-making by entrenched managers

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  • Ikeda, Naoshi
  • Inoue, Kotaro
  • Watanabe, Sho

Abstract

In this study, we empirically test “quiet life hypothesis,” which predicts that managers who are subject to weak monitoring from the shareholders avoid making difficult decisions such as risky investment and business restructuring with Japanese firm data. We employ cross-shareholder and stable shareholder ownership as the proxy variables of the strength of a manager's defense against market disciplinary power. We examine the effect of the proxy variables on manager-enacted corporate behaviors and the results indicate that entrenched managers who are insulated from disciplinary power of stock market avoid making difficult decisions such as large investments and business restructures. However, when managers are closely monitored by institutional investors and independent directors, they tend to be active in making difficult decisions. Taken together, our results are consistent with managerial quiet life hypothesis.

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  • Ikeda, Naoshi & Inoue, Kotaro & Watanabe, Sho, 2018. "Enjoying the quiet life: Corporate decision-making by entrenched managers," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 55-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:47:y:2018:i:c:p:55-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2017.12.003
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate governance; Cross shareholding; Ownership structure; Quiet life; Risk taking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • 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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