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Delegated Shareholder Activism

Author

Listed:
  • Bernhardt, Dan

    (University of Illinois & University of Warwick)

  • Shaoting Pi

    (Iowa State University)

Abstract

Hedge fund activists often aim to convince other shareholders to vote for a particular corporate policy, while majority shareholders recognize that activist recommendations serve their own interests, not necessarily maximizing firm value. We show how an activist can increase the likelihood of a favorable vote by delegating the tasks of acquiring information and making recommendations to another activist. This choice balances motivating the delegated activist to acquire costly information against ensuring shareholders trust the recommendation. We characterize how the hedge fund activist’s bias affects the delegation bias, information acquisition, recommendation and shareholder voting decisions, and firm value. JEL Codes: D72 ; G23 ; G34 ; D83 ; K22

Suggested Citation

  • Bernhardt, Dan & Shaoting Pi, 2024. "Delegated Shareholder Activism," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1502, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:1502
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/workingpapers/2024/twerp_1502_-_bernhardt.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David P. Baron, 2001. "Private Politics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Integrated Strategy," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), pages 7-45, March.
    2. Alon Brav & Wei Jiang & Frank Partnoy & Randall Thomas, 2008. "Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1729-1775, August.
    3. Alon Brav & Wei Jiang & Hyunseob Kim, 2015. "Editor's Choice The Real Effects of Hedge Fund Activism: Productivity, Asset Allocation, and Labor Outcomes," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(10), pages 2723-2769.
    4. Marco Becht & Julian Franks & Colin Mayer & Stefano Rossi, 2010. "Returns to Shareholder Activism: Evidence from a Clinical Study of the Hermes UK Focus Fund," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Governance, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Coffee, Jr., John C. & Palia, Darius, 2016. "The Wolf at the Door: The Impact of Hedge Fund Activism on Corporate Governance," Annals of Corporate Governance, now publishers, vol. 1(1), pages 1-94, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hedge Fund Activism ; Delegation ; Information Acquisition ; Recommendations ; Shareholder Voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law

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