Publications

Winter 2021
Article

Can Staggered Boards Improve Value? Causal Evidence from Massachusetts

By: Robert Daines, Shelley Xin Li and Charles C.Y. Wang

We study the effect of staggered boards (SBs) using a quasi-experiment: a 1990 law that imposed an SB on all Massachusetts-incorporated firms. The law led to an increase in Tobin's Q, investment in CAPEX and R&D, patents, higher-quality patented innovations, and... View Details

Keywords: Staggered Board; Entrenchment; Life-cycle; Tobin's Q; Innovation; Profitability; Investor Composition; Governing and Advisory Boards; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Institutional Investing; Value

Find at Harvard

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54565 Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior By: Chattopadhyay, Akash, Matthew D. Shaffer, and Charles C.Y. View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2021
Working Paper

rTSR: Properties, Determinants, and Consequences of Benchmark Choice

By: Paul Ma, Jee-Eun Shin and Charles C.Y. Wang

We develop a measurement-error framework for assessing the quality of relative-performance metrics designed to filter out the systematic component of performance and analyze relative total shareholder return (rTSR)—the predominant metric market participants use to... View Details

Keywords: Relative TSR; Relative Performance Evaluation; Systematic Risk; Board Of Directors; Compensation Consultants; Style Effects; Executive Compensation; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Governance

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

Evidence from a Natural Experiment Authors:Cohen, Alma, and Charles C.Y. Wang Abstract This paper examines whether staggered boards reduce firm value or are merely associated... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55030 Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior By: Chattopadhyay, Akash, Matthew D. Shaffer, and Charles C.Y.... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2018
Supplement

China Vanke: Battle for Control (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Charles C.Y. Wang, Dawn H. Lau and Anthony K. Woo

China Resources expresses disagreement over the validity of the results of the board vote as announced by China Vanke. It further raises objections to Vanke's handling of the announcement as well as reiterates its doubts about the strategic rationale of the proposed... View Details

Keywords: China Vanke; China Resources; Hostile Takeover; Board Of Directors; Shareholding Structure; Shareholder Rights; Asset Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Real Estate Industry; China

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54596 Relative Performance Benchmarks: Do Boards Follow the Informativeness Principle? By: Ma, Paul, Jee Eun Shin, and Charles C.Y. View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2020
Working Paper

Is Accounting Useful for Forecasting GDP Growth? A Machine Learning Perspective

By: Srikant Datar, Apurv Jain, Charles C.Y. Wang and Siyu Zhang

We provide a comprehensive examination of whether, to what extent, and which accounting variables are useful for improving the predictive accuracy of GDP growth forecasts. We leverage statistical models that accommodate a broad set of (341) variables—outnumbering the... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Elastic Net; GDP Growth; Machine Learning; Macro Forecasting; Short Fat Data; Accounting; Economic Growth; Forecasting and Prediction; Analytics and Data Science

2021
Working Paper

How Much Should We Trust Staggered Difference-In-Differences Estimates?

By: Andrew C. Baker, David F. Larcker and Charles C.Y. Wang

Difference-in-differences analysis with staggered treatment timing is frequently used to assess the impact of policy changes on corporate outcomes in academic research. However, recent advances in econometric theory show that such designs are likely to be biased in the... View Details

Keywords: Difference In Differences; Staggered Difference-in-differences Designs; Generalized Difference-in-differences; Dynamic Treatment Effects; Mathematical Methods

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

attitudes about the CEO’s company. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50763 Can Staggered Boards Improve Value? Evidence from the Massachusetts Natural Experiment By: Daines, Robert, Shelley Xin Li, and View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

Charles C.Y. Wang Abstract—In the presence of managerial short-termism and asymmetric information about skill and effort provision, firms may opportunistically shift earnings... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2020 (Revised March 2024)
Case

CIAM: Home-Grown Shareholder Activism in France

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Tonia Labruyere and Vincent Dessain

The case discusses the strategy of CIAM, a French activist investment firm, involved in a case of a buy-out of minority shareholders in the telecommunications sector. Altice NV, an international telecommunications company based in the Netherlands that owned more than... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Private Equity; Strategy; Valuation; Investment Activism; Financial Services Industry; France

Educators

2024
Working Paper

Scaling Core Earnings Measurement with Large Language Models

By: Matthew Shaffer and Charles CY Wang

We study the application of large language models (LLMs) to the estimation of core earnings, i.e., a firm's persistent profitability from its core business activities. This construct is central to investors' assessments of economic performance and valuations. However,... View Details

Keywords: Large Language Models; AI and Machine Learning; Accounting; Profit; Corporate Disclosure; Analytics and Data Science; Measurement and Metrics

January 2022 (Revised March 2022)
Module Note

Analysis of Financial and Non-Financial Information for Forecasting Performance

This note describes the main themes and cases of a teaching module on the analysis of information from, and outside of, financial statements for forecasting firms’ future financial performance. The module’s pedagogical goal is to deepen students’ understanding of the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Performance; Analysis; Valuation; Accounting; Finance

March 2022
Supplement

Turkcell Student Template

August 2021
Supplement

Airgas Valuation Instructor

September 2018 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Misaki Capital and Sangetsu Corporation

Teaching Note for HBS No. 117-007. View Details