Publications

2015
Working Paper

The Integrity of Private Third-party Compliance Monitoring

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Government agencies are increasingly turning to private, third-party monitors to inspect and assess regulated entities’ compliance with law. The integrity of these regulatory regimes rests on the validity of the information third-party monitors provide to regulators.... View Details

June 2024
Article

The Monitoring Role of Social Media

By: Jonas Heese and Joseph Pacelli

In this study, we examine whether social media activity can reduce corporate misconduct. We use the staggered introduction of 3G mobile broadband access across the United States to identify exogenous increases in social media activity and test whether access to 3G... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Twitter; Corporate Accountability; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks

October 2021
Article

Board Design and Governance Failures at Peer Firms

By: Shelby Gai, J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Andy Wu

Our study introduces board committees as a crucial determinant of board actions. We examine how directors who structurally link different board committees—referred to as multi-committee directors (MCDs)—explain why some board actions are merely symbolic while others... View Details

Keywords: Board Committees; Board Monitoring; New Director Nomination; Peer Financial Restatements; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Performance Effectiveness

October 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Monitor Company: Personal Leadership on Diversity

Several members of a consulting firm work to develop ways to build and nurture a more diverse work environment while reflecting on personal experiences that help them to become leaders in issues of diversity. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Diversity Characteristics; Consulting Industry

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Article

When the Local Newspaper Leaves Town: The Effects of Local Newspaper Closures on Corporate Misconduct

By: Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Caspar David Peter

We examine whether the local press is an effective monitor of corporate misconduct. Specifically, we study the effects of local newspaper closures on violations by local facilities of publicly listed firms. After a local newspaper closure, local facilities increase... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Misconduct; Local Newspapers; Media Coverage; Firm Monitoring; Newspapers

2014
Working Paper

Governing Misvalued Firms

By: Dalida Kadyrzhanova and Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Equity overvaluation is thought to create the potential for managerial misbehavior, while monitoring and corporate governance curb misbehavior. We combine these two insights from the literatures on misvaluation and governance to ask, when does governance matter?... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Performance; Corporate Governance

18 Aug 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring

Keywords: by Lamar Pierce & Michael W. Toffel

11 Oct 2007
Working Paper Summaries

How Firms Respond to Being Rated

Keywords: by Aaron K. Chatterji & Michael W. Toffel

Article

Family Control of Firms and Industries

We test what explains family control of firms and industries and find that the explanation is largely contingent on the identity of families and individual blockholders. Founders and their families are more likely to retain control when doing so gives the firm a... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Cost vs Benefits; Governance Controls; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Competitive Advantage

Research Summary

The Role of Institutions in Overcoming Imperfect Monitoring in Relational Contracting (with Carmit Segal)

In a world in which firms can be hit by transitory adverse shocks it may be too costly for any single worker to verify the true state of the world. In this case, it may not be possible for firms to lower wages in response to adverse shocks and still have the workers... View Details

01 Apr 1997
News

Critical Information: MIS Monitors the Ever-Changing World of IT

based on their best efforts to forecast customer needs. With new technologies such as online grocery scanners, companies can better monitor consumer behavior, allowing them to anticipate needs more accurately and even create new products... View Details

Keywords: Elaine Gottlieb

12 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

What Brands Can Do to Monitor Factory Conditions of Suppliers

not, multinational brands have taken up the mantle of responsibility, establishing codes of conduct that their suppliers are—theoretically at least—obligated to adhere to. Often, the brands also monitor their suppliers’ performance with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Article

Do Private Equity Firms Have Better Management Practices?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

Using an innovative survey measure of management practices on over 15,000 firms, we find private equity firms are better managed than government, family, and privately owned firms, and have similar management to publicly listed firms. This is true both in developed and... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Management Practices and Processes

09 Mar 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Causes and Consequences of Firm Disclosures of Anticorruption Efforts

Keywords: by Paul Healy & George Serafeim

February 2014
Article

Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation

By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial- and disclosure-related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details

Keywords: Independent Directors; Litigation Risk; Class Action Lawsuits; Director Accountability; Reputation; Boards Of Directors; Corporate Governance; Debt Securities; Corporate Accountability; Lawsuits and Litigation

2013
Working Paper

Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation

By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial and disclosure related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Lawsuits and Litigation; Legal Liability