Sky Blog
In a new paper, we compare the main models of corporate governance (Schoenmaker, Schramade and Winter, 2022). One is the stakeholder model, which recognizes that companies have responsibilities to society that are broader than just making a profit. A problem …
In a recent working paper, we highlight a significant transnational dimension to a remarkable corporate governance development: the dramatic increase in attempts by institutional investors to influence how the companies they invest in address material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) …
Board-shareholder engagement plays an important role in corporate governance. In the last decade, investors have increasingly influenced business decisions, and their activities have extended beyond the formal submission of shareholder resolutions for voting at annual meetings. On their part, directors …
Corporate governance guidelines (“CGGs”) are a relatively recent addition to the corporate governance framework of public companies. In 2003, in response to accounting scandals at Enron Corporation and several other large public companies, the NYSE created rules to improve the …
In recent years, the gap between the compensation of CEOs and their vice presidents (VPs) has been increasing, especially equity compensation (i.e., stock and stock options). Scholars have proposed several explanations. First, the pay differential may relate to the varying …
Last month, the first universal proxy card (UPC) hit EDGAR under the new SEC rule. We now have another example, with some interesting tidbits for aficionados and proxy junkies, and also for anyone who seeks an edge in proxy contest …
The new report by the National Association of Corporate Directors (“NACD”), A Framework for Governing into the Future (the “NACD Report”), is a valuable contribution to corporate governance discourse. Among its primary offerings are a forward-looking perspective on governance and …
Our paper utilizes National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) coaching contracts as a managerial setting to examine whether higher top-managerial pay (our Gridiron CEOs) is associated with better team performance. Coaching contracts are quite compelling as they …
Military strategy and takeover strategy share a few things in common. At some point, generals and M&A lawyers each must recognize that the old technology no longer works as it did in the past and can no longer dominate the …
The economic benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and workplace gender diversity are areas of growing interest for business leaders and regulators. Research shows that socially responsible activities enhance firm value while irresponsible social activities destroy value and that firms …
Corporations are increasingly adding the role of Chief Sustainability Officer to their executive teams — at pay levels that place them among the top five Named Executive Officers — reflecting rising recognition of environmental, social and governance risk. In this …
The days when activists focused on fights over social issues while businesses concentrated on the pursuit of commercial profit are gone. Through pronouncements, boycotts, sponsorships, lobbying, investments, and divestment, businesses and their executives are at the forefront of some of …
In March 2022, the Financial Times reported a “boom” in environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings, with a “race to carve out market share in the very lucrative business of providing advice to investors on environmental, social and governance issues”. …
Corporate law prohibits companies from pursuing profits through criminal misconduct. It uses the fiduciary duties imposed on boards under the Caremark doctrine,[1] and the threat of personal liability of directors for deliberate breach, to help motivate directors to make …
In a recent paper, we use the law protecting directors and officers of Nevada-incorporated firms from liability to study how such laws relate to corporate tax avoidance. Under the 1987 law, those directors and officers are liable only if …
Stock repurchases are popular. Between January 2009 and 2018, S&P 500 firms spent $4.3 trillion to buy back their shares, which is significantly more than these firms spent on dividend payments to their shareholders (Lazonick, Sakinç, and Hopkins, 2020). Stock …
Much of the vast literature on corporate governance focuses on internal issues, such as board characteristics. Yet external governance – the market for corporate control, often known as the takeover market – is critical to determining how well a company …
Directors, officers and other fiduciaries (together, “fiduciaries”) owe two primary duties to a corporation and its shareholders: the duty of loyalty and the duty of care. The duty of loyalty requires that fiduciaries make business judgments in the honest and …
According to conventional wisdom, climate mitigation by governmental regulation should target the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, corporations and industries, including their products and supply chains, are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming and …