Are Generalists Beneficial to Corporate Shareholders? Evidence from Sudden Deaths

André Betzer (), Maximilian Ibel (), Hye Seung (Grace) Lee (), Peter Limbach () and Jesus M. Salas ()
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André Betzer: BUW - Schumpeter School of Business and Economics
Maximilian Ibel: BUW - Schumpeter School of Business and Economics
Hye Seung (Grace) Lee: Fordham University
Peter Limbach: University of Cologne - Centre for Financial Research (CFR)
Jesus M. Salas: College of Business at Lehigh University

No SDP16009, Schumpeter Discussion Papers from Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library

Abstract: This study documents a positive, economically meaningful impact of executives’ general managerial skills on shareholder value. Examining 171 sudden executive deaths over thirty years, we find that a one-standarddeviation increase in the general ability index corresponds to at least a 1.5 percentage point decrease in abnormal stock returns to death announcements. Generalists are found to be significantly more valuable for firms with fewer growth prospects where difficult tasks (e.g., restructurings) need to be performed and adaptations to changing business environments become necessary. Our results provide a market-based explanation for the documented generalist hiring premium and the increasing share of generalists.

Keywords: executive heterogeneity; managerial work experience; firm value (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G30 G34 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46
Date: 2017-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cfn, nep-hrm and nep-lma
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