The Power of the Pen Reconsidered: The Media, CEO Human Capital, and Corporate Governance

53 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2014 Last revised: 26 Jul 2016

See all articles by Baixiao Liu

Baixiao Liu

Peking University HSBC Business School

John J. McConnell

Purdue University

Wei Xu

Peking University - HSBC School of Business

Date Written: July 25, 2016

Abstract

By examining the post-retirement outside board seats held by former CEOs of S&P 1500 firms, we find that CEOs’ post-retirement outside board memberships are influenced by the tone and level of media coverage given to the CEOs’ firms while the CEOs were “on the job.” These results provide evidence of a direct economic link between media coverage of CEOs’ performance today and CEOs’ future opportunity sets. These results buttress the proposition that the media can play a role in corporate governance by influencing the value of CEOs’ human capital.

Keywords: Media; Human Capital; CEO Retirement; Outside Directorships

JEL Classification: G31; G32; G34

Suggested Citation

Liu, Baixiao and McConnell, John J. and Xu, Wei, The Power of the Pen Reconsidered: The Media, CEO Human Capital, and Corporate Governance (July 25, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2404199 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2404199

Baixiao Liu (Contact Author)

Peking University HSBC Business School ( email )

John J. McConnell

Purdue University ( email )

MGMT, KRAN
403 West State St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2056
United States
765-494-5910 (Phone)
765-494-7863 (Fax)

Wei Xu

Peking University - HSBC School of Business

University Town
Nanshan District
Shenzhen, Guang Dong 518055
China

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