Which Employee Characteristics Move Stock Prices?: Evidence from the Boston Celtics

Abstract

I use data from the Boston Celtics, which traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 1986 to 1998, to investigate the employee characteristics that move stock prices. Investors positively value top-level training when firms seek to hire inexperienced employees. For all added employees, most of whom are experienced, investors respond positively to expected complementarities with existing workers but do not respond to salary. Investors positively value the removal of an older, highly-paid worker but negatively value the removal of a long-tenured worker. These results suggest that a firm’s employee base affects its value.

Keywords: Labor and Finance, Corporate Governance

JEL Classification: G30, G34, J24, J42