Say-on-pay votes and their impact on CEO power, firm performance and firm strategic policies : evidence from Anglo-Saxon economies

Joura, Essam Ali

Abstract

This thesis aims to provide additional insights into the understanding and the importance of various types of SOP votes. Motived by a new regulation called “Pay Ratio Disclosure” in the UK and the USA, and the subsequent changes of SOP regulation in Australia and the UK, which have not been covered in previous studies, this thesis aims to investigate the impact of SOP votes on CEO power as measured by the ratio of CEO pay to the average employee pay; on firm performance; and on firm strategic policies
A data is obtained for a sample 1931 listed firms in the four countries, namely, Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA during the period from 2012 to 2015 in Australia and Canada, from 2014 to 2016 in the UK, and from 2011 to 2015 in the USA. These periods are different since they are based on the date of adopting the SOP law. By employing a Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML) estimator, the findings of the empirical analyses show that CEO power is negatively impacted by SOP votes in the four countries. This indicates that shareholders’ voice is successful in reducing managerial power, regardless of the nature of votes.
Furthermore, the current research suggests that efficiency improvement may come via some other mechanisms, for example, the pressure from shareholders’ active monitoring. In addition, multiple evidences that emerged from this study suggest that stock market returns are driven by factors beyond the control of corporate managers. This study also finds that the varying effects of SOP votes on firms’ strategic policies might be ascribed to either the adoption of a specific SOP practice or the effectiveness of the board . The thesis’s findings have several implications for shareholders, firms, government and policymakers.

Citation

Joura, E. A. Say-on-pay votes and their impact on CEO power, firm performance and firm strategic policies : evidence from Anglo-Saxon economies. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4222734

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 23, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Accounting; Business
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4222734
• Additional Information: Business School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2020