Research by the Corporate Governance Research Initiative

CGRI research spans these topics: general principles, board of directors, leadership and succession planning, compensation, audit and risk, shareholders, and proxy advisory.

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Working Paper

Performance-Based Incentives for Internal Monitors

David F. Larcker, Christopher S. Armstrong, Alan Jagolinzer
February2010

This study examines the use of performance-based incentives for internal monitors (general counsel and chief internal auditor) and whether these incentives impair monitors independence by aligning their interests with the interests of those being…

Case

Baker Hughes, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

David F. Larcker
2010

In 2002, Baker Hughes was accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This case describes the actions taken by the company in response to those accusations. These include hiring a third-party law firm to undertake an…

Case

Equity on Demand, The Netflix Approach to Compensation

David F. Larcker
2010

Netflix was among a small group of Silicon Valley companies to emerge from the technology bubble of the late 1990s a clear winner in terms of growth, market share, and profitability. That Netflix was able not only to prevail over this competition…

Case

Multimillionaire Matchmaker, An Inside Look At CEO Succession Planning

David F. Larcker
2010
This case takes an inside look at CEO succession planning at Energy Corp. The case provides an overview of various models of succession planning, including external search, COO appointment, a horse race, and the inside-outside model. The case then…
Case

Sharks in the Water, Battling an Activist Investor for Corporate Control (B)

David F. Larcker
2010
This case is a follow up to CG-20A, and explains the actions taken by Tarco in response to threat from activist investor Barracuda. The case explains how the company relied on an analysis of its shareholder base and predictive proxy voting to…
Case

Sharks in the Water, Battling an Activist Investor for Corporate Control (A)

David F. Larcker
2010
In July 2006, Barracuda became the largest investor in Tarco International. In a meeting with management, Barracuda’s managing director advised that strong measures needed to be taken to improve operating performance. If management failed,…
Journal Article

The Stock Market's Pricing of Customer Satisfaction

Christopher Ittner, David F. Larcker, Daniel Taylor
Marketing Science September2009 Vol. 28 Issue 5

A number of recent marketing studies examine the stock market’s response to the release of American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scores. The broad purpose of these studies is to investigate the stock market’s valuation of customer…

Journal Article

Discussion of “The Impact of the Options Backdating Scandal on Shareholders” and “Taxes and the Backdating of Stock Option Exercise Dates”

Christopher S. Armstrong, David F. Larcker
Journal of Accounting and Economics March2009 Vol. 47 Issue 1–2

Bernile and Jarrell provide extensive analysis regarding the impact of backdating the stock option exercise price on stock returns for a sample of firms identified by the Wall Street Journal. Dhaliwal, Erickson,…

Case

Royal Dutch/Shell, A Shell Game with Oil Reserves (A)

David F. Larcker
2009
In January 2004, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies announced that it would reduce its estimate of proved oil reserves by nearly 4 billion barrels, or 20 percent. The announcement set off a series of events, including a drop in the company’s…
Case

Royal Dutch/Shell, A Shell Game with Oil Reserves - Governance Overhaul After Scandal (B)

David F. Larcker
2009
Following the revelation that the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies had overstated its proved oil reserves by over 4 billion barrels, company officials announced dramatic changes to the company’s organizational structure and governance system.…
Journal Article

The Power of the Pen and Executive Compensation

John E. Core, Wayne Guay, David F. Larcker
Journal of Financial Economics April2008 Vol. 88 Issue 1

We examine the press’ role in monitoring and influencing executive compensation practice using more than 11,000 press articles about CEO compensation from 1994 to 2002. Negative press coverage is more strongly related to excess annual pay than to…

Case

Attention Shoppers, Executive Compensation at Kroger, Safeway, Costco and Whole Foods

David F. Larcker
2008
Retail grocery sales represent a significant portion of the U.S. economy. The industry was highly competitive, with companies operating on low gross and net margins. As a result, grocery stores were generally under significant pressure to reduce…
Case

Financial Restatements: Methods Companies Use to Distort Financial Performance

2008
Over the last 10 years, the number of publicly traded companies that have had to restate financial results has risen dramatically. Regardless of whether the restatements stemmed from the aggressive application of accounting standards or the need to…
Case

Models of Corporate Governance. Who's the Fairest of Them All?

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
2008

In 2007, corporate governance became a well-discussed topic in the business press. Newspapers produced detailed accounts of corporate fraud, accounting scandals, excessive compensation, and other perceived organizational failures—many of which…

Journal Article

Perfomance-Based Compensation in Professional Service Firms: An Examination of Medical Group Practices

Christopher D. Ittner , David F. Larcker, Mina Pizzini
Journal of Accounting and Economics December2007 Vol. 44 Issue 3

We examine the importance of agency considerations for the mix of salary and performance-based compensation in member-owned medical practices. Performance-based pay increases with the informativeness of clinical productivity measures, and…

Journal Article

Corporate Governance, Accounting Outcomes and Organizational Performance

David F. Larcker, Scott A. Richardson, Irem Tuna
The Accounting Review July2007 Vol. 82 Issue 4

The empirical research examining the association between typical measures of corporate governance and various accounting and economic outcomes has not produced a consistent set of results. We believe that these mixed results are partially…

Journal Article

Endogeneity and Empirical Accounting Research

David F. Larcker, Tjomme O. Rusticus
European Accounting Review May2007 Vol. 16 Issue 1

The discussion reinforces and expands on some of the fundamental issues about endogeneity raised by Chenhall and Moers (European Accounting Review, this issue, pp. 173–195). We focus on the econometric problems researchers encounter when…

Case

10b5-1 Plans, Mortgaging a Defense Against Insider Trading

David F. Larcker, Brian Tayan
2007
In 2006, David Zucker, chief executive officer of Midway Games, came under fire for selling a significant amount of Midway stock just weeks before a precipitous decline in the company’s share price. One year later, Angelo Mozilo, chairman and chief…
Case

AMB Property Corporation, Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry

Maureen McNichols
2007
AMB Property Corporation set out to be a leader in corporate governance and financial reporting. The company, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, and owns industrial properties, believed that its…
Case

AOL Time Warner (A): Accounting for Goodwill

Ron Kasznik
2007
This case asks students to review the impact of SFAS 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, in the context of the AOL Time Warner merger. Under SFAS 142, companies were required to perform periodic testing to determine whether economic goodwill…
Case

AOL Time Warner (B): Recognition of Goodwill Impairment

Ron Kasznik
2007

This case reviews the recognition of goodwill impairment taken by AOL Time Warner following the adoption of SFAS 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. This case is the successor of A-196A, AOL Time Warner (A): Accounting for Goodwill.

Case

Corporate Governance Ratings, Got the grade… What was the test?

David F. Larcker
2007

In 2007, there were three prominent corporate governance ratings firms—The Corporate Library (TCL), Governance Metrics International (GMI), and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). These firms assessed the effectiveness and deficiency of the…

Case

Earnings Conference Calls, Hewlett-Packard Company

Maureen McNichols
2007
The case study asks students to evaluate the role that the quarterly conference call plays in a company’s overall communications strategy with investors. In particular, students are asked to assess what additional information they can learn from…
Case

Executive Compensation at Nabors Industries, Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right?

David F. Larcker
2007

Eugene Isenberg, CEO of Nabors Industries, was listed in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article as one of the highest paid executives in the U.S. over the previous 14 years. He received this compensation as a result of a unique bonus arrangement and…