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
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: Suggested Citation