Say-on-Pay Votes: The Role of the Media
Posted: 4 Apr 2015 Last revised: 11 Aug 2017
Date Written: October 2, 2015
Abstract
We investigate the association between the media coverage of firms’ CEO pay packages and subsequent shareholder voting on say-on-pay resolutions, and find that negative media coverage is able to predict shareholder discontent over say on pay. When we divide media coverage into coverage in the financial and business press versus coverage in the general press, we find that shareholder voting on say-on-pay resolutions is mainly associated with the articles from the financial and business press. This suggests that the media cannot be considered a homogeneous information source that is equally able to predict shareholders’ voting behaviors. As such, our findings have important implications for studies on the role of the media in corporate governance.
Keywords: Executive compensation, Media coverage, Say on pay, Shareholder voting
JEL Classification: M20, M40, M52, G30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation