Hiring Lucky CEOs

Mario Daniele Amore, Sebastian Schwenen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Existing research shows that luck increases CEOs’ pay at their current firm. In this work, we explore how luck affects: (1) CEOs’ employment opportunities and (2) the performance of firms that hire lucky CEOs. Our results indicate that luck increases the likelihood to get a CEO job at new companies. Conditional on moving, lucky CEOs obtain a higher pay (both in absolute terms and relative to new industry peers) mostly due to higher incentive pay. Moreover, lucky CEOs tend to be hired by firms operating in less competitive industries. Despite the higher compensation they receive, the appointment of lucky CEOs is associated with a substantial decline in firm performance. (JEL: G34, D86, J33, M12).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)571-596
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Law, Economics, and Organization
Volume40
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2024

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