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We examine the contractual implications of a lender’s trust for corporate loans. We measure how trusting a lender is using the average trust attitude in the chief executive officer’s ancestral country of origin. We find that banks with trusting CEOs charge lower interest rates in U.S. syndicated loans. This effect is identified within existing lender–borrower relationships and similar types of loans. Further analyses indicate that trust reduces the cost of credit by boosting the perceived credibility of borrower information and by mitigating contracting problems. We corroborate our findings by conducting a survey of loan officers with experience in loan syndication. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance. Supplemental Material: The internet appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4371 .

Managers distill their lessons from failure into proverb-like simple rules heuristics such as ‘hire for attitude, not for skills,’ simple rules which they hold dear, refine continuously, and share to their teams and organizations. But how exactly do managers learn these rules? And why - what are the outcomes of creating and using them? This dissertation addresses the how? and the why? symmetrically, with four studies, a conceptual one and an empirical one for each question. It describes how managers learn pairs of simple rules through a complex process that involves a triple insight, reflection, and a roller-coaster of feelings. After being articulated, tested, adapted, and refined, these simple rules are often shared through formal or informal communication and adopted as guidelines (under expert authority) or as policies (under hierarchical or collective authority). While most managerial simple rules are pragmatic, designed to help the manager with hiring, selecting clients or managing finances, some simple rules play crucial roles in the self-driven individual change of the manager, often from micromanaging to delegating and trusting people.

Managers distill their lessons from failure into proverb-like simple rules heuristics such as ‘hire for attitude, not for skills,’ simple rules which they hold dear, refine continuously, and share to their teams and organizations. But how exactly do managers learn these rules? And why - what are the outcomes of creating and using them? This dissertation addresses the how? and the why? symmetrically, with four studies, a conceptual one and an empirical one for each question. It describes how managers learn pairs of simple rules through a complex process that involves a triple insight, reflection, and a roller-coaster of feelings. After being articulated, tested, adapted, and refined, these simple rules are often shared through formal or informal communication and adopted as guidelines (under expert authority) or as policies (under hierarchical or collective authority). While most managerial simple rules are pragmatic, designed to help the manager with hiring, selecting clients or managing finances, some simple rules play crucial roles in the self-driven individual change of the manager, often from micromanaging to delegating and trusting people.

Using comprehensive data on 28 cohorts in Sweden, we analyze CEO health and its determinants and outcomes. We find CEOs are in much better health than the population and on par with other high-skill professionals. These results apply in particular to mental health and to CEOs of larger companies. We explore three mechanisms that can account for CEOs’ robust health. First, we find health predicts appointment to a CEO position. Second, the CEO position has no discernible impact on the health of its holder. Third, poor health is associated with greater CEO turnover. Here, both contemporaneous health and health at the time of appointment matter. Poor CEO health also predicts poor firm outcomes. We find a statistically significant association between mental health and corporate performance for smaller-firm CEOs, for whom a one standard deviation deterioration in mental health translates into a performance reduction of 6% relative to the mean.

Social activism, including movements towards equal pay, gender rights, and racial equality, has heightened public scrutiny, exerting pressure on firms to reassess and reform their human resource practices to ensure they align with current social and ethical norms. Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) have a potentially important role in defining and promoting appropriate human resource practices through human resource disclosures in corporate annual reports. We empirically examine the effect of CHROs on expanded human capital resource (HCR) disclosures, recently mandated by the SEC. We find that CHROs have a greater effect on the quality of HCR disclosures when they belong to the top management team, and less so when they belong to groups that are more poorly represented in top management, such as women, racial or ethnic minorities, or non-US nationals, and CHROs holding a liberal arts degree. Jointly considering the characteristics of CHROs, CEOs, and CFOs, we additionally find that pro-democratic political ideology is related to higher quality HCR disclosures. This study contributes to the literature by introducing a generalizable measure of HCR disclosure quality, uncovering significant heterogeneity in HCR disclosure quality across large US firms, and highlighting the role of CHROs in this process. In doing so, this study documents evidence that individual top executives in addition to the CEO and CFO can have a measurable effect on voluntary financial disclosures.

Purpose Within intellectual disability care organizations (IDCOs), it is vital that professionals share and apply knowledge to improve the quality of care for their service users. Given that chief executive officers (CEOs) play a pivotal role in enabling these processes, this paper aims to investigate both the underlying motives and strategies behind CEOs’ organizational knowledge leadership and their contribution to improving these knowledge processes. Design/methodology/approach In this exploratory qualitative study, 11 CEOs from IDCOs in the Netherlands who are actively involved in knowledge management within their organizations were interviewed. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Findings CEOs’ motives for stimulating knowledge processes among professionals in IDCOs arise from the internal (e.g. the CEOs themselves) and external (e.g. policy) contexts. This study also identified four strategies adopted by CEOs to stimulate sharing and application of knowledge: providing organizational conditions for effective knowledge processes; focused attention on talent development; acknowledgment and deployment of knowledge holders; and knowledge-driven participation in collaborative partnerships. These strategies are used in combination and have been shown to reinforce one another. Practical implications An overview of strategies for stimulating knowledge processes is now available. Originality/value The results display the leadership of CEOs in knowledge strategies. Insights into their perceptions and values are provided while elaborating on their motives to take this role.

DIW Wochenbericht

DIW Weekly Report

The upward trend in women’s representation on executive and supervisory boards of major companies in Germany continued in 2022, although the overall momentum has slowed yet again. Growth on executive boards in particular has slowed, as the most recent DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer shows: Following a significant increase at the 200 largest companies from 2020 to 2021, there was only a one-percentage-point increase to just under 16 percent in the share of women on executive boards in 2022. The greatest increases were in the DAX-40 companies, where there was a share of women on executive boards of over 20 percent for the first time, and companies with government-owned shares, where the share reached 30 percent for the first time. A similar development can be seen in supervisory boards, albeit on a higher level. This development suggests that the companies subject to the inclusion requirement for executive boards, which has been in effect since 2021, implemented it quickly, but have since slowed their efforts. With the Equal Participation of Men and Women in Leadership Positions Act and its successor, policymakers have recently significantly improved the conditions for more women in top bodies. Now companies must do the work, as gender parity remains a distant prospect in many places. Most importantly, companies should make efforts to create an inclusive work culture., DIW Weekly Report

Many companies in Germany must provide information beyond financial figures in their annual reports. For some years now, legislators have increasingly required information on non-financial aspects, such as the shares of women in leadership positions. Using a quantitative text analysis of annual reports, this second report in the 2023 DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer shows that the major publicly listed corporations in Germany implement the reporting requirements very differently. Reporting about women and leadership positions increased overall between 2009 and 2020 in line with the requirements. However, there were clear differences in the companies’ focus: There is an equality-oriented group of companies that reports extensively about concrete measures to increase the share of women in leadership positions. This group has significantly more women on their supervisory boards than the other group, compliance-oriented companies, which seem to be mainly concerned with fulfilling the legal requirements. Companies’ reporting on women and leadership positions is thus an indicator and useful signal to outside stakeholders of how serious companies are about gender equality., DIW Weekly Report

Im Rahmen ihrer Jahresabschlüsse müssen viele Unternehmen in Deutschland nicht nur über ihre finanziellen Kennzahlen berichten. Seit einigen Jahren verlangt der Gesetzgeber vermehrt auch Auskünfte zu nichtfinanziellen Aspekten wie der Beteiligung von Frauen an Führungspositionen. Dieser zweite Teil des DIW Managerinnen-Barometers 2023 zeigt auf Basis einer quantitativen Textanalyse von Unternehmensberichten, dass die großen börsennotierten Konzerne in Deutschland die Vorgaben sehr unterschiedlich umsetzen. Zwar hat die Berichterstattung über Frauen und Führungspositionen entsprechend der Vorgaben im Untersuchungszeitraum von 2009 bis 2020 insgesamt stark zugenommen. Allerdings treten auch deutliche Unterschiede in der Themenschwerpunktsetzung zu Tage: So findet sich eine gleichstellungsorientierte Gruppe von Unternehmen, die umfangreich über konkrete Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung des Frauenanteils in Führungspositionen berichtet. Diese Gruppe weist eine deutlich höhere Beteiligung von Frauen im Aufsichtsrat auf als Unternehmen, die eher complianceorientiert berichten und in erster Linie daran interessiert scheinen, die gesetzlichen Vorgaben zu erfüllen. Die Berichterstattung der Unternehmen zu Frauen und Führungspositionen ist also ein Indikator und damit nützliches Signal nach außen, wie ernst es Unternehmen mit der Gleichstellung ist., DIW Wochenbericht

En este documento se aborda el problema de la posible influencia del género del director ejecutivo sobre la incorporación de la responsabilidad social empresarial. El objetivo fue estudiar si existe relación entre estas variables. Se utilizó una metodología de tipo cuantitativo, aplicada a una base de datos con información sobre el uso de prácticas generales de gestión. Se trata de una base de 107 prácticas específicas de la responsabilidad social empresarial. Para estudiar la relación entre el género del director ejecutivo y estas variables se utilizaron las pruebas estadísticas chi cuadrado y diferencia de medias. Se encontró que, en general, el género del director ejecutivo no influye en la aplicación de la responsabilidad social empresarial, a excepción de algunas acciones de esta última de carácter filantrópico y del uso del voluntariado corporativo. This document addresses the problem of the possible influence of the CEO gender on the incorporation of corporate social responsibility. The objective was to study whether there is a relationship between these variables. A quantitative methodology was used, applied to a database with information on the use of general management practices. It is a database of 107 practices specific to corporate social responsibility. To study the relationship between the CEO gender and these variables, the statistical tests of chi-square and difference of means were used. It was found that, in general, the CEO gender does not influence the application of corporate social responsibility, with the exception of some social responsibility actions of a philanthropic nature and the use of corporate volunteering.

We study the association between the gender of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the probability that firms go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), using data for the full population of Swedish IPO firms from 2005-2017, and matched private firms. We find that firms that go public are less likely to have a female CEO. The results are robust when we test for a change of CEO: firms that switch from a male to a female CEO are less likely to go public, and when we consider the gender balance among the board of directors.

The stock market has an important role in growth and development of countries. Network analysis is one of the latest method in analyzing the stock market. In quantitative science literature, It is a new concept for a macro view to whole market. Therefore, this research analyzes the interpersonal relationships’ network in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). From the type of data collected and analyzed point of view, this study is a quantitative research in network analysis domain. The research period is from 2013 to 2017. Softwares such as PreMap and UCINET used for analyzing data. The research results indicated that some individuals, in comparison with others, have a better position in communicative networks. Having better position has caused these individuals to encounter fewer mediators in gaining access to others, and in turn easier access to available resources. In addition, their ability in gaining access to information enhanced via the cluster of network members. Therefore, it might be concluded that these individuals are key actors in governing structure of the TSE. Furthermore, this network follows a kind of bus morphology i.e. individuals act as a bridge for other units and connect them to the core of the communication network.

How chief executive officers (CEOs) use their leisure to help respond to the demands of their job is important for themselves, their employees, and their organizations. This study shines light on this hardly explored subject by focusing on CEOs of major US companies and their “serious leisure,” the goal-oriented pursuit of a non-work passion. Serious leisure is increasingly practiced by the population at large as well as by top leaders. This study is based on 16 interviews with “serious leisurite” CEOs of Fortune 500, S&P 500, or comparable organizations. Novel insights are brought into the ways in which CEOs believe their passionate non-work pursuit supports not only coping with the strain of the top job but also optimal functioning in it, as well as into how they perceive the demands of the CEO role. This work contributes to research on leader personal resources and leader effectiveness, executive job demands, as well as to the leisure-based recovery literature.

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Financial Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Financial Management Association International We use rich data on all business, economics, and engineering graduates in Sweden to study the lack of women among chief executive officers (CEOs). A comprehensive battery of graduates’ characteristics explains 40% of the gender gaps in CEO appointments and 60% among graduates with children. The explanatory power mostly comes from absences and unemployment, which are about twice as likely for women as men. These gender differences increase following childbirth, and they persist in the long run. We present and discuss potential explanations to the explained and remaining gaps. Although the large unexplained share makes it hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the gender gap in CEO appointments, the large contribution of labor market attachment to the explained share suggests work–family trade-offs are an important part of the story.

This second report in the DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer 2022 explores the designs and effects of gender quotas across Europe, coming to the conclusion that they are an effective instrument for increasing the share of women in top positions at large companies. Furthermore, the quotas differ greatly between the countries, for example in regard to the number of companies subject to the quota, the concrete quota targets, or sanctions. Using European data for the years 2003 to 2021, this report shows that the group of nine EU countries that have introduced a gender quota has a significantly greater share of women on top decision-making bodies than the group of the non-quota EU countries (almost 35 percent compared to 22 percent). Generally, the share of female non-executive directors (in Germany, this refers to supervisory board members) is higher than the share of female executive directors. The effectiveness of quota regulations has been confirmed by calculations that take into account that certain factors differ by country, such as cultural norms regarding gender roles or labor market policy and family policy. Against this background, the President of the European Commission’s initiative to advance a draft directive for more equal representation of men and women on the boards of large companies appears helpful. The proposal is currently being blocked in the Council of the EU. If this changes, the share of women on boards could increase, especially in the countries that do not yet have a mandatory gender quota., DIW Weekly Report

DIW Wochenbericht

BackgroundHealthcare organizations are extremely complex. The work of their CEOs is particularly demanding, especially in the public sector, though little is known about how the managerial work of a healthcare organization CEO unfolds. Drawing from scholarship on managerial work and management in pluralistic organizations, we sought to answer the questions: What is the content of managerial work of CEOs in public healthcare in Italy? How do healthcare CEOs perform their managerial work in complex interactions with multiple stakeholders?MethodsFor this study we adopted a multi-method approach in which we conducted a survey to investigate CEO behaviors, tracked CEO working time for 4 weeks, and conducted semi-structured interviews with senior CEOs.ResultsCEOs in public healthcare devote most of their time to interaction, which half of which is perceived as being occupied with apparently mundane problems. Nonetheless, devoting time to such activities is functional to a CEO’s goals because change in pluralistic contexts can be achieved only if the CEO can handle the organization’s complexity. CEOs do this by engaging in routines and conversations with professionals, creating consensus, and establishing networks with external stakeholders.ConclusionsCEOs are called to reduce fragmentation and foster cooperation across disciplines and professional groups, with the overarching aim to achieve integrated care. Using an analytical approach we were able to take into account the context and the relational dimension of the managerial work of healthcare CEOs and the specificities of this role.Trial registrationThis article does not report the results of a healthcare intervention on human participants, and the material used in the research did not require ethical approval according to Italian law.

Geschlechterquoten sind ein effektives Instrument, um den Frauenanteil in Spitzengremien großer Unternehmen in Europa zu erhöhen. Dabei unterscheiden sich die Quotenregelungen mitunter stark zwischen den einzelnen Ländern, etwa mit Blick auf die Zahl der betroffenen Unternehmen, die konkreten Quotenziele oder Sanktionen. Zu diesen Ergebnissen kommt dieser Bericht als zweiter Teil des DIW Managerinnen- Barometers 2022. Auf Basis europäischer Daten für die Jahre 2003 bis 2021 zeigt sich, dass die Gruppe der neun EU-Länder, die eine Geschlechterquote eingeführt haben, der Gruppe der übrigen EU-Länder mittlerweile deutlich voraus ist, was die Repräsentanz von Frauen im Spitzengremium betrifft (knapp 35 im Vergleich zu gut 22 Prozent). In der Regel ist der Frauenanteil unter den nichtexekutiven DirektorInnen - in Deutschland die AufsichtsrätInnen - höher als unter den exekutiven DirektorInnen. Berechnungen, die berücksichtigen, dass sich die Länder hinsichtlich Faktoren wie kultureller Normen bezüglich der Geschlechterrollen oder der Arbeitsmarkt- und Familienpolitik unterscheiden, bestätigen die Wirksamkeit von Quotenregelungen. Vor diesem Hintergrund erscheint die jüngste Initiative der EU-Kommissionspräsidentin, den Richtlinienvorschlag der EU-Kommission für eine ausgewogenere Vertretung von Frauen und Männern in Spitzengremien großer Unternehmen voranzubringen, hilfreich. Derzeit wird er noch im Rat der Europäischen Union blockiert. Würde sich dies ändern, könnten die Frauenanteile in den Spitzengremien insbesondere in jenen Ländern steigen, die noch keine gesetzliche Geschlechterquote haben., DIW Wochenbericht

DIW Weekly Report

Nachdem es jahrelang höchstens in kleinen Schritten voran- ging, haben große Unternehmen in Deutschland zuletzt deutlich mehr Frauen in ihre Vorstände berufen. In den 200 umsatzstärksten Unternehmen gab es im Spätherbst des vergangenen Jahres 139 Vorständinnen und damit 38 mehr als ein Jahr zuvor. Der entsprechende Frauenanteil nahm um gut drei Prozentpunkte auf fast 15 Prozent zu. So stark war der Anstieg seit Start des DIW Managerinnen-Barometers im Jahr 2006 noch nie. Auch in den DAX-Unternehmen gab es im Durchschnitt deutlich mehr Vorständinnen. Das im vergangenen Jahr verabschiedete Beteiligungsgebot für Vorstände, das ab August dieses Jahres gilt, hat offenbar starke Antizipationseffekte ausgelöst: In den Top-200-Unternehmen, die daran gebunden sein werden, ist der Frauenanteil im Vorstand von gut 14 auf gut 19 Prozent gestiegen, in den anderen Unternehmen hingegen nur von elf auf rund 14 Prozent. Ähnlich wie bei der Geschlechterquote für Aufsichtsräte zeichnet sich auch mit Blick auf die Vorstände ab, dass gesetzliche Vorgaben ein effektives Instrument sind, um den Frauenanteil in Spitzengremien zu erhöhen - wenngleich die Dynamik in den Aufsichtsräten im vergangenen Jahr deutlich schwächer war als in den Jahren zuvor.

There was a significant increase in the number of women on executive boards of large companies in Germany from 2020 to 2021 after years of slow progress: In fall 2021, there were 139 women on the executive boards of the 200 largest companies, 38 more than in 2020. This is an increase of a good three percentage points to almost 15 percent, the largest seen since the beginning of the DIW Berlin Women Executives Barometer in 2006. There were also markedly more female executive board members on average in the DAX companies. The inclusion requirement for executive boards (Beteiligungsgebot für Vorstände), which was adopted in 2021 and comes into effect in August 2022, has clearly resulted in anticipation effects: The share of female executive board members of companies subject to the requirement has increased from a good 14 percent to a good 19 percent. In contrast, the share of female executive board members of companies not subject to the requirement only increased from 11 percent to around 14 percent. Similar to the gender quota for supervisory boards, this shows that statutory requirements are an effective instrument for increasing the share of women on boards. The momentum in supervisory boards, however, was markedly weaker in 2021 than in previous years., DIW Weekly Report

This paper investigates the probability of companies to perform Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As) based on the characteristics of the CEO.. We use a sample of 794 CEOs of nonfinancial firms, which were listed on the B3 from 2000 to 2017. We adopt a descriptive approach and run logistic regressions to examine the probability of a company performing M&As, given the characteristics of its CEO. We show that CEOs with finance backgrounds are less likely to perform M&As. We find no statistically significant correlations for other CEO’s characteristics, such as executive tenure, age, education, participation as chair of the board, previous experience as an entrepreneur or being a shareholder of the acquiring company. RESUMO Este artigo investiga a probabilidade de empresas realizarem Fusões e Aquisições (F&A) por meio da análise das características dos CEOs. Utilizamos uma amostra de 794 CEOs de empresas não financeiras listadas na B3, no período de 2000 a 2017. O estudo apresenta uma abordagem descritiva para análise dos perfis dos CEOs e recorre ao modelo Logit para examinar a probabilidade de ocorrer F&As, dadas as características dos CEOs. Encontramos que CEOs com formação em Finanças têm menor probabilidade de realizar F&A comparados aos CEOs com outras formações. As variáveis tempo do CEO na empresa, idade, educação, participação do CEO como presidente do conselho de administração, experiência prévia como empreendedor e ser acionista da empresa adquirente não apresentaram significância estatística.

We examine how cultural distance between an analyst and a CEO is associated with earnings forecast performance. Using a sample of 283,062 analyst-firm-year earnings forecasts over the period 1992-2016, we find that greater cultural distance is associated with greater forecast error. This finding is robust to the use of alternative culture frameworks. We further document that our result is mainly driven by a culture effect rather than bilateral trust or a shared common language. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Significance The relative importance of personal traits compared with context for predicting behavior is a long-standing issue in psychology. This debate plays out in a practical way every time an employer, voter, or other decision maker has to infer expected professional conduct based on observed personal behavior. Despite its theoretical and practical importance, there is little academic consensus on this question. We fill this void with evidence connecting personal infidelity to professional behavior in 4 different settings., We study the connection between personal and professional behavior by introducing usage of a marital infidelity website as a measure of personal conduct. Police officers and financial advisors who use the infidelity website are significantly more likely to engage in professional misconduct. Results are similar for US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defendants accused of white-collar crimes, and companies with chief executive officers (CEOs) or chief financial officers (CFOs) who use the website are more than twice as likely to engage in corporate misconduct. The relation is not explained by a wide range of regional, firm, executive, and cultural variables. These findings suggest that personal and workplace behavior are closely related.

We analyze the effect of CEO education on environmental decision-making. Using a unique sample of Danish firms from 1996 to 2012, we find that CEO education significantly improves firms' energy efficiency. We seek to derive causality using health shocks: the hospitalization of highly educated CEOs induces a drop in energy efficiency, whereas the hospitalization of less educated CEOs does not have any significant effect. Exploring the mechanisms at play, we show that our results are largely driven by advanced education in business degrees. Moreover, we show that CEO education is associated with greater environmental awareness: highly educated CEOs exhibit greater concerns for climate change, as measured by a survey of social preferences, and drive more environmentally efficient cars. Taken together, our findings suggest that education shapes managerial styles giving rise to greater sustainability in corporate actions.

We study whether CEOs of private firms differ from other people with regard to their strategic decisions and beliefs about others’ strategy choices. Such differences are interesting since CEOs make decisions that are economically more relevant, because they affect not only their own utility or the well-being of household members, but the utility of many stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. They also play a central role in shaping values and norms in society. We expect differences between both groups, because CEOs are more experienced with strategic decision making than comparable people in other professional roles. Yet, due to the difficulties in recruiting this high-profile group for academic research, few studies have explored how CEOs make incentivized decisions in strategic games under strict controls and how their choices in such games differ from those made by others. Our study combines a stratified random sample of 200 CEOs of medium-sized firms with a carefully selected control group of 200 comparable people. All subjects participated in three incentivized games—Prisoner’s Dilemma, Chicken, Battle-of-the-Sexes. Beliefs were elicited for each game. We report substantial and robust differences in both behavior and beliefs between the CEOs and the control group. The most striking results are that CEOs do not best respond to beliefs; they cooperate more, play less hawkish and thereby earn much more than the control group.

Over the past years, the proportion of women on the supervisory boards of major companies in Germany has increased. As this second report in the DIW Women Executives Barometer 2021 shows, this has a meaningful, positive impact on the supervisory boards of many companies, and affects interactions between members, discussions, and decision-making. These findings are based on qualitative interviews with 60 supervisory board members who serve on the boards of a total of 75 listed companies in Germany. These directors emphasize changes in the general atmosphere, and discussions are described as more comprehensive and multi-faceted. Women also appear to be more likely to question the executive board’s proposals and decisions and to request additional information more often. Thus, gender diversity on supervisory boards can contribute to a board’s ability to more effectively monitor executive boards. The interviews do not confirm the idea that women on supervisory boards act in an especially risk averse, altruistic, or ethical manner. Considering the frequency of top executives committing fraud—such as in the current Wirecard scandal—improvement to supervisory boards’ discussions and decision-making is very important. In the same vein, it can be hoped that the minimum requirement for the participation of women on executive boards, a bill which was recently passed by the German Cabinet, will similarly have effects beyond providing momentum for greater gender equality., DIW Weekly Report

Der Frauenanteil in Aufsichtsräten großer Unternehmen in Deutschland ist in den vergangenen Jahren gestiegen. Wie dieser zweite Teil des DIW Managerinnen-Barometers 2021 zeigt, wirkt sich das deutlich positiv auf die Interaktion, Diskussion und Entscheidungsfindung in den Kontrollgremien vieler Unternehmen aus. Das geht aus qualitativen Interviews mit 60 AufsichtsrätInnen hervor, die Mandate in insgesamt 75 börsennotierten Unternehmen in Deutschland innehaben. Sie betonen Veränderungen in der Atmosphäre, zudem werden Diskussionen als umfassender und facettenreicher beschrieben. Auch hinterfragen Frauen offenbar eher Vorschläge und Entscheidungen des Vorstandes und fordern öfter zusätzliche Informationen. Geschlechterdiversität in Aufsichtsräten kann daher dazu beitragen, Vorstände effektiver zu kontrollieren. Die Vorstellung, dass Frauen in Aufsichtsräten besonders risikoaverse, altruistische und ethische Beiträge machen, bestätigte sich nicht. Angesichts immer wieder auftretender Fälle von Betrug durch das Top-Management – wie im jüngsten prominenten Beispiel Wirecard – erscheint eine Verbesserung der Diskussion und Entscheidungsfindung in Aufsichtsräten enorm wichtig. In diesem Sinne besteht die Hoffnung, dass auch die jüngst vom Bundeskabinett beschlossene gesetzliche Vorgabe für eine Mindestbeteiligung von Frauen in Vorständen mehr als gleichstellungspolitische Impulse bewirkt, DIW Wochenbericht

DIW Wochenbericht

Die Frauenanteile in den Spitzengremien großer Unternehmen in Deutschland sind im vergangenen Jahr weiter gestiegen. In den 200 umsatzstärksten Unternehmen gab es im vierten Quartal des Jahres 2020 mit 101 Vorständinnen sieben mehr als ein Jahr zuvor. Hier wie auch in einigen anderen Unternehmensgruppen gewann die Entwicklung aber kaum an Dynamik. So lag der entsprechende Frauenanteil bei den Top-200-Unternehmen mit rund zwölf Prozent lediglich um gut einen Prozentpunkt höher als im Jahr zuvor. Bei den DAX-30-Unternehmen gab es sogar erstmals seit 2013 eine Stagnation. Schwung könnte die zu Beginn des Jahres vom Bundeskabinett beschlossene Mindestbeteiligung für Vor stände bringen: In ihrer jetzigen Ausgestaltung gilt sie für aktuell 74 Unternehmen, von denen etwa 30 sie noch nicht erfüllen. Tun sie dies, würde der Anteil der Vorständinnen in den unter die Regelung fallenden Unternehmen von etwa 13 auf 21 Prozent steigen. Zudem wären gleichstellungspolitische Impulse weit über die Vorstandsetagen hinaus möglich. Dass gesetzlich verbindliche Vorgaben wirken, unterstreicht die Entwicklung in den Aufsichtsräten., DIW Wochenbericht

The proportion of women on the boards of large companies in Germany continued to increase during 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were 101 female executive board members in the 200 largest companies, seven more than in 2019. However, growth was slow, as it was in some of the other groups of companies as well: The proportion of women on the executive boards of the top 200 companies (around 12 percent) was only one percentage point higher than in 2019. For the first time since 2013, there was even a stagnation in the proportion of women on the executive boards of the DAX 30 companies. The minimum requirement for the participation of women on executive boards, a bill adopted by the German Federal Cabinet at the beginning of 2021, could provide a push in growth. In its current form, it applies to 74 companies, around 30 of which are not yet in adherence. If all 74 companies become compliant, the proportion of female executive directors in these companies would increase from around 13 to 21 percent. In addition, the planned legislation could generate momentum for greater gender equality far beyond the boardroom. The developments on supervisory boards underscore the fact that legally binding requirements are effective., DIW Weekly Report

Vicarious calibration and validation techniques are important tools to ensure the long-term stability and inter-sensor consistency of satellite sensors making observations in the solar-reflective spectral domain. Automated test sites, which have continuous in situ monitoring of both ground reflectance and atmospheric conditions, can greatly increase the match-up possibilities for a wide range of space agency and commercial sensors. The Baotou calibration and validation test site in China provides operational high-accuracy and high-stability vicarious calibration and validation for high spatial resolution solar-reflective remote-sensing sensors. Two sites, given the abbreviations BTCN (an artificial site) and BSCN (a natural sandy site), have been selected as reference sites for the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites radiometric calibration network (RadCalNet). RadCalNet requires sites to provide data in a consistent format but does not specify the required operational conditions for a RadCalNet site. The two Baotou sites are the only sites to date that make spectral measurements for their continuous operation. One of the core principles of RadCalNet is that each site should have a metrologically rigorous uncertainty budget which also describes the site’s traceability to the international system of units, the SI. This paper shows a formalized metrological approach to determining and documenting the uncertainty budget and traceability of a RadCalNet site. This approach follows the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. The paper describes the uncertainty analysis for bottom-of-atmosphere and top-of-atmosphere reflectance in the spectral region from 400 to 1000 nm for the Baotou sites and gives preliminary results for the uncertainty propagating this to top-of-atmosphere reflectance.

Influencers are the new brand narrative. This is why many companies and institutions are positioning their executives -using their full names- to build loyalty amongst their diverse client base. On the other hand, the reputation strategy known as ''CEO Executive Visibility'' aims to promote a brand by putting the spotlight on its top management and aligning their character traits with the values that the organisation wishes to transmit, thus capturing new audiences, improving follower loyalty and generating more engagement. Along these lines, and using content analysis and quantitative research methods, and combining economic and communication factors as theoretical underpinnings, this investigation examines how the chairpersons of the companies listed in the Ibex 35 (the Spanish benchmark index) use the main social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and personal blogs). The results obtained show how executive visibility strategies are applied in Spain and who the main influencers in this financial environment are. This research evidences that the chairpersons of Ibex 35 companies do not post consistently on social media and that there is a link between the public image of a company's top management and the perception of a company and its commitment to its audience. This article is part of the Research Project CSO2017-88620-P, funded by the Spanish Research Agency within the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016.

We study the relation between CEO and employee campaign contributions and find that CEO-supported political candidates receive 3 times more money from employees than candidates not supported by the CEO. This relation holds around CEO departures, including plausibly exogenous departures due to retirement or death. Equity returns are significantly higher when CEO-supported candidates win elections than when employee-supported candidates win, suggesting that CEOs’ campaign contributions are more aligned with the interests of shareholders than are employee contributions. Finally, employees whose donations are misaligned with their CEOs’ political preferences are more likely to leave their employer. (JEL G30, G38, D72, P48) Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix and Data Supplement, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.

DIW Wochenbericht

The share of women on executive boards of large companies in Germany has increased somewhat more strongly than in previous years. The top 200 companies reached the ten percent mark for the first time: women held 14 more board positions than in the previous year, 94 out of 907. Growth was also somewhat more dynamic on the executive boards of the largest listed companies and companies with government- owned shares as well as those of banks and insurance companies. Nevertheless, this does not mean that a serious rethinking of policies and practices has begun at the upper management levels. Upon closer inspection, growth in the proportion of women managers, especially when observed over a longer period of time, is progressing only in small steps. Furthermore, the proportion of women on supervisory boards has increased at a slower pace than in previous years, and has even decreased in banks and insurance companies. Societal and political pressure to appoint more women to management positions could soon intensify. Companies should urgently increase their efforts to work towards gender parity-for their own benefit, and taking into consideration their need for highskilled workers in the future.

Boards hire and fire CEOs based on imperfect information. Using comprehensive data on 28 cohorts in Sweden, we analyze the role of a potentially important attribute—CEO health—in corporate governance. Boards hire CEOs who are healthier than other high-skill professionals, in particular in mental health. After hiring, CEOs' health develops similarly to a control group of executives. Health predicts turnover, measured at appointment and during tenure. These results are consistent with boards appointing CEOs with health robust enough to withstand the pressures of the job, correcting mismatches occurring at the time of appointment, and responding expediently to health shocks.