Do CEOs Matter? Evidence from Hospitalization Events
利用CEO因住院导致公司对其依赖程度变化的数据，研究发现CEO对企业盈利和投资有显著影响，且这种影响在年轻CEO、成长型及家族控制企业、人力资本密集型行业中更大，其他高管住院则无类似效果。
ABSTRACT Using variation in firms’ exposure to their CEOs resulting from hospitalization, we estimate the effect of chief executive officers (CEOs) on firm policies, holding firm‐CEO matches constant. We document three main findings. First, CEOs have a significant effect on profitability and investment. Second, CEO effects are larger for younger CEOs, in growing and family‐controlled firms, and in human‐capital‐intensive industries. Third, CEOs are unique: the hospitalization of other senior executives does not have similar effects on the performance. Overall, our findings demonstrate that CEOs are a key driver of firm performance, which suggests that CEO contingency plans are valuable.