VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY -------------------- NGUYỄN MINH CHÂU MANAGERIAL LIABILITIES AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION STRUCTURE: EVIDENCE FROM AN EXOGENOUS SHOCK TRÁCH NHIỆM QUẢN LÝ VÀ CẤU TRÚC LƯƠNG THƯỞNG ĐIỀU HÀNH: BẰNG CHỨNG TỪ MỘT CÚ SỐC NGOẠI SINH Major: Business Administration Major ID: 8340101 MASTER’S THESIS HO CHI MINH CITY, July 2023 THIS THESIS IS COMPLETED AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY – VNU-HCM Supervisor : Nguyễn Thu Hiền, Ph.D Examiner 1 : Phạm Hà, Ph.D Examiner 2 : Lê Thị Phương Vy, Ph.D This master’s thesis is defended at HCM City University of Technology, VNU- HCM City on 12/06/2023. Master’s Thesis Committee: 1. Vương Đức Hoàng Quân, Ph. Secretary: Dương Như Hùng, Ph.
Examiner 1: Phạm Hà, Ph. Examiner 2: Lê Thị Phương Vy, Ph. Member: Nguyễn Thu Hiền, Ph.D Approval of the Chairman of Master’s Thesis Committee and Dean of School of Industrial Management after the thesis being corrected (if any). CHAIRMAN OF THESIS COMITTEE DEAN OF SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Independence – Freedom - Happiness THE TASK SHEET OF MASTER’S THESIS Full name: Nguyễn Minh Châu Student ID: 2070224 Date of birth: 12/07/1993 Place of birth: An Giang Major: Business Administration Major ID: 8340101 I.
THESIS TITLE: Managerial Liabilities and Executive Compensation Structure: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock (Trách Nhiệm Quản Lý và Cấu Trúc Lương Thưởng Điều Hành: Bằng Chứng Từ Một Cú Sốc Ngoại Sinh) II. TASKS AND CONTENTS: - Propose a model that examines the impact of manager responsibilities on executive compensation structure - Analyze and test the above model - Suggest managerial implications based on the research results III. THESIS START DAY: 15/06/2022 IV. THESIS COMPLETION DAY: 04/05/2023 V.
SUPERVISOR: Nguyễn Thu Hiền, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, date… SUPERVISOR HEAD OF DEPARTMENT (Full name and signature) (Full name and signature) DEAN OF SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT (Full name and signature) i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to thank the profressors of School of Industrial Management – Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology – VNU-HCM, who have taught valuable knowledge to me during my study. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Nguyen Thu Hien, who dedicatedly guided me so that I could successfully complete this research. Thanks to her guidance and help, I was able to complete this thesis.
I would like to thank my friends and fellow students who have supported me during the last period of study and research. In particular, I would like to thank my family for always supporting and encouraging me throughout my study. My family's support is essential to my success in completing my thesis and achieving my goals. In the process of writing the thesis, it is inevitable that mistakes can be made.
I would like to receive your comments and suggestions so that the thesis can be better. Ho Chi Minh City, 21 July 2023 Author Nguyễn Minh Châu ii ABSTRACT To analyze how the legal responsibilities of D&Os affects their compensation package, this study makes use of an exogenous shock caused by a change in Nevada corporation law in 2001 that greatly improves the protection of D&Os from litigation risks. Research results show that companies incorporated in Nevada had a larger proportion of long-term incentive plans (LTIP) than a sample of control companies that were formed outside of the state. The enterprise's use of LTIP as a tool to align the interests of D&O with the interests of the shareholders of the enterprise is effective, supporting the hypothesis that there is an agency problem, according to the litigation discipline hypothesis; therefore, the legal protection mechanisms for D&O will lead the company to increase the proportion of LTIP in the entire compensation structure of D&O to encourage managers to actively add value to shareholders.
iii TÓM TẮT LUẬN VĂN Để phân tích trách nhiệm pháp lý của thành viên HĐQT và cán bộ quản lý (Directors and Officers - D&O) ảnh hưởng như thế nào đến cấu trúc thu nhập của họ, nghiên cứu này sử dụng cú sốc ngoại sinh gây ra bởi sự thay đổi trong luật doanh nghiệp của tiểu bang Nevada, Hoa kỳ, vào năm 2001 mà đã giúp cải thiện đáng kể khả năng bảo vệ D&O khỏi các rủi ro pháp lý khi thực thi các trách nhiệm của mình. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy các công ty được thành lập ở Nevada có chính sách thù lao với tỷ trọng mức thù lao khích lệ dài hạn (Long-term incentive plans, hay LTIP) lớn hơn so với các công ty tương tự được thành lập bên ngoài tiểu bang Nevada. Điều này được hiểu rằng việc doanh nghiệp sử dụng LTIP như một công cụ để gắn kết lợi ích của D&O với lợi ích của các cổ đông của doanh nghiệp là hiệu quả, ủng hộ cho giả thuyết cho rằng có tồn tại vấn đề đại diện theo litigation discipline hypothesis; do vậy, các cơ chế bảo vệ pháp lý cho D&O sẽ dẫn đến việc công ty phải tăng tỷ trọng LTIP trong toàn bộ cấu trúc thu nhập của D&O để khích lệ ban điều hành tích cực gia tăng giá trị cho cổ đông. iv THE COMMITMENT OF THE THESIS’ AUTHOR I hereby declare that in addition to the cited references, the contents of this thesis are the results of my personal research under the guidance of Dr.
Nguyen Thu Hien. Ho Chi Minh City, 21 July 2023 Author Nguyễn Minh Châu v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .II TÓM TẮT LUẬN VĂN. III THE COMMITMENT OF THE THESIS’ AUTHOR. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS.
V TABLE OF TABLES. IX TABLE OF FIGURES. RESEARCH OBJECTS AND SCOPES. 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION. Executive Compensation Structure. Annual base salary. Long-term Incentives.
Option Risk Metrics - Delta. Option Risk Metrics - Vega. Principal-agent problem. Vega and Delta used in measuring incentives pay.
Research on managerial liability and corporate innovations of Guan, Zhang, Zheng and Zou. Research on managerial incentives of Coles, Daniel and Naveen 16 2. Research on calculating stock option by Core and Guay. Research on CEO compensation of Core, Holthausen and Larcker.
Research of Liability protection, director compensation and incentives of Aguira, Burns, Mansib and Wald. Research on Executive Compensation and the Maturity Structure of Corporate Debt of Brockman, Martin and Unlu. IDENTIFY THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESEARCH. SUGGESTED MODEL AND HYPOTHESES.
Suggested research model. 22 CHAPTER 3: DATA AND METHODOLOGY. Data for vega and delta. Data for control variables.
METHODS USED IN THE RESEARCH. Propensity Score Matching. Measurement of volatility. Model Specification – Baseline analysis.
METHOD TO TEST HYPOTHESES. Difference-in-differences analysis. Rationale to employ difference-in-differences analysis. STEPS TO TEST THE MODEL.
34 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING & BALANCE CHECK. Result from Propensity score matching. BASE LINE REGRESSION RESULT.
The result with control variables. DYNAMIC MODEL REGRESSION RESULT. Alternative matching samples. Controlling firm age.
Hypotheses that are supported. Hypotheses that are not supported. 47 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS. Solving the problem of principal-agent.
The design of compensation structure. Compensation structure that attracts talent. LIMITS AND SUGGESTIONS. 55 ix TABLE OF TABLES Table 2.
Variables used in the study. Dummy variables by year. Baseline Regression of Vega. Baseline regression of Delta.
Dynamic regression of Vega. Dynamic regression of Delta. Regression of vega - Alternative matching samples. Regression of delta - Alternative matching samples.
Regression of Vega, controlling for firm age. Regression of Delta, controlling for firm age. Baseline Regression of Vega. Baseline regression of Delta.
Dynamic regression of Vega. Dynamic regression of Delta. Regression of vega - Alternative matching samples. Regression of delta - Alternative matching samples.
Regression of Vega, controlling for firm age. Regression of Delta, controlling for firm age .59 x TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 2. Managerial liability and Corporation Innovation model. Managerial Liability and Compensation package, bid premium and takeover success model.
Suggested Research Model. Background Directors and officers (D&Os) of companies are generally risk-averse when making corporate decisions that put the values of the company and the shareholders at risks, while shareholders are interested in risky projects as they could enjoy the most values added from these projects. Since incentive compensation, a proportion of compensation package that varies with the value of shareholders, will encourage managers to take value-added and risky projects as doing so will increase the value of CEO’s compensation, executive compensation structure therefore plays a pivotal role to align executive interests with those of shareholders and embolden executives to become more venturous. Various prior researches have shown that when there are intense conflicts between shareholders and managers, incentive compensation appears to be effective in aligning the benefits of managers and shareholders.
Prior researches have shown that D&Os require larger compensation package to remunerate for the probable litigious and financial loss from not having a mandatory law that protects them against legal liability as in the research of (Aguira, Burnsa, Mansib, & Wald, 2012). The research of (Brockman, Martin, & Unlu, 2010) introduces the concepts of vega and delta, representing the incentive proportion of D&O’s pay, as a mechanism to motivate risk-taking behavior of D&Os to align their interests of those of the shareholders. In a study of an exogenous shock to D&O liability risk from the adoption of a new law, (Guan, Zhang, Zheng, & Zou, 2021) find that the exemption of D&Os liability risk can lead to higher level of corporate innovation since executives are relieved from liability risks and invest more in R&D projects. From the aforementioned studies, it is observable that an issuance of a new law that exempts the D&Os from legal liability risk can dramatically change their behaviors.
In order to contribute to the current literature on executive compensation package and suggest management implications to achieve higher efficiency in activities of business administration, this research 2 attempts to see how a change in legal liability influences executive compensation structure. Having an appropriate executive compensation structure can lead to the prosperity of a corporation. First and foremost, it motivates the D&Os to align their benefits with the benefits of the company and the shareholders, paving the way for perseverant growth in long-term value of the company. An executive compensation structure that places an emphasis on the long-term incentives such as restricted stocks and stock options can encourage the D&Os to make managerial decisions that concentrate on the long-term value of the company rather than short-term goals.
On the other hand, a large compensation package without a relevant executive compensation structure may not be fruitful. Therefore, it is essential to have profound knowledge of the executive compensation structure under the impact of exogenous shock in order to achieve a structure coinciding with corporate strategic priorities. In 2001, corporate law in Nevada experienced an unanticipated change, mandating the exemption of the legal liability of directors and officers. This change serves as a useful quasi-exogenous shock to scrutinize the impact that the waiver of D&Os liability has on executive compensation structure.
The shock facilitates the research due to the abundance of data before and after the event. Research of (Guan, Zhang, Zheng, & Zou, 2021) introduces the two crucial hypotheses concerning the risk- preference of D&Os regarding the change in legal liability: the costly litigation hypothesis and the litigious discipline hypothesis. These hypotheses suggest different directions of effect of change in legal liability on the behavior of D&Os, providing a background for conducting research on the risk-preference of D&Os.