Research

Below is an incomplete list of my publications in refereed journals and current working papers.

Payout Policy

  • “Earnings signals in fixed price and Dutch auction self-tender offers,” with John J. McConnell, Journal of Financial Economics 49, August 1998, pp. 161–186.
  • “The role of personal taxes in corporate decisions: An empirical analysis of share repurchases and dividends,” with Heidi J. Lie, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 34, December 1999, pp. 533–552.
  • “Excess funds and agency problems: An empirical study of incremental cash “Excess funds and agency problems: An empirical study of incremental cash disbursements,” Review of Financial Studies 13, Spring 2000, pp. 219–248.
  • “Do firms undertake self-tender offers to optimize capital structure?” Journal of Business 75, October 2002, pp. 609–639.
  • “Operating performance following open market share repurchase announcements,” Journal of Accounting and Economics 39, September 2005, pp. 411–436.
  • “Financial flexibility, performance, and the corporate payout choice,” Journal of Business 78, November 2005, pp. 2179–2201.
  • “Operating performance following dividend decreases and omissions,” Journal of Corporate Finance 12, December 2005, pp. 27–53.
  • “Dividend changes and catering incentives,” with Wei Li, Journal of Financial Economics 80, May 2006, pp. 293–308.
  • “Share repurchases, catering, and dividend substitution,” with Zhan Jiang, Kenneth A. Kim, and Sean Yang, Journal of Corporate Finance 21, June 2013, pp. 36–50.
  • “Dividend stickiness, debt covenants, and earnings management,” with Jaewoo Kim and Kyeong Hun Lee, Contemporary Accounting Research 34, Winter 2017, 2022–2050.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

  • “Operating performance and the method of payment in takeovers,” with Randall A. Heron, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 37, March 2002, pp. 137–155.
  • “On the use of poison pills and defensive payouts by takeover targets,” with Randall A. Heron, Journal of Business 79, July 2006, pp. 1783–1807.
  • “The role of investment banker directors in M&A,” with Qianqian Huang, Feng Jiang, and Ke Yang, Journal of Financial Economics 112, May 2014, pp. 269–286.
  • “Time trends and determinants of the method of payment in M&A,” with Audra L. Boone and Yixin Liu, Journal of Corporate Finance 27, August 2014, pp. 296–304.
  • “The effect of poison pill adoptions and court rulings on firm entrenchment,” with Randall A. Heron, Journal of Corporate Finance 35, 2015, 286–296.
  • “Corporate cash holdings and acquisitions,” with Yixin Liu, Financial Management, Spring 2018, 159–173.
  • “Union concessions following asset sales and takeovers,” with Tingting Que, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 54, February 2019, 393–424.
  • “Investor inattention and stock prices: Evidence from acquisitions with a choice of payment type,” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 54, June 2019, 1347–1369.

Executive Compensation

  • “On the timing of CEO stock option awards,” Management Science 51, May 2005, pp. 802–812.
  • “Does backdating explain the stock price pattern around executive stock option grants?” with Randall A. Heron, Journal of Financial Economics 83, February 2007, pp. 271–295.
  • “On the use (and abuse) of stock option grants,” with Randall A. Heron and Tod Perry, Financial Analysts Journal 63, May/June 2007, pp. 17–27.
  • “What fraction of stock option grants to top executives have been backdated or manipulated?” with Randall A. Heron, Management Science 55, April 2009, pp. 513–525.
  • “Option grant backdating investigations and capital market discipline,” with Kenneth Carow, Randall Heron, and Robert Neal, Journal of Corporate Finance 15, December 2009, pp. 562–572.
  • “Do stock options overcome managerial risk aversion? Evidence from exercises of executive stock options,” with Randall A. Heron, Management Science 63, September 2017, 3057–3071.
  • “The effect of labor unions on CEO compensation,” with Qianqian Huang, Feng Jiang, and Tingting Que, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 52, April 2017, 553–582.
  • “Import penetration and executive compensation,” with Keyang (Daniel) Yang, Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming.

Financial Distress and Risk Management

  • “Debt-reducing exchange offers,” with Heidi J. Lie and John J. McConnell, Journal of Corporate Finance 7, June 2001, pp. 179–207.
  • “Price uncertainty and corporate value,” with Randall A. Heron and G. David Haushalter, Journal of Corporate Finance 8, July 2002, pp. 271–286.
  • “Financial restructuring in fresh start Chapter 11 reorganizations,” with Kimberly J. Rodgers and Randall A. Heron, Financial Management, Winter 2009, pp. 727–745.
  • “The effect of change-in-control covenants on takeovers: evidence from leveraged buyouts,” with Matthew T. Billett and Zhan Jiang, Journal of Corporate Finance 16, February 2010, pp. 1–15.

Other

  • “Detecting abnormal operating performance: Revisited,” Financial Management 30, June 2001, pp. 77–91.
  • “Multiples used to estimate corporate value,” with Heidi J. Lie, Financial Analysts Journal 58, March/April 2002, pp. 44–54.
  • “A comparison of the motivations for and the information content of different types of equity offerings,” with Randall A. Heron, Journal of Business 77, July 2004, pp. 605–632.
  • “Cash holding adjustments and managerial entrenchment,” with Zhan Jiang, Journal of Corporate Finance 36, 2016, 190–205.
  • “Trust and debt contracting: Evidence from the backdating scandal,” with Veljko Fotak, Feng Jiang, and Haekwon Lee, forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
  • “Board independence and corporate spending,” with Keyang (Daniel) Yang, working paper.
  • “Enter the dragon: Import penetration and innovation,” with Keyang (Daniel) Yang, working paper.