Title:
|
Do activist hedge funds target female CEOs? The role of CEO gender in hedge fund activism |
Author:
|
Francis, Bill B.
;
Hasan, Iftekhar
;
Shen, Yinjie (Victor)
;
Wu, Qiang
|
Series:
|
Journal of Financial Economics
|
Series volume:
|
141 |
Series number:
|
1 ; July |
Year of publication:
|
2021 |
Publication date:
|
27.2.2021 |
DOI:
|
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.07.019
|
Page range:
|
372-393 |
Keywords:
|
toimitusjohtajat; naiset; yritykset; sijoitusrahastot; johtaminen; johtajat; yhteistyö; viestintä
|
JEL:
|
G23; G34; J16
|
Other keywords:
|
Hedge fund activism; Female CEOs; Transformational leadership style; Collaborative communication; Cooperation
|
Abstract:
|
Using a comprehensive US hedge fund activism dataset from 2003 to 2018, we find that activist hedge funds are about 52% more likely to target firms with female CEOs compared to firms with male CEOs. We find that firm fundamentals, the existence of a “glass cliff,” gender discrimination bias, and hedge fund activists’ inherent characteristics do not explain the observed gender effect. We also find that the transformational leadership style of female CEOs is a plausible explanation for this gender effect: instead of being self-defensive, female CEOs are more likely to communicate and cooperate with hedge fund activists to achieve intervention goals. Finally, we find that female-led targets experience greater increases in market and operational performance subsequent to hedge fund targeting. |