Do activist hedge funds target female CEOs? The role of CEO gender in hedge fund activism

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/91935

Title:	Do activist hedge funds target female CEOs? The role of CEO gender in hedge fund activism
Authors:	Francis, BB Hasan, I Shen, YJ Wu, Q
Issue Date:	Jul-2021
Source:	Journal of financial economics, July 2021, v. 141, no. 1, p. 372-393
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.
Keywords:	Hedge fund activism Female CEOs Transformational leadership style Collaborative communication Cooperation
Publisher:	Elsevier
Journal:	Journal of financial economics
ISSN:	0304-405X
DOI:	10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.07.019
Appears in Collections:	Journal/Magazine Article

Status	embargoed access
Embargo End Date	2023-07-31

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