This Research Spotlight provides a summary of the academic literature on how staggered boards impact shareholder value by insulating management from the pressures of capital markets. It reviews the evidence of: Staggered board provisions in IPO charters, the impact of staggered boards on merger activity, the relation between staggered boards and market value, shareholder reaction to a decision to (de)stagger a board, and firm outcomes following a decision to (de)stagger a board. This Research Spotlight expands upon issues introduced in the Quick Guide “The Market for Corporate Control.”
Copyright held by David F. Larcker and Brian Tayan. Further inquiries about reproduction and use should be directed to the Corporate Governance Research Initiative.
