The hospitality industry, with its dynamic business environment, has experienced unprecedented disruption and reconfiguration due to the emergence and success of sharing economy firms and online travel agencies. This turbulence calls for effective governance structures that can motivate managers to act in their shareholders' best interests. Despite the importance of effective corporate governance for firm performance and the topic receiving extensive scholarly attention in the management and finance literatures, there seem to be several gaps and mixed findings in the hospitality academic field. To facilitate scholarly advancement, identify gaps in the current knowledge base, and provide direction for future research, in the first essay I undertake a systematic review of research on corporate governance in the hospitality literature. Based on 115 peer-reviewed articles published since 1961, I identify 21 themes explored by scholars, and find that topics related to institutional ownership, executive compensation determinants, board size, and merger and acquisition (MandA) outcomes are commonly examined, whereas topics related to family ownership, debt, and regulation/law are seldom explored. This review contributes to the literature by taking stock of what we know and offering a one-stop-shop for scholars to understand and extend corporate governance literature published in the hospitality field. While evidence in the general business literature suggests that targets, instead of acquirers, are better off after the acquisition, limited studies in the hospitality industry have shown that both bidders and targets are better off after the merger, suggesting that MandAs are more successful in the hospitality industry than in other industries. In the second essay, I empirically examine whether this is indeed the case and what may explain the potential discrepancy in merger performance. Using a comparative study design and a comprehensive sample over 41 years, I find that overall acquirers gain from MandAs, and hospitality MandAs outperform non-hospitality MandAs. Bidders in the hospitality industry are more likely than non-hospitality bidders to acquire large, related targets, using an all-cash mode of payment. Except for industry relatedness, relative size, cash payment, and unlisted target are all positively related to merger performance. This study contributes to the literature by identifying several factors that can explain the differences in MandA performance between hospitality and non-hospitality firms. Despite the fact that MandAs are frequently pursued as a growth strategy in the hospitality industry, their effect on chief executive officer (CEO) compensation has not been systematically examined. Considering that CEO compensation is an important topic related to firm performance, management, and social responsibility, in the third essay I examine the relationship between MandAs and CEO compensation in a sample of hospitality firms consisting of 1,514 firm-year observations over a period of 27 years. The regression analyses find that CEO compensation is significantly higher in the year after large acquisitions; well-governed firms identified via tenure, the Entrenchment-index, and board independence pay their CEOs higher post-acquisition than poorly-governed firms; the fraction of equity-based compensation is unrelated to MandA propensity; and the fraction of cash-based compensation is negatively related to MandA propensity. The additional analyses indicate that CEOs are rewarded for positive stock returns but not penalized for negative stock returns, and even more so in well-governed firms after acquisition. This study finds that MandAs and corporate governance are determinants of CEO compensation and the form of CEO compensation matters to acquisition decisions in hospitality firms. The findings are of importance for shareholders and the board of directors to design compensation plans that align the interests of managers and shareholders. / Doctor of Philosophy / The hospitality industry, with its dynamic business environment, has experienced unprecedented disruption and reconfiguration due to the emergence and success of sharing economy firms and online travel agencies. This turbulence calls for effective governance structures that can motivate managers to act in their shareholders' best interests. Despite the importance of effective corporate governance for firm performance and the topic receiving extensive scholarly attention in the management and finance literatures, there seem to be several gaps and mixed findings in the hospitality academic field. To facilitate scholarly advancement, identify gaps in the current knowledge base, and provide direction for future research, in the first essay I undertake a systematic review of research on corporate governance in the hospitality literature, and find that topics related to institutional ownership, executive compensation determinants, board size, and merger and acquisition (MandA) outcomes are commonly examined, whereas topics related to family ownership, debt, and regulation/law are seldom explored. This review contributes to the literature by taking stock of what we know and offering a one-stop-shop for scholars to understand and extend corporate governance literature published in the hospitality field. In the second essay, I empirically examine whether MandAs are more successful in the hospitality industry than in other industries and what may explain the potential discrepancy in merger performance. I find that overall acquirers gain from MandAs, and hospitality MandAs outperform non-hospitality MandAs. Bidders in the hospitality industry are more likely than non-hospitality bidders to acquire large, related targets, using an all-cash mode of payment. Except for industry relatedness, relative size, cash payment, and unlisted target are all positively related to merger performance. This study contributes to the literature by identifying several factors that can explain the differences in MandA performance between hospitality and non-hospitality firms. In the third essay I examine the relationship between MandAs and CEO compensation in a sample of hospitality firms, and find that CEO compensation is significantly higher in the year after large acquisitions; well-governed firms identified via tenure, the Entrenchment-index, and board independence pay their CEOs higher post-acquisition than poorly-governed firms; the fraction of equity-based compensation is unrelated to MandA propensity; and the fraction of cash-based compensation is negatively related to MandA propensity. The additional analyses indicate that CEOs are rewarded for positive stock returns but not penalized for negative stock returns, and even more so in well-governed firms after acquisition. This study finds that MandAs and corporate governance are determinants of CEO compensation and the form of CEO compensation matters to acquisition decisions in hospitality firms. The findings are of importance for shareholders and the board of directors to design compensation plans that align the interests of managers and shareholders.

Recent research has suggested that interest alignment, i.e., the degree to which members of an organization are motivated to behave in line with organizational goals, is a source of competitive advantage that can generate rents for the firm (Gottschlag and Zollo, 2007). Drawing on agency theory, this dissertation tests whether the interest alignment premise manifests itself differently in the strategic behavior of family-controlled firms when compared to their nonfamily peers. In particular, for firms in the S&P 500, I evaluate the results of two important strategic policies; mergers and acquisitions, as well as CEO compensation practices. In studying acquisitions made by family and nonfamily firms in the S&P 500 index from 1992-2006, I find that family firms are more careful when embarking on actions leading to mergers than non-family firms, as evidenced by their selection of smaller targets and targets who are in related businesses. I also find that there is a preponderance of cash purchases by family firms that does not vary with market movements and that completion times for merger transactions are shorter than for non family firms. The care and concern with which family-controlled firms choose their "mates" translates into higher stock returns when compared with non-family firms. Overall, I believe that family-controlled firms derive value from their merger and acquisition strategy. With regard to CEO compensation practices, I find that family firms provide strong incentives to the CEO for superior performance but pay significantly lower than nonfamily firms in terms of both salary and stock-based pay. The pay-for-performance sensitivity between annual stock returns and total compensation is significantly greater for family firms in general, and for family CEOs when compared with compensation of CEOs in nonfamily firms. The pay-for-performance sensitivity is in turn positively related to firm performance, suggesting that firms with greater pay-for-performance sensitivity (family controlled firms) also perform better. The analyses in my thesis thus illustrate that family-controlled firms and non-family firms in the S&P 500 differ in their strategic decision-making. It would be fair to say that family firms have longer investment horizons and give deliberate thought to expending resources whether for acquisitions or for CEO pay, and may suffer lower agency costs than nonfamily firms due to family governance (and public monitoring) which may lead to their relative superior performance. This dissertation finds that each acquisition made by a family controlled firm generates an extra return of 0.50% when compared with a nonfamily firm, and family controlled firms earn 0.50% every year directly attributable to pay-for-performance sensitivity. The study thus underlines and reiterates the importance of instilling the long-term view in the management of all firms, lowering agency costs, and aligning the interests of managers with those of stockholders for superior financial performance / Ph. D.

Syfte: Syftet för denna studie är utveckla begrepp relaterade till de legitimitetsutmaningar kvinnor i VD-positioner upplever och beskriva hur de hanterar dem utifrån deras egna perspektiv. Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer med kvinnor i VD-positioner. En abduktiv ansats har tillämpats. Slutsatser: Resultatet av studien visar på att kvinnor i VD-positioner upplever legitimitetsutmaningar kopplat till deras kön. De tre identifierade legitimitetsutmaningarna är Betraktas inte som ledare, Betvivlad kompetens och Inadekvat utvärdering. Den förstnämnda beskriver hur kvinnor i VD-positioner inte betraktas som en vedertagen ledare på grund av fördomar och uppfattningen om symbolstatus relaterade till dem som kvinnor. Den andra legitimitetsutmaningen skildrar hur kvinnor i VD-positioner upplever att deras kompetens blir betvivlad eftersom de kan mötas av bristande tillit och begränsat handlingsutrymme. Den sistnämnda framställer hur kvinnor i VD-positioner uppfattar att de har högre ställda krav på sig samt blir hårdare bedömd och därmed inte blir adekvat utvärderade. De huvudsakliga hanteringarna av legitimitetsutmaningar är att tro på sig själv och sin kompetens samt vara medveten om vilket intryck man ger. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop concepts related to the legitimacy challenges women in CEO positions experience and describe how they manage them from their own perspective. Method: The study was conducted using a qualitative method in the form of interviews with women in CEO positions. An abductive approach was applied. Conclusion: The results of the study show that women in CEO positions experience legitimacy challenges linked to their gender. The three identified legitimacy challenges were Not being regarded as a leader, Doubted competence and Inadequate evaluation. The former describes how women in CEO positions are not considered as an natural leader due to prejudice and the perception of symbolic status related to them as women. The second legitimacy challenge depicts how women in CEO positions feel that their competence is doubted since they can be met with a lack of trust and limited room for action. The latter describes how women in CEO positions perceive that they have higher demands placed on them and are judged more harshly and thus are not adequately evaluated. The main ways to deal with legitimacy challenges are to believe in yourself and your competence and to be aware of the impression you give.

Revision är en systematisk process som innefattar en systematisk insamling av bevis för attslutligen lämna ett yttrande om ett klientföretags redovisning. Syftet med revision är attundersöka och utvärdera relevans och validitet i klientföretagets finansiella antaganden (Eilifsen et al, 2014, s. 12). Revision anses vara viktigt för klientföretaget och dess aktieägare,likaväl som för intressenter och andra utomstående parter (Eilifsen et al., 2014, s. 5). Revisorer och deras arbete är i sin helhet styrda av flertalet lagar och förordningar, där överträdelser eller åsidosatta skyldigheter kan leda till en sanktion. I denna studie har vi valt att fokusera på tillsynsärenden och revisorer som fått en sanktion utfärdad mot sig. I Sverige finns det en specifik myndighet som ansvarar för tillsynen av revisorer och som därmed även utreder disciplinära ärenden. Den myndigheten heter Revisorsinspektionen och ansvarar främst för tillsyn av revisorer och revisionsbolag men även för examination samt auktorisation av revisorer (Revisorsinspektionen, u.å. d). Revisorsinspektionens tillsynsmyndighet är myndighetens största verksamhetsområde. Förekommande ärendebeslut vid disciplinära ärenden hos Revisorsinspektionen är varning, erinran samt upphävande, vilka är de ärendebeslut som vi i denna studie benämner som sanktioner. Även ärendebeslut så som ingen åtgärd, avskrivning samt beslut i annat ärende är förekommande hos myndighetens tillsynsverksamhet men leder inte till någon sanktion.Denna studie syftar till att bidra med kunskap avseende disciplinära åtgärder mot revisorer med fokus på klientföretagen. Studien syftar även till att identifiera eventuella kännetecken hos de klientföretag som väljer att anlita en sanktionerad revisor och ifall dessa kännetecken skiljer sig från eventuella kännetecken hos företag som anlitar icke-sanktionerade revisorer. Studien bygger på studier av två olika tidsperioder som syftar till att kunna jämföra och dra slutsatser om dessa kännetecken förändras över tid. Denna studie har sin grund i tidigare forskning som utförts inom revision men även företagsekonomi. Denna studie har även ett tydligt fokus på valet av revisor där revisorn fått en disciplinär åtgärd – därmed sanktionerade revisorer ur ett klientföretagarperspektiv. Detta är något som differentierar denna studie från tidigare studier och därmed är ett givande teoretiskt bidrag. Den tidigare forskning som funnits i samband med litteratursökning, har ett större fokus på valet av revisor i form av auditor choice. Däremot återfinns inga tidigare studier med ett fokus på sanktionerade revisorer i relation till auditor choice. Vilket gör denna studie till den första studien som sammankopplar dessa områden i samma studie. Utifrån denna studie har vi kunnat dra slutsatsen att både kön på VD och styrelse har en inverkan på valet av sanktionerad revisor. En ytterligare slutsats som kunnat dras av denna studie är att tiden sedan utfärdad sanktion har en påverkan på de avgörande kännetecknen hos klientföretagen vid val av sanktionerad revisor.

This study of CEOs in Nigeria sought to discover the practices that CEOs engaged in as relevant and effective in an emerging economy. Twenty eight CEOs of national and expatriate extraction running national and multi-national companies were interviewed to understand their experiences of the contextual influences of an emerging economy and how this impacted what they did, ie. their practices. In support of contingency theories that seek to explain how effective leadership is the result of appropriateness of fit between particular behaviours and particular situations , CEO practices in an emerging economy were found to be attributable to the macro influences of an emerging economy, discovered in the Nigerian environment to include: - undue government influence, unwholesome competitor practices, short supply of skills and talent, inadequate social and physical infrastructure, a large untapped market and poor government capacity to implement policies and laws. The inclusion of previously unresearched but potentially relevant meso and micro influences of company type and CEO nationality status led to the discovery of additional CEO practices that were perceived to be relevant in an emerging economy context and the attribution of differences in CEO practices to the individual or combined influence of these contexts. A conceptual model derived from the findings of this study provided a new understanding of the relationship between the macro influences of an emerging economy, the meso influence of company type and the micro influence of CEO nationality status on CEO practices and the intended outcomes of those practices. Practical knowledge about the development of business leaders in an emerging economy has been extended as a result of deeper insights into the contextually influenced and relevant CEO practices in an emerging economy.

Syfte: Trots att vi lever i ett mer jämställt samhälle är kvinnor fortfarande underrepresenterade på beslutsfattande positioner. Intresset och behovet för mer forskning om dess konsekvenser är därför stort. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om företag med en kvinnlig VD är associerat med ett högre revisionsarvode än företag med en manlig VD. Studiens syfte är även att undersöka om ett eventuellt positivt samband kan förklaras av att kvinnor i högre grad än män eftersträvar mer kvalitetssäker revision.   Metod: Studien antar en kvantitativ metod med en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi, där vi med hjälp av en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats deducerat prövningsbara hypoteser för att ge svar på studiens syfte. Vi tillämpar en tvärsnittsdesign utifrån insamlad sekundärdata för året 2015. Studiens urval består av företag från tio europeiska länder som inhämtats med hjälp av den finansiella databasen Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data har bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att det föreligger ett signifikant positivt samband mellan kvinnligt ledarskap och revisionsarvodets storlek. Studien ger även stöd för att ett positivt samband inte uppkommer till följd av att kvinnor i högre grad än män väljer mer kvalitetssäker revision utan att ett positivt samband ger uttryck för en diskriminerande effekt.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien undersöker företag utifrån ett begränsat geografiskt område, vårt förslag till vidare forskning är därför att studera hur relationen ser ut i andra geografiska områden. Vi anser även att en kvalitativ studie motiveras då företagsledningens egenskaper via en kvalitativ studie skulle få en mer framträdande roll.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med vidare empiriska bevis för att genusperspektivet är avgörande för revisionsarvodets storlek. Genom att vara den första studien att undersöka vad ett positivt samband ger uttryck för bidrar föreliggande studie med vidare diskussion till redovisningslitteraturen. / Aim: Even though we live in an increasingly egalitarian society, women are still underrepresented in corporate decision-making positions. The interest and the need for more research on its effects are therefore motivated. The study aims to investigate whether companies with a female CEO is associated with a higher audit fees than companies with a male CEO. The study's purpose is also to examine whether a possible positive correlation can be explained by the fact that women more than men strive for more quality assured auditing.   Method: The study adopts a quantitative approach with a positivistic research philosophy, where we are using a hypothetical-deductive method deduced testing our hypotheses to answer the study's purpose. We apply a cross-sectional design based on secondary data collected for the year 2015. The study sample consists of companies from ten European countries gathered using the financial database Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data is processed and analyzed using multiple regressions analyzes in SPSS.   Results & conclusions: The study shows that there is a significant positive relationship between female leadership and audit fees. The study also provides support for a positive relationship does not arise as a result of more women than men choose more quality assured auditing without a positive correlation reflects a discriminatory effect.   Suggestions for further research: The study includes a limited geographical area, our suggestions for further research is therefor to study how the relationship looks in other geographic areas. We also believe that a qualitative study is justified, as management features through a qualitative study would have a more prominent role.   Contributions of the thesis: The study provides further empirical evidence that the gender perspective is crucial for audit fees. By being the first study to examine what a positive correlation expresses, the present study contributes to further discussion of the accounting research.

The following dissertation contains two distinct empirical essays which contribute to the overall field of Financial Economics. Chapter 1 titles as “Corporate Lobbying, CEO Political Ideology and Firm Performance”. We investigate the influence of CEO political orientation on corporate lobbying efforts. Specifically, we study whether CEO political ideology, in terms of manager-level campaign donations, determines the choice and amount of firm lobbying involvement and the impact of lobbying on firm value. We find a generous engagement in lobbying efforts by firms with Republican leaning-managers, which lobby a larger number of bills and have higher lobbying expenditures. However, the cost of lobbying offsets the benefit for firms with Republican CEOs. We report higher agency costs of free cash flow, lower Tobin’s Q, and smaller increases in buy and hold abnormal returns following lobbying activities for firms with Republican managers, compared to Democratic and Apolitical rivals. Overall, our results suggest that the effects of lobbying on firm performance vary across firms with different managerial political orientations. Chapter 2 titled as “Corporate Lobbying and Labor Relations: Evidence from Employee” Litigations. We utilize employee litigations and other work-related complaints to examine if lobbying firms are favored in judicial process. We gather 27,794 employee lawsuits (after initial court hearing) between 2000 and 2014 and test the relationship between employee allegations and firms’ lobbying strategies. We find that employee litigations increase the number of labor-related bills in our sample. We document that the increase in employee lawsuits may drive firms into lobbying to change policy proposals. We also find robust evidence that the case outcome is different for lobbying firms compared to non-lobbying rivals, which may protect the shareholder wealth in the long run. Our results present that lobbying activities may make a significant difference in employee allegations. Our findings highlight the benefit of building political capital to obtain a biased outcome in favor of politically-connected firms.

This research is the result of the author’s quest to answer the question whether Corporate Governance is effective in Emerging Markets. Literature on Corporate Governance in the emerging markets of Latin America is limited mostly due to the relatively slower development of capital markets and the late adoption of corporate governance principles. Corporate Governance laws, which largely follow Sarbanes Oxley guidelines, were published and implemented in the mid 00´s and no research has checked their impact on corporate value in Latin America. This research reports compromises two empirical projects. The first project focused on the relationship between boards of directors attributes such size and composition, Corporate Governance law and firm value for Colombia. The second project focused on another Corporate Governance variable, CEO Duality and tested whether it has had any impact in Mexico. This second project also studied whether board attributes such as size and composition and Corporate Governance law were related to firm value. Based on the listed companies from Colombia and Mexico for the years 2001 to 2012 the author found no relationship between board size or composition and firm value. Results from Mexico, where CEO duality is allowed showed that it has no relationship with firm value. These results do not support or contradict either Agency theory or stewardship theory. Results on the impact of the adoption of a Corporate Governance law in firm value are mixed. Results for Colombia contradict previous literature by reporting a positive relationship between Corporate Governance laws and firm results while results from Mexico support previous research by reporting no relationship between these variables. This research is valuable for regulators and policy makers in their quest to assess the impact of the adoption of Corporate Governance laws in emerging markets. . Since effective Corporate Governance is important in easier access to financing it is important for shareholders to know which Corporate Governance mechanisms are positively related to firm value. Similarly, it is also important for investors (both foreign and local) in assessing the risk for equity investments in Colombia and Mexico.

This study examines how CEO characteristics influence the decision to use non-financial performance measures (NFPM) in compensation contracts. Specifically, I examine the CEO characteristics: gender, age, tenure, risk-aversion, overconfidence, and sensitivity of wealth. Using trait theory and the extant literature examining NFPM, females, age, tenure, and risk-aversion are expected to be positively associated with the use of NFPM while competing hypotheses are presented for overconfidence and sensitivity of wealth. Employing a two-way fixed effects method, controlling for fixed effects at the firm and year level, I find that female CEOs are positively associated with the use of NFPM because of increased risk-aversion. The short-term horizon perspective of younger and older CEOs lead to less preference for NFPM. Increasing tenure is associated with the power to self-select into contracts that include NFPM. Moreover, tenure is incrementally more important than age and gender. The results for overconfidence are inconclusive. Finally, risk-aversion and sensitivity of wealth are both positively associated with weight of NFPM. The results of this study further the understanding for the use of NFPM and provide information regarding the specific managerial fixed effects that influence compensation decisions.

For more than a decade, to reduce the agency problem, various ways have been examined on how to align the interest of manager with shareholders. Evidence and empirical findings are conflicting on the agency problem. Recently, deferred compensation as one incentive compensation draws the attention as a means to incentivize CEOs to make them work for the firm. However, it is still not evident if deferred compensation has effect on aligning CEOs with the firm’s goal possibly due to the issue on data. Therefore, the first essay investigates if deferred compensation has the effect on the agency problem and on the firm performance improvement after dealing with the data issue. This paper mainly aims to investigate if there is the non-linear relationship between the investment choice problem and the deferred compensation as Jensen and Meckling (1976) claim. This paper concludes that deferred compensation from NQDC table has positive and significant effect on the firm performance and the investment choice problem. More importantly, following McConnell and Servaes (1990), this paper finds the curvilinear relationship between Tobin’s Q and the deferred compensation and can confirm Jensen and Meckling (1976) theoretical application. The second essay aims to clarify the understanding on the relationship between the firm’s cash holdings and its causes by introducing the more detailed relationship between cash holdings and macroeconomic uncertainty. While previous literature tries to explain the level of cash holdings mainly by the firm-level variables, this study considers the full impact of the macroeconomic uncertainty on the level of cash holdings by introducing the firm’s heterogeneous exposure to macroeconomic uncertainty to see if the heterogeneity can tell the difference in the change in the level of cash holdings. This paper finds that macroeconomic uncertainties measured by difference macroeconomic condition variables are significant and contribute to the change in cash holdings. Additionally, this paper shows that the firms’ different level of exposure to macroeconomic uncertainty can cause the different degree of cash holdings and that firms with the higher level of exposure have the higher level of cash holdings.