This paper analyzes the link between equity-based compensation and created incentives by (1) deriving a measure of incentives suitable for both linear and non-linear compensation contracts, (2) analyzing the effect of risk on incentives, and (3) clarifying the role of the agent's private trading decisions in incentive creation. With option-based compensation contracts, the average pay-forperformance sensitivity is not an adequate measure of ex-ante incentives. Pay-for-performance covaries negatively with marginal utility and hence overstates the created incentives. Second, more noise in the performance measure implies that the manager is less certain about the effect of effort on performance, which in turn makes her less willing to exert effort. Finally, the private trading decisions by the manager have first-order effects on incentives. By reducing her holdings of the market asset, the manager achieves an effect similar to "indexing" the stock or option grant, making explicit indexation of the contract redundant.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the Swedish people’s level of knowledge about crowdfunding and their incentives and deterrents to crowdfunding investments. Early on crowdfunding was divided into two objectives: reward based and equity based crowdfunding. The division of objectives is logical due to the differencing conditions of the motivation for investors to invest. Supported by theories in crowdfunding incentives, commitment-trust, the prospect theory, and the diffusion of innovations, we aim to establish a comprehensive line of reasoning to support our model of motivation in the conclusive chapter. The results of this essay were achieved by a combined method. A quantitative survey tended to give us a sense of how well known the crowdfunding phenomenon is amongst the Swedish people. It was followed by a qualitative study consisting of interviews with crowdfunding investors with aim to understand their incentives and deterrents. The interviews served as the basis for our analysis. Our analysis reveals that the incentives to invest differ between equity based and reward based crowdfunding. The major common incitement was trusting the entrepreneur behind the project, rather than a neat investment prospectus. The seminal crowdfunding deterrent is ignorance. Today, the Swedish people are unknowing of the phenomenon and its significance.

Abstract A major proposition of the agency theory is that the conflict of interests between an agent and a principal is reduced when the agent’s wealth and compensation are tied to the performance of the firm. Apart from the direct predicted relation to corporate performance, compensating managers with equity instruments has implications for corporate risk-taking and payout policy choices. Additionally, equity-based compensation practices are to a large extent shaped by institutional factors, such as accounting regulations. This dissertation seeks to enhance our understanding of the determinants and implications of equity-based compensation and equity-based ownership of public companies’ executives through four interrelated essays. First, the dissertation re-examines the performance and risk-taking consequences of executive equity-based compensation and equity ownership using novel approaches. Second, the dissertation studies the side effects of equity-based compensation and the ways in which companies respond to the accounting regulations in the area of equity-based compensation. The empirical results of the first essay show that CEO’s equity incentives are economically more significant when measured relative to her outside non-firm wealth rather than relative to the total market value of the firm. These results also suggest that there is a positive relation between CEO’s equity incentives measured relative to her outside wealth and future accounting performance. The second essay reports that executive risk-taking incentives resulting from stock options holdings are significantly positively related to the degree of risk a firm takes when offering its customers trade credit. The third essay provides empirical evidence that companies engage in timing equity grant dates before the release of favorable earnings news in order to minimize the subsequent compensation expense. The fourth essay documents an inverse relation between the executive cash dividend receipts resulting from the holdings of equity and the level of current cash compensation of CEOs, and suggests that equity ownership is indirectly interrelated with the structure of cash compensation via dividends. Collectively, the results of the dissertation are of interest to shareholders of public companies, executive compensation consultants and boards of directors. / Tiivistelmä Agenttiteorian mukaan agentin ja päämiehen intressien ristiriita pienenee, kun agentin varallisuus ja palkkaus on sidottu yrityksen suorituskykyyn. Tämän suoran vaikutuksen lisäksi ylimmän johdon osakesidonnainen palkitseminen vaikuttaa sekä yrityksen riskinottoon että voitonjaon muotoon. Institutionaaliset tekijät, kuten tilinpäätöstä koskevat säännökset, vaikuttavat myös yritysten osakepohjaisten palkitsemiskäytäntöjen muotoutumiseen. Tämän väitöskirjan tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystämme pörssiyritysten ylimmän johdon osakepohjaisista palkitsemisjärjestelmistä ja osakeomistuksiin johtaneita syitä ja niiden seurauksia neljän osatutkimuksen avulla. Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan ensinnäkin osakepohjaisten palkitsemisjärjestelmien ja osakeomistusten vaikutuksia yritysten suorituskykyyn ja riskinottoon lähestymällä kysymystä uudella tavalla. Toiseksi väitöskirja tarkastelee osakepohjaisten palkitsemisjärjestelmien sivuvaikutuksia ja yritysten reagointia palkitsemisjärjestelmiä koskeviin säännöksiin. Ensimmäisen osatutkimuksen empiiristen tulosten mukaan toimitusjohtajan osakekannustimet ovat taloudellisesti merkittävämpiä silloin, kun ne on mitattu suhteessa toimitusjohtajan varallisuuteen sen sijaan, että ne olisi mitattu suhteessa yrityksen markkina-arvoon. Tulosten mukaan toimitusjohtajan osakekannustimien ja yrityksen tulevan kannattavuuden välillä on positiivinen suhde. Toisen osatutkimuksen tulosten mukaan ylimmän johdon osakeoptioiden riskinottokannustimet lisäävät yrityksen riskinottoa asiakasluotoissaan. Kolmas osatutkimus antaa empiiristä näyttöä siitä, että yritykset ajoittavat osakeluovutuspäivät minimoidakseen palkitsemiskustannuksia tilinpäätöksissään. Neljännessä osatutkimuksessa havaitaan käänteinen suhde toimitusjohtajan käteisosinkojen ja -palkan välillä, mikä viittaa siihen, että osakeomistus ja käteispalkan rakenne ovat epäsuoranaisesti yhteydessä toisiinsa osinkojen kautta. Kokonaisuudessaan väitöskirjan tulokset ovat mielenkiintoisia pörssiyritysten osakeomistajille, yritysjohtajien palkitsemisneuvonantajille sekä yritysten hallituksien jäsenille.

Raising funds through crowdfunding has experienced an accelerated growth for start-up companies. Moreover, recent literature suggests that crowdfunding has developed from being just a fundraising tool to a versatile marketing tool (Brown et al., 2016). Even though the marketing aspect of crowdfunding has been researched, there are no clear distinctions of explicitly what marketing values a crowdfunding campaign may entail. This study investigates the two dominating crowdfunding approaches for commercialized ventures, namely, reward- and equity-based crowdfunding. A gap in literature has been identified regarding differentiating reward- and equity-based crowdfunding, in terms of what marketing values they encompass from an entrepreneur’s point of view. The authors’ theoretical position comprehends a connection between crowdfunding and marketing values, which the authors aim to investigate through an exploratory approach. The empirical findings are based upon eleven face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs who has launched a successful crowdfunding campaign and can thereby be considered experts in the field. Through the empirical findings, the authors were able to identify how each approach creates value for the company. The empirical findings suggest that there are convergences and divergences, differentiating reward- from equity-based crowdfunding. This study aims to support and guide entrepreneurs who want to start a crowdfunding campaign by giving the entrepreneurs directions depending on what marketing values they may seek.

Entrepreneurship plays an integral role in innovation, job creation and economic growth, and financing is a key component in facilitating this process. In recent years, the financing industry has taken significant technological leaps forward—perhaps most notably through the introduction of alternative solutions to institutional investors, such as crowdfunding. At the same time, the distinct economic role of these new technologies is still largely unknown. The study aims to examine why growth-oriented entrepreneurs in Sweden choose equity-based crowdfunding. The findings are analyzed through the lens of the pecking order theory, i.e., the notion that entrepreneurs select the cheapest and least risky way to finance a given solution. This article builds on qualitative research with a multiple case study with five cases. The primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews following a topic guide and secondary data from investment material. Further, entrepreneurs choose external equity because of growth and network, and specifically crowdfunding is selected due to ambassadors, marketing, credibility, control keeping, and as a process to become a listed company. The results show that crowdfunding interrupts the pecking order theory.

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Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Equity-based insurance guarantees also known as unit-linked annuities are annuities with embedded exotic, long-term and path-dependent options which can be categorised into variable and equity indexed annuities, whereby investors participate in the security markets through insurance companies that guarantee them a minimum of their invested premiums. The difference between the financial options and options embedded in equity-based policies is that financial ones are financed by the option buyers’ premiums, whereas options of the equity-based policies are financed by also continuous fees that follow the premium paid first by the policyholders during the life of the contracts. Other important dissimilarities are that equity-based policies do not give the owner the right to sell the contract, and carry not just security market related risk, but also insurance related risks such as the selection rate, behavioural, mortality, others and the systematic longevity. Thus equity-based annuities are much complicated insurance products to precisely value and hedge. For insurance companies to successfully fulfil their promise of eventually returning at least initially invested amount to the policyholders, they have to be able to measure and manage risks within the equity-based policies. So in this thesis, we do fair pricing of the variable and equity indexed annuities, then discuss management of financial market and insurance risks management. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Aandeel-gebaseerde versekering waarborg ook bekend as eenheid-gekoppelde annuiteite is eksotiese, langtermyn-en pad-afhanklike opsies wat in veranderlike en gelykheid geindekseer annuiteite, waardeur beleggers neem in die sekuriteit markte deur middel van versekering maatskappye wat waarborg hulle ’n minimum van geklassifiseer kan word hulle belˆe premies. Die verskil tussen die finansi¨ele opsies en opsies is ingesluit in aandele-gebaseerde beleid is dat die finansi¨ele mense is gefinansier deur die opsie kopers se premies, terwyl opsies van die aandele-gebaseerde beleid word deur ook deurlopende fooie wat volg op die premie wat betaal word eers deur die polishouers gefinansier gedurende die lewe van die kontrakte. Ander belangrike verskille is dat aandele-gebaseerde beleid gee nie die eienaar die reg om die kontrak te verkoop, en dra nie net markverwante risiko sekuriteit, maar ook versekering risiko’s, soos die seleksie koers, gedrags, sterftes, ander en die sistematiese langslewendheid. So aandeel-gebaseerde annuiteite baie ingewikkeld versekering produkte om presies waarde en heining. Vir versekeringsmaatskappye suksesvol te vervul hul belofte van uiteindelik ten minste aanvanklik belˆe bedrag terug te keer na die polishouers, hulle moet in staat wees om te meet en te bestuur risiko’s binne die aandeel-gebaseerde beleid. So in hierdie tesis, ons doen billike pryse van die veranderlike en gelykheid geïndekseer annuiteite, bespreek dan die bestuur van finansiele markte en versekering risiko’s bestuur.

Small businesses account for most of all Swedish companies on the market. Difficulties for small businesses to seek capital come from the financial crisis 2008. The global crisis resulted in banks not granting loans to small business as often as before, mainly due to the banks asserting small business as high risks. Small businesses sought therefore alternative financing. The purpose of this study is to obtain a deeper understanding of what the opportunities and limitations that the small companies experience with the usage of crowdfunding as a form of financing and why they choose it over traditional financing options such as bank loans. A case study has been implemented in this paper to study small businesses seeking crowdfunding on the Swedish platform Fundedbyme. The research questions have been studied through a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. Essential theories that were chosen to analyze this subject was information asymmetry, signaling theory, pecking order theory and previous research. In conclusion the study shows that bank loan was considered as an attractive financing alternative for small businesses because they could get larger sums of capital. Further conclusions were that small businesses chose crowdfunding because they received capital and representatives. However, crowdfunding was regarded as restrictive with unclear legislations and regulations in the crowdfunding market. A combination of crowdfunding and traditional financing form was preferred by most of the companies that was interviewed. / Småföretagen står för majoriteten av alla svenska bolag som finns på marknaden. En förändring på småföretagens finansieringsalternativ har framkommit efter finanskrisen 2008. Den globala krisen gjorde så att banker inte var lika villiga att låna ut till småföretag eftersom de ansågs vara en hög risk. Detta resulterade till att småföretag sökte kapital genom andra finansieringsalternativ som crowdfunding. Syftet med studien är att erhålla en djupgående uppfattning kring möjligheter och begränsningar som småföretagen upplever i samband med crowdfunding som finansieringsform samt vilka skillnader som upplevs av småföretagen mellan crowdfunding respektive banklån som finansieringsalternativ. En fallstudie har framförts i denna uppsats där skribenterna har valt att studera småföretag som söker crowdfunding på den svenska plattformen Fundedbyme. Forskningsfrågorna har besvarats med hjälp av en kvalitativ forskningsansats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien valde väsentliga teorier för att analysera ämnet. Teorier som valdes var Informationsasymmetri, Signaleringsteori, Pecking order teorin samt tidigare forskning inom ämnet crowdfunding. Studiens slutsatser påvisade att småföretagen ansåg att banklån var ett attraktivt finansieringsalternativ eftersom företagen kunde få in större kapital. Ytterligare slutsatser tyder på att crowdfunding blev vald som finansieringsalternativ för att småföretagen fick både kapital och representanter i företaget. Småföretagen ansåg dock att crowdfunding besitter oklara lagstiftningar och regleringar. Majoritet av småföretagen föredrar en kombination av både crowdfunding och traditionella finansieringsformer.

1 Abstract The equity-based incentives are considered to be one of the instruments helping to motivate executives. The use of this compensation framework should in theory tackle and mitigate the agency problems, and prevent the possible attempts of managers to pursue their own interest over the interests of shareholders. The literature focusing on the effects differs greatly. There is no conformity over the effect of equity compensation on company performance. This research study the effect of CEO-related equity incentives and stock ownership on company performance. The main finding is the positive effect of the equity incentives measured by the percentage of CEOs' equity- based compensation on company performance proxied by the change in Tobin's Q. The thesis does not find any significant effect of insiders' stock ownership. The dataset of 107 publicly traded US companies is used for the empirical analysis. The results are estimated based on a fixed effects model and pooled ordinary least squares. This thesis contributes to the ongoing debate over the effects. It also widens the narrow literature on the structure of compensation. JEL Classification M120 Keywords Equity-based, CEO, compensation structure, equity ownership, company performance Author's e-mail theo.sarec@gmail.com Supervisor's e-mail...

Recent corporate scandals and subsequent regulatory actions have heightened both the academic communities and the public's interest in corporate governance issues. Academics have long argued that voting rights constitute a critical component of a system of corporate governance. We provide evidence on the importance of one aspect of the firm's corporate governance system, namely shareholders' voting rights, by examining the determinants of the decision to grant equity-based compensation to the employees of the firm with or without shareholder approval. We find that poorly-performing firms and poorly-governed firms are more likely to adopt equity-based compensation plans without shareholder approval. Furthermore, when we examine financial performance subsequent to adoption of equity-based compensation plans, we find that poorly-governed firms that adopt equity-based compensation plans without consulting shareholder do not appear to gain any significant benefits associated with the incentives the plans are supposed to provide. In fact, in the year after an equity-based compensation plan is adopted, these firms perform worse than firms that have good systems of corporate governance or firms that place equity-based compensation plans to a shareholder vote. Overall, our results suggest that shareholder voting rights are an important tool of corporate governa