Accounting for Taste: Board Member Preferences and Corporate Policy Choices

摘要: This paper explores whether firms that share common directors also pursue similar corporate policies. Using a sample of 885 U.S. with directors, we find director fixed effects strongly explain variation in firms’ governance, financial, disclosure, and strategic policy choices. Moreover, the provide incremental explanatory power over traditional economic determinants Consistent our hypotheses, are less pronounced large firms, more outside board members, for numerous appointments. Our evidence is consistent “matching” their preferences rather than “imposing” on firms.