Organization and Strategy Seminar（2021-01）

Topic:Female Executivesand CSR-Oriented Shareholder Proposals

Speaker:Juan Ma,INSEAD

Time: Friday, 12 March, 10:00-11:30 am

Location: Room 217 , Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

While the conventional view of shareholder proposals treats governance-oriented proposals as an expression of shareholders’ dissatisfaction with managerial inadequacy, we revisit this view in the context of CSR-oriented proposals, proposing that being targeted by shareholder activists could be due to a favorable reading of top management team (TMT)’ stance on the issues. Specifically, we consider the implication of TMT’s female representation for CSR-oriented shareholder proposals, positing that as women are perceived as more prosocial, activists will target firms led by female executives with more CSR-oriented shareholder proposals. We further find the proposed relationships to be stronger in firms where female executives have received a social award, where there is higher female representation on board, and firms that have a better CSR performance history. In our additional analysis we find evidence consistent with our argument that TMTs with higher female representation are more likely to implement CSR-oriented proposals. We discuss our paper’s contribution to shareholder activism, corporate governance, gender and strategic leadership literature.

Introduction:

Juan Ma is an Assistant Professor of Strategy at INSEAD. Her research tackles institutional distrust, the collective distrust in business institutions due to rampant rent-seeking and corruption, as well as its implications on firm behaviour. Using emerging economies as an empirical window, one stream of her work tackles product market failures, examining the collective scepticism and distrust in product market institutions in the context of product safety scandals. Another stream of her work studies institutional corruption in financial markets, with a focus on the rent-seeking behaviour of board directors and securities regulators. Professor Ma’s work has been published in reputed academic journals, including theStrategic Management Journal, and cited by media outlets including theFinancial TimesandForbes.

Professor Ma earned a doctorate in Business Administration with a specialisation in Strategy from Harvard University, and received the Wyss Award for outstanding doctoral dissertation in business administration, as well as the Weiss Family Program Fund for outstanding research in development economics. She holds a bachelor degree in Business Economics from the University of Toronto, and in 2011, received the Governor General’s Silver Medal.

Professor Ma is a global competitiveness advisor to companies across the world, as well as governments and non-profit organisations including Industry Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Canada. Before pursuing her doctorate, she advised DFAIT Canada as an economist.

Professor Ma was born in Nanjing, China, and speaks English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

//www.insead.edu/faculty-research/faculty/juan-ma

Your participation is warmly welcomed!