Research Interests
Research Interests
Executive Human Capital and Top Management Teams; Corporate Governance; Corporate Reporting and Disclosures; Corporate Taxation; Innovation and Sustainability
Executive Human Capital and Top Management Teams; Corporate Governance; Corporate Reporting and Disclosures; Corporate Taxation; Innovation and Sustainability
[1] “When Does Top Management Team Functional Diversity Matter in Large Organizations?” (with Frances Fabian and James Plečnik). Forthcoming at Journal of Organizational Behavior. ABDC A*.
Abstract: Top management teams (TMTs) drive strategic leadership, but there is little clarity on when the composition of these upper echelons most impact organization performance. Drawing from the Categorization-Elaboration Model, we study an eighteen-year sample of approximately 4,500 organizations and over 32,000 executives and find a positive relationship between top management team functional diversity and organization performance, but only for the smaller organizations. We tested how organization size (and correlates of age/complexity) negatively interact with functional diversity. Testing for TMT integration proxies, top management tenure counteracted the negative impact of size making functional diversity beneficial in large organizations as well. Additionally, CEO tenure modestly strengthens the impact of TMT functional diversity, while, surprisingly, CEO generalism may serve as a substitute for it. Our large-sample study provides novel methodological guidance for performing substantial constructive replication, with competitive tests for both diversity and performance measures suggesting the best measures and time leads in testing the functional diversity-financial performance relationship. Our findings support the importance of tailoring TMT management strategies to contingencies for the organizational context, and informing CEO leadership strategies to characteristics across the CEO-TMT interface. Most importantly, these implications are pressing in the face of rapidly growing organizations in the world economy.
[2] “The Effects of Top Management Team Age Diversity During a Crisis: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic” (with James Plečnik). Journal of Management Accounting Research, 36 (3): 177–203, Fall 2024. ABDC A*.
Abstract: This paper studies the impact of top management team (TMT) age diversity on firm performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that age-diverse TMTs have a combination of various experiences that lead to creative problem solving and that this creativity supports firms in addressing the unique problems created by COVID-19 (e.g., remote work). Overall, we find that age-diverse TMTs improve firm performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further analyses indicate that age diversity is more likely to improve performance for firms subject to significant pandemic pressures (e.g., firms with high physical investment activity). This finding is in contrast to the fact that we find innovative firms do not benefit as much from age diversity, perhaps because these firms were more prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore required less creative leadership. Finally, we find that firms with inclusive cultures best facilitate the implementation of TMT age diversity.
[3] “Top Management Team Functional Diversity and Management Forecast Accuracy” (Solo-authored). Accounting Horizons, 37 (3): 243–278. September 2023. ABDC A.
Abstract: In this study, I examine whether top management team (TMT) between-member and within-member functional diversity affect management earnings forecast accuracy. Between-member functional diversity refers to the heterogeneity of functional experts on a TMT and within-member functional diversity refers to the aggregate functional breadth of TMT members. I find that both types of functional diversity are positively associated with management forecast accuracy. Further cross-sectional analyses show that these positive associations are significant only when firms face greater information uncertainty, when TMTs are more decentralized, and when TMT members have longer joint team tenure. These findings are consistent with the information-processing perspective that TMT functional diversity can facilitate information processing and sharing and thus improve management forecast accuracy. This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on how TMT members with various functional backgrounds work together in shaping financial disclosure quality.
[4] “Effective Board Monitoring over Earnings Reports and Forecasts: Evidence from CFO Outside Director Appointments” (with Seungmin Chee and Steve Matsunaga). Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 41 (5): 106981 1–25. September–October 2022. ABDC A.
Abstract: Prior evidence that firms adjust their board structure following accounting restatements suggests that firms expect the board to effectively monitor the firm’s financial accounting system. However, little is known about signals firms use to identify monitoring weaknesses or the types of individuals firms appoint to improve the quality of monitoring. We expand on Ghannam, Bujega, Matolcsy, and Spiropolous (2019)’s evidence that firms appoint directors with accounting experience after financial fraud by investigating whether firms that file restatements or issue highly inaccurate earnings forecasts appoint individuals with CFO experience (i.e., a subset of accounting experts) to their audit committee. We find that firms are more likely to appoint an outside director with CFO experience to the audit committee when they have recently restated earnings and when they have higher prior management forecast error. We also find that the appointment of a CFO outside director to the audit committee is followed by a lower likelihood of restatement and more accurate management forecast. Together, our results suggest that firms respond to accounting failures by appointing outside directors with CFO experience. Thus, we provide insight into the signals firms use to identify weaknesses in the monitoring of the accounting function and the types of expertise firms value in addressing those weaknesses.
[5] “Six Decades of U.S. Tax Reform: Why has the Average Couple’s Tax Burden Increased?” (with James Plečnik). Accounting Historians Journal, 48 (2): 67–79, December 2021. ABDC B.
Abstract: We collect basic federal tax laws over a 64-year period in order to simulate the historical effective tax rates of median income wage-earning couples. We find that effective income tax rates have decreased over the sample period; however, when payroll taxes are included in our calculations, total tax burdens have increased significantly. Interestingly, this increase in middle-class wage taxation has occurred over an historical period in which total federal tax revenue relative to GDP has remained somewhat constant. This implies that the middle class has borne an increasing relative tax burden in recent years. We hope that our analyses inform both the taxpaying public and policy makers of the historical status of middle-class wage earners.
[6] “Top Management Team Intrapersonal Functional Diversity and Tax Avoidance” (with James Plečnik). Journal of Management Accounting Research, 33 (1): 103–128, Spring 2021. ABDC A*.
Abstract: Top management team (TMT) members have been shown to influence tax avoidance; however, prior literature has not identified whether the intrapersonal diversity of TMT functional backgrounds leads to higher levels of tax avoidance. To study this relationship, we utilize TMT intrapersonal functional diversity, which captures the average heterogeneity of the TMT members' work experience. The skills associated with intrapersonal functional diversity may allow managers to better understand and communicate with various parties related to firm tax policies, thereby facilitating tax avoidance. Overall, we find that TMTs with higher levels of intrapersonal functional diversity achieve lower cash effective tax rates and that these TMTs do not rely on tax strategies that pose high risk.
[1] “Top Management Team Functional Diversity and Risk Factor Disclosures” (with Cristina Bailey and Joshua Filzen).
[2] “From CFO to CEO: The Role of General Human Capital” (solo-authored).
[3] “The Value of General Expertise in Outside Board Members: Evidence from Appointments of Chief Financial Officers” (with Seungmin Chee and Steve Matsunaga).
[4] “Board Faultlines and Corporate Green Innovation” (with Xiaoqing Feng).
[5] “When Does Director Network Centrality Matter for Green Innovation?” (with Xiaoqing Feng).
[6] “From the Boardroom to the Bottom Line: CMO Board Presence, Unanticipated Marketing Expenditure, and Firm Performance” (with Sijun Wang).
[7] “Auditor Sentiment and Audit Quality” (with Timothy Haight, Zining Li, and James Plečnik).
[8] “Does Appointing a Former CFO as CEO Influence a Firm’s Accounting Policies?” (with Steve Matsunaga and Eric Yeung).
[1] “Diversity Matters: While Different Backgrounds Can Create Frictions in Mega-Corporations, Savvy Firms of All Sizes Can Leverage Diversity to Improve Performance” (with Frances Fabian and James Plečnik). Forthcoming in California Management Review. ABDC A.
[2] “Why Transparency Means Different Things in China and the United States: Governance, Human Decision-Making, and Cross-Border Trust” (solo-authored). Forthcoming in the Proceedings of the China in Dialogue Symposium 2026.
[1] “The Blessings and Burdens of Working at a Jesuit Business School” (with Laurel Franzen, Larry Kalbers, Zining Li, James Plečnik, and Yini Wang). Accepted proposal at Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal.
[1] “Hydrothermally Stable Aluminosilicate Mesostructures Prepared from Zeolite ZSM-5” (lead author, with Tao Dou et al.) Journal of Materials Science 42 (2007): 401–405. Journal H Index: 187.
[2] “A Novel Method for the Preparation of MOR/MCM-41 Composite Molecular Sieve” (lead author, with Tao Dou et al.) Catalysis Communications 6 (2005): 87–91. Journal H Index: 126.
[3] “Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Properties of Stable Mesoporous Molecular Sieve MCM-41 Prepared from Zeolite Mordenite” (lead author, with Tao Dou et al.) Journal of Solid State Chemistry 177 (2004): 4800–4805. Journal H Index: 148.