Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2020
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

By: Clarissa Hauptmann, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:46
ShareBar

Abstract

We examine the relationship between the gender of executives and corporate creditor recovery rates. Using 2,288 defaulted debt instruments, we find that female executives are associated with higher creditor recovery rates. Our findings are robust to tests that correct for potential self-selection inherent in studies of executive gender. We find evidence suggesting that conservatism in financial reporting and risk taking are potential channels through which gender affects creditor recovery rates. In additional tests, we find that the effects of executive gender persist across default types and the 2008 global financial crisis. We also show that gender diversity on the board does not moderate the effect of executive gender.

Keywords

Executive Gender; Default; Recovery Rates; Debt; Corporate Bonds; Conservatism; Leadership; Gender; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Risk Management

Citation

Hauptmann, Clarissa, Syrena Shirley, and Anywhere Sikochi. "Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-087, February 2020.

About The Author

Anywhere Sikochi

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Harambe: Mobilizing Capital in Africa

    By: Anywhere Sikochi
    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Performance Management at Afreximbank (B)

    By: Robert S. Kaplan, Siko Sikochi, Anna Ngarachu and Namrata Arora
    • January 2023 (Revised February 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Performance Management at Afreximbank (A) and (B)

    By: Robert S. Kaplan and Siko Sikochi
More from the Authors
  • Harambe: Mobilizing Capital in Africa By: Anywhere Sikochi
  • Performance Management at Afreximbank (B) By: Robert S. Kaplan, Siko Sikochi, Anna Ngarachu and Namrata Arora
  • Performance Management at Afreximbank (A) and (B) By: Robert S. Kaplan and Siko Sikochi
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College