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
  • 2016
  • Article
  • Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings

Scandal and Stigma: Does Corporate Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Bystander Managers?

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin and George Serafeim
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

This paper explores whether a firm’s misconduct can affect the compensation of former managers who were neither at the firm at the time of misdeeds nor involved in the scandal. Results suggest that stigma may influence compensation of former managers, even in cases where such managers had left the firm prior to the corporate scandal and were not legally involved in the scandal. The decrease in compensation is more pronounced in countries with strong rule of law, for individuals who were functionally proximate to the misconduct, and for individuals in senior positions. These findings suggest that the stigma from financial misconduct may extend beyond the confines of potential legal responsibility to a broader interpretation based on association with a tarnished firm.

Keywords

Corporate Misconduct; Stigma; Executive Compensation

Citation

Groysberg, Boris, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim. "Scandal and Stigma: Does Corporate Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Bystander Managers?" Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings (2016).
  • Register to Read

About The Authors

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
→More Publications

George Serafeim

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March–April 2023
    • Harvard Business Review

    The New-Collar Workforce

    By: Colleen Ammerman, Boris Groysberg and Ginni Rometty
    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Walmart’s Live Better U

    By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman
    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change

    By: Debora L. Spar, Georgios Serafeim and Julia Comeau
More from the Authors
  • The New-Collar Workforce By: Colleen Ammerman, Boris Groysberg and Ginni Rometty
  • Walmart’s Live Better U By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman
  • Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change By: Debora L. Spar, Georgios Serafeim and Julia Comeau
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