Since its first appearance in 1979, Research in Finance has been publishing papers that cover important and interesting issues in finance and economics. The topics found in the series span a wide range; previous volumes have included papers on corporate financial management policy, asset pricing and investment management, corporate control and governance, bank regulations and management, and the analysis of financial derivatives and their applications in risk management and in venture capital investment. These papers, among others, have made significant contributions to the literature.
In this volume, Bajaj, Vijh and Westerfield present evidence showing that ownership structure affects a firm's agency costs of cash flow, which, in turn-influences the market's reaction to changes in the firm's dividend policy. McNabb and Martin examine the relationship between managerial entrenchment and the effectiveness of internal governance mechanisms and the firm performances. In their paper, Kang, Karim and Rutledge apply a relative excess value ratio approach to empirically examine the association between the CEO compensations and the firms' performances. And Almisher, Buell and Kish, using accounting beta as a proxy for ex ante systematic risk of a firm, find a strong positive relationship between the firm's systematic risk and the subsequent degree of underpricing of its IPO.