Independence of the Chairman and Board Composition: Firm Choices and Shareholder Value

Abstract

This paper examines the role of leadership structure and board composition in the context of poison pill adoptions. We distinguish, for the first time, independent, separated leadership structures from non-independent, separated leadership structures. Our results suggest that there is an important interaction effect between board composition and the independence of the board Chairman, and that while there is a critical monitoring role for outside directors, inside directors also provide a critical informational role in board decision-making.