Journal
JOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
Volume 60, Issue 5, Pages 1859-1913Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12431
Keywords
relative performance evaluation; peer group overlap; competitive aggressiveness; strategic interaction; collusion
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This study examines the relationship between incentive plans based on relative performance and competitive aggressiveness. Using data on executive incentive-compensation contracts in large U.S. firms, the findings show a positive association between competitive aggressiveness and peer group overlap. Managers of firms with such incentive plans take more frequent and more complex competitive actions.
We examine the relation between incentive plans based on relative performance and competitive aggressiveness. Using data on executive incentive-compensation contracts in large U.S. firms, we find a positive association between competitive aggressiveness and peer group overlap-that is, the extent to which two firms select each other as peers in these incentive plans. Our findings indicate that managers of such firms take more frequent as well as more complex competitive actions, relative to managers evaluated on relative performance without peer group overlap. Moreover, we show that these competitive tactics are more pronounced when managers compete against: (1) peers with similar grant sizes, (2) peers on similar performance metrics, and (3) peers in the same industry. Collectively, our findings provide evidence on how widely used incentive-compensation practices relate to strategic firm decisions.
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