Outputs (28)

Born to Behave: Home CEOs and Financial Misconduct (2025)
Journal Article
Lei, Z., Petmezas, D., Rau, P. R., & Yang, C. (online). Born to Behave: Home CEOs and Financial Misconduct. Review of Accounting Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-025-09870-y

We examine the association between CEO birthplace proximity and financial misconduct. We find that CEOs managing firms near their birthplaces ("home CEOs") are associated with lower levels of financial misconduct compared to non-home CEOs. This assoc... Read More about Born to Behave: Home CEOs and Financial Misconduct.

Local boy does good: The effect of CSR activities on firm value (2025)
Journal Article
Lei, Z., Petmezas, D., Rau, P. R., & Yang, C. (2025). Local boy does good: The effect of CSR activities on firm value. Journal of Banking and Finance, 173, Article 107398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2025.107398

We examine the relation between home CEOs and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Our analysis shows home CEOs are associated with higher CSR engagement and increased firm value. These firms exhibit higher asset turnover, lower cost of equity, imp... Read More about Local boy does good: The effect of CSR activities on firm value.

Societal Equality Sentiment and Executive Compensation (2022)
Journal Article
Onal, B., Petmezas, D., & Xiong, N. (2022). Societal Equality Sentiment and Executive Compensation. Journal of Corporate Finance, 77, Article 102314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2022.102314

Using elections that reveal changes in countries’ leniency on the left-right political spectrum, we examine whether societal sentiment regarding income inequality affects executive compensation. We find that elections that bring left-leaning (pro-equ... Read More about Societal Equality Sentiment and Executive Compensation.

The Effects of Terrorist Attacks on Inventor Productivity and Mobility (2022)
Journal Article
Fich, E. M., Nguyen, T., & Petmezas, D. (2023). The Effects of Terrorist Attacks on Inventor Productivity and Mobility. Research Policy, 52(1), Article 104655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2022.104655

We investigate the impact of deadly terrorist attacks on inventor productivity and mobility in the U.S. During the five-year window after such events, nearby firms generate fewer and less impactful inventions. Moreover, their inventors typically exhi... Read More about The Effects of Terrorist Attacks on Inventor Productivity and Mobility.

Agency Costs of Debt and Inside Debt: The Role of CEO Overconfidence (2022)
Journal Article
Galariotis, E., Louca, C., Petmezas, D., & Wang, S. (2023). Agency Costs of Debt and Inside Debt: The Role of CEO Overconfidence. British Journal of Management, 34(3), 1606-1631. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12661

This study extends our understanding of CEO inside debt compensation under an agency problem perspective by considering the impact of a behavioral trait, namely CEO overconfidence. Using a sample of US firms in Standard & Poor’s ExecuComp for the per... Read More about Agency Costs of Debt and Inside Debt: The Role of CEO Overconfidence.

Does Terrorism Affect Acquisitions? (2022)
Journal Article
Nguyen, T., Petmezas, D., & Karampatsas, N. (2023). Does Terrorism Affect Acquisitions?. Management Science, 69(7), 4134-4168. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4506

Using terrorist attacks as an exogenous shock to uncertainty, we provide evidence that firms located near terrorism-stricken areas are less likely takeover targets for two years after the attack and receive lower acquisition premiums. The latter find... Read More about Does Terrorism Affect Acquisitions?.

Credit Ratings and Acquisitions (2021)
Journal Article
Aktas, N., Petmezas, D., Servaes, H., & Karampatsas, N. (2021). Credit Ratings and Acquisitions. Journal of Corporate Finance, 69, Article 101986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2021.101986

There is a curvilinear relation between credit ratings and acquisitions. Non-investment grade firms make more acquisitions as their ratings improve, consistent with the relaxation of financial constraints. However, this pattern reverses for investmen... Read More about Credit Ratings and Acquisitions.

Selling to buy: Asset sales and acquisitions (2020)
Journal Article
Mavis, C. P., McNamee, N. P., Petmezas, D., & Travlos, N. G. (2020). Selling to buy: Asset sales and acquisitions. Journal of Corporate Finance, 62, Article 101587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2020.101587

This study explores the impact of joint corporate asset restructuring decisions, where firms sell an asset in order to fund a subsequent acquisition (selling-to-buy). We find that firms with asset sales are associated with increased acquisition proba... Read More about Selling to buy: Asset sales and acquisitions.

CEO overconfidence and the value of corporate cash holdings (2018)
Journal Article
Aktas, N., Louca, C., & Petmezas, D. (2019). CEO overconfidence and the value of corporate cash holdings. Journal of Corporate Finance, 54, 85-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2018.11.006

Cash holding is on average more valuable when firms are managed by overconfident CEOs. Economically, having an overconfident CEO on board is associated with an increase of $0.28 in the value of $1.00 cash holding. The positive effect of CEO overconfi... Read More about CEO overconfidence and the value of corporate cash holdings.

The role of corporate political strategies in M&As (2017)
Journal Article
Croci, E., Pantzalis, C., Park, J. C., & Petmezas, D. (2017). The role of corporate political strategies in M&As. Journal of Corporate Finance, 43, 260-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2017.01.009

In line with the view that politics can complicate M&A deals, we find that firms contributing to political action committees or involved in lobbying are less likely to be acquired and their takeover process is lengthier. As we empirically show, this... Read More about The role of corporate political strategies in M&As.