Shelly W. Howton

Does the Market Respond to an Endorsement of Social Responsibility? The Role of Institutions, Information, and Legitimacy

A consensus has emerged in the burgeoning literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) that “virtuous” firms are often rewarded by the marketplace. Unfortunately, the mechanisms through which those rewards materialize are not well understood. Furthermore, it is difficult for managers and investors to know whether a company is actually engaged in responsible behavior. Thus, many stakeholders rely on institutional assessments of a firm’s social practices to inform their own judgments about that company’s CSR reputation. In this article, we draw on institutional theory and research on reputation and legitimacy to investigate the relationship between institutional endorsements (and repudiation) of CSR and firm financial performance. Our empirical results indicate that institutional intermediaries influence market assessments of a firm’s social responsibility and highlight the importance of the legitimacy-conferring function of expert bodies in understanding the relationship between social and financial performance. Our findings also illustrate the delicate interplay among different social performance assessments, reputation, and measures of financial and operating performance such that operating performance may serve as an advanced indicator of social performance and one type of social performance assessment may temper market reactions to another.

Board ownership and IPO returns

This study examines the role of the board of directors for IPO pricing irregularities. Theory suggests that initial underpricing may be the result of asymmetric information and the long-run underperformance may be the result of managerial mismanagement of new funds due to agency conflicts. A strong board of directors can potentially reduce both asymmetric information and agency problems. We find that the structure of the board is related to IPO pricing anomalies. Initial returns are directly related to share ownership by insiders and the percentage of independent outsiders, and long-run returns are directly related to share ownership by insiders.

Effect of Governance Characteristics on the State of the Firm after an Initial Public Offering

I examine firm characteristics available to investors at a firms initial public offering date to determine whether they predict the firms survival, acquisition, or failure. Firms survive more often than they are acquired when they are venture-backed, the chief executive officer is the original founder, and an outside blockholder is present. The presence of an outside director does not increase the probability of survival. Firms that are more likely to survive than fail include large firms and those with longer board tenure.

Anomalous Evidence on Operating Performance Following Seasoned Equity Offerings: The Case of REITs

We examine the operating performance of 200 equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) following seasoned equity offerings (SEO) made between 1990 and 1996. Our sample shows flat to increasing levels of operating performance changes prior to the SEO; and increasing raw performance changes and flat industry-adjusted performance changes following the SEO. Cross-sectional test results on the operating performance changes are consistent with existing theory. Our results contrast with industrial firm results, where performance changes are negative following an SEO. We attribute this difference to structural differences in REITs that limit the levels of internal capital available to REIT managers.

Information Transfers across Same–Sector Funds When Closed–End Funds Issue Equity

This study examines the reaction of non-issuing, same-sector funds when a closed-end fund announces a seasoned equity offering. The non-issuing, same-sector funds have a significant, negative announcement-day abnormal return. The abnormal returns for U.S. debt funds are less negative than U.S. equity and international debt funds. The abnormal returns for international debt funds are more negative than international equity funds. Announcement-day abnormal returns are directly related to the announcement-day abnormal return of the issuing fund and the premium/discount of the issuing fund. Announcement-day abnormal returns are inversely related to the premium/discount of the non-issuing, same-sector funds. Copyright 2002 by the Eastern Finance Association.

Financial Flexibility and At-the-Market (ATM) Equity Offerings: Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts

This article examines at‐the‐market (ATM) equity programs as an additional source of financial flexibility. We find that firms with higher market‐to‐book ratios and greater institutional ownership are more likely to announce an ATM program. Firms using ATM programs are also more likely to issue shares when they have exhausted other viable financing alternatives, have timely investment opportunities and when market conditions are favorable. Finally, we document a significant negative announcement effect around the establishment of an ATM program, though the magnitude of this effect is significantly less negative than that of a comparable SEO.

REIT Ownership and Property Performance: Evidence from the Lodging Industry

Prior research on the impact of REIT ownership on property performance is very limited and provides inconclusive empirical evidence. Whether REITs add value at the microlevel remains a puzzle. Utilizing a dataset of detailed accounting information for individual hotels across 5 US states, we re-examine the performance of REIT-owned properties. Unlike prior research that focuses on revenue-based performance measures, we examine both the top-line and bottom-line performance of hotel operations. We find that REIT ownership favorably impacts property performance in that REIT-owned hotels have higher profit margins than other lodging properties. The greater cost efficiency is likely attributable to savings in non-distributed operating expenses and fixed charges. We document no outperformance by REITs in revenue growth.

Financial Flexibility and Investment: Evidence from REIT At-the-Market (ATM) Equity Offerings

This article examines changes in real estate investment around the establishment of at-the-market (ATM) equity programs by equity REITs. We document a significant increase in the rate of investment following an ATM program announcement and its subsequent use. However, we find ATM access has a differential impact on the investment activity of REITs facing more significant financial constraints. We also provide further evidence that REITs with ATM programs generate positive long-run returns in excess of that of similarly timed SEOs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

The Impact of Option Introduction on Real Estate Investment Trusts

This paper examines the impact of option introduction on the returns, volatility, and volume of shares traded of the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that underlie the new derivative securities. The paper looks at both the initial and then longer term impact on each of these variables and then compares the impact to what previous research finds when options are introduced on non-REIT equities. We find evidence of an initial decline in price when option introduction is announced and also find significant negative returns over a longer post-announcement period. There is not a significant change in volatility at option introduction but we do find a significant increase in trading volume. We find that in most of the areas examined, REITs have a similar reaction to option introduction as do non-REIT equities.

Do REIT Repurchases Signal Value Changes in Rivals? An Analysis of the Stock Price Reaction of Non-Repurchasing REITs

We examine REITs at the announcement of plans for open market repurchases and determine the impact of these announcements on competing REITs. Consistent with prior research, we find evidence of significant positive returns to the repurchasing firms, on average, at announcement. We do not find evidence of a significant reaction for rival REITs. When we divide the sample based on sign of the announcement day returns to the repurchasing REITs, we find the impact for rivals differs. When there is a positive announcement effect for the repurchasing REIT, rivals do not react. When there is a negative announcement effect for the repurchasing REIT, rivals also have significant negative returns.