ECGI 2016 Working Paper Prizes (Law & Finance)

Following the lecture, ECGI awarded two research prizes for the best papers in the Finance and Law Working Paper Series’ from the previous year.

The Finance Series prize of €5,000 is sponsored by Standard Life Investments, the global asset manager, was awarded to Professor Karl Lins, Professor Henri Servaes (both of London Business School), and Professor Ane Tamayo (London School of Economics) for their paper on “Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis”.

The paper examines the link between firms’ activity in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and performance during times of low confidence. The study involved a review of 1,673 firms with CSR data and ultimately found that high-CSR firms experienced higher profitability, sales growth, and sales per employee during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. It also suggests that 22 April 2016 For immediate Release social capital and trust earned through CSR activities can potentially act as an insurance policy for firms in times of crisis.

The Law Series prize of €5,000 is sponsored by Allen & Overy LLP, the international law firm, was awarded to Professor Holger Spamann (Harvard University) for his paper on “Monetary Liability for Breach of the Duty of Care?”.

This paper clarifies why optimal corporate governance generally excludes monetary liability for breach of directors’ and managers’ fiduciary duty of care, while also highlighting the potential for an optimal combination of standard performance pay and tailored partial liability.

Speaking at the ceremony, David Devlin, ECGI Chairman said “It has been another successful year for the European Corporate Governance Institute, which is evidenced by the outstanding work of our research members, and the enthusiasm of our members to take part in this important annual event. We are looking forward to continue delivering leading research to support and engage with all of our members around the globe in the coming years”.