2016 Working Paper Prizes

This year, the Finance Series prize of €5,000 that is sponsored by Standard Life Investments, the global asset manager, was awarded to Professor Karl Lins (University of Utah), Professor Henri Servaes (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 a firm’s social capital, as measured by its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and performance during the financial crisis. The study involves 1,673 firms with CSR data and finds that high-CSR firms experienced higher stock returns, profitability, sales growth, and sales per employee during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. It suggests that the trust between the firm and its stakeholders and investors, built through investments in social capital, pays off when the overall level of trust in corporations and markets suffers a negative shock. 

The Law Series prize of €5,000 that 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, Professor Marco Becht, ECGI Executive Director said:

 “The Working Paper law and finance series’ are at the core of ECGI activities, reflecting outwardly the outstanding work of our research members around the globe. The support of the series is strengthened by the generous sponsorship of our partners, Allen & Overy and Standard Life Investments, who have had the vision to support this important award for a number of years running”.