IWH Forecasting Dashboard
IWH Forecasting Dashboard The objective of the IWH Forecasting Dashboard (ForDas) is to provide a platform for macroeconomic forecasts from various institutions for the German…
See page
IWH Research Network in Economics
IWH Research Network in Economics (IWH-ReNEc) The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) conducts its research projects in cooperation with external researchers. The IWH…
See page
Media Response
Media Response May 2025 Reint Gropp: Zeitenwende - Wirtschaft unter Druck (Beitrag ab Min 26:05, Interview ab Min 32:05) in: WISO - Die Sendung für Wirtschaft im ZDF, 26.05.2025…
See page
IWH Research Seminar in Economics
IWH Research Seminar in Economics The IWH Research Seminar in Economics is the core seminar series at IWH. Speakers from all over the world take the opportunity to present their…
See page
From Rivals to Allies? CEO Connections in an Era of Common Ownership
Dennis Hutschenreiter, Qianshuo Liu
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 7,
2025
Abstract
Institutional common ownership of firm pairs in the same industry increases the likelihood of a preexisting social connection among their CEOs. We establish this relationship using a quasi-natural experiment that exploits institutional mergers combined with firms’ hiring events and detailed information on CEO biographies. In addition, for peer firms, gaining a CEO connection from a hiring firm’s CEO appointment correlates with higher returns on assets, stock market returns, and decreasing product similarity between companies. We find evidence consistent with common owners allocating CEO connections to shape managerial decisionmaking and increase portfolio firms’ performance.
Read article
