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Do Stock Options Overcome Managerial Risk Aversion? Evidence from Exercises of Executive Stock Options
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Do Stock Options Overcome Managerial Risk Aversion? Evidence from Exercises of Executive Stock Options

Randall A. Heron and Erik Lie
Management science, Vol.63(9), pp.3057-3071
09/01/2017
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2016.2485
url
https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/bitstreams/8d6cfe50-9dfa-4367-bfb0-b92691172023/downloadView
Open Access

Abstract

We report that the probability that executives exercise options early decreases with the volatility of the underlying stock return. We interpret this to mean that executives' subjective option value increases with volatility and that option grants increase executives' risk appetite. Further decomposition reveals that the results are most pronounced for idiosyncratic volatility, consistent with our conjecture that executives believe they can better predict or influence the resolution of idiosyncratic uncertainty than systematic uncertainty and, thus, favor the former.
Business & Economics Management Operations Research & Management Science Science & Technology Social Sciences Technology

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