Activist Hedge Fund Success: The Role of Reputation

Albert M. Ahn, Margarethe Wiersema, Yu Zhang

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The growing visibility and aggressive tactics by some activist hedge funds raises the question of what determines whether these activist campaigns are successful. We propose that the reputation of the activist hedge fund is likely to play a role in explaining their success. Specifically, we investigate and find that activist hedge funds that signal a reputation for being confrontational based on prior proxy fights are more likely to be successful in achieving their intentions in an activist campaign. In addition, we find that the effect of reputation on activist hedge fund success is greater when the activist hedge is the sole activist in the campaign and when they target firms with high performance. Our study contributes to our understanding of activist hedge funds by examining how reputation may impact their success or failure.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAcademy of Management Proceedings 2018
EditorsSonia Taneja
PublisherAcademy of Management
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2018
Event78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2018: Improving Lives - Chicago, United States
Duration: 10 Aug 201814 Aug 2018
https://aom.org/events/annual-meeting/past-annual-meetings/2018-improving-lives (Conference website)
https://journals.aom.org/toc/amproc/2018/1 (Conference proceedings)

Publication series

NameAcademy of Management Proceedings
Number1
Volume2018
ISSN (Print)0065-0668
ISSN (Electronic)2151-6561

Conference

Conference78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, AOM 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period10/08/1814/08/18
Internet address

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Activist Hedge Fund Success: The Role of Reputation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this