Our colleagues will make a presentation "Impact of Blockchain on the Principal-Agent Conflict" at 17TH EIASM WORKSHOP ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
 

Participants

Ilya Ivaninskiy, PhD student, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”

Irina Ivashkovskaya, professor, Head of School of Finance, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”

Joseph Mc Cahery, J.D. Full Professor, Tilburg Law School, Department of Business Law, Tilburg University

Abstract

We analyze the impact of digital transformation of business and particularly the blockchain technology on the principal-agent conflict between management and shareholders within an organization. Blockchain technology has the ability to change fundamentally the distribution of power within an organization, potentially mitigating the conflict. While there are several studies of blockchain impact on the corporate governance, the empirical evidence has so far been scarce. We analyze the sample of 2813 of NYSE, Nasdaq and AMEX-traded firms for the 2018, which is marked with a rapid blockchain adoption.

We explore the influence of blockchain from three points of view: likelihood of submission of a shareholder proposal; level of support for the proposals (sponsored both by management and by shareholders); likelihood of a proxy contest against the firm.