<scp>CEO</scp> facial structure and stock price crash risk

Abstract

Abstract This study conducted an empirical analysis of a manually collected sample of chief executive officer (CEO) facial structure measurements (facial width‐to‐height ratio [FWHR]) to examine the relationship between FWHR and stock price crash risk. The samples were collected for the period 2008–2019 from Chinese A‐share listed firms. The results revealed a positive impact of FWHR on stock price crash risk. The positive impact is more pronounced for firms in which CEOs are entrusted with greater powers, firms that appoint a higher number of independent directors, or which function in a more competitive product market. Various robustness and endogeneity tests confirm our main conclusions.