Research from Appalachian State University assistant professor of finance, Dr. Jonathan Bitting, along with co‑authors B. Akins, D. De Angelis, and M. Gaulin, was recently published in Contemporary Accounting Research. Their work examined CEO short‑term incentives and the agency cost of debt.
The study analyzed how creditor pressure shapes executive compensation design, showing that CEO incentives are influenced not only by shareholder interests but also by firms’ efforts to manage debt‑related agency conflicts.
The work contributes to a broader understanding of how compensation contracts respond to financial structure and creditor oversight, with important implications for corporate governance.
Jonathan Bitting
Jonathan Bitting