Intangible assets are particularly critical for the 21st century firm. Building such assets requires substantial and sustained investment, which may not pay off until the very long-run. My work studies what drives companies to focus on the long-term rather than the short-term.
Theory:
- Determinants of long-run investment:
- Blockholders (large shareholders) (Edmans JF 2009)
- Capital structure (Edmans JFE 2011)
- CEO contracts (Edmans, Gabaix, Sadzik, Sannikov JF 2012)
- Disclosure policy (Edmans, Heinle, Huang RF 2016)
Empirics:
- Effect of short-term CEO contracts (Edmans, Fang, Lewellen RFS 2017)
- Link between intangible investment and firm value