Discussion of ‘Importing Activists: Determinants and Consequences of Increased Cross-border shareholder activism’

Abstract

Maffett et al. (2022) [Importing Activists: Determinants and Consequences of Increased Cross-border shareholder activism. Journal of Accounting and Economics, forthcoming] find that regulations on shareholder engagement and board structure lead to increased shareholder activism. How generalizable is this conclusion: can we conclude more generally that shareholder empowering regulations contribute to increased shareholder engagement? I discuss three areas along which future research can increase our understanding of this bigger picture question.