Impact of CEO Overconfidence on Firm Performance: An Evidence from S&P BSE 200

Abstract

The current research article considers the impact of CEO overconfidence on firm performance for S&P BSE 200 firms. The CEO overconfidence is measured using revealed beliefs (holder 67, long holder and net buyer), press coverage and forecasting error proxies of CEO overconfidence. CEO Overconfidence measures are constructed as per the methodology of Malmendier and Tate (2005b, 2008). Firm performance is measured using Tobin’s Q and return on assets. The data are collected from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) prowess, S&P Capital IQ and the annual reports of the sample firms over a period of 15 years starting from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2015. Regression results for each of the proxy of CEO overconfidence with the proxies of firm performance indicate that large Indian firms with overconfident CEOs enjoy a higher return on assets and Tobin’s Q as compared to the full sample firms. Overconfident CEOs consider themselves better-than-average, are involved with over-investment and show superior performance for the firm. The overconfident CEOs increase firm performance by following optimal levels of investments in the firm.