T h e s tru ctu re o f p u b lic ly traded co rp o ra tio n s provides diffe re n t incentives to owners
and managers. T he separation o f ow nership and c o n tro l im plies th a t owners bear the
risks and rewards o f m anagers’ actions. Hence, to induce managers to take actions
th a t m ost benefit the owners, th e y m ust s tru c tu re com pensation to align m anagers’
interests w ith th e ir ow n. A first-b e st outcom e is achieved when owners stru ctu re
com pensation to m ake managers w e akly in d iffe re n t to ta k in g a well-defined set o f
actions th a t m axim ize owner value (e.g. H o lm s tro m (1979)).