Pay and the pandemic: the decoupling of Dutch boardroom pay from performance during the Covid-19 outbreak

The shareholder value revolution has coincided with rapid increases in Dutch top managers’ pay. Theoretically, rising executive bonuses should reflect improved corporate performance, as measured by a series of operational and shareholder value indicators. However, critics argue that in practice the relationship between pay and performance is weak. Given its negative impact on the finances of most firms, the Covid-19 pandemic provides an insightful test case. What happened to Dutch executives’ pay during the pandemic? Our detailed analysis of the remuneration packages paid out to Dutch top mana... Mehr ...