When do stock options affect CEO risk-taking? The moderating role of CEO regulatory focus

Executive stock options are provided to risk-averse CEOs to encourage risk-taking. We show that the efficacy of such stock options is moderated by CEOs' regulatory focus-their intrinsic motivations to avoid losses or achieve gains. We show that stock options have a negligible impact on the risk-taking behavior of CEOs who are intrinsically motivated to avoid losses or take on risks. The impact of stock options on firm risk is strongest among CEOs whose regulatory focus is moderate and whose behavior is thus more malleable. Our paper shows that CEO intrinsic risk-taking motivations have important implications for the effectiveness of extrinsic risk-taking incentives provided by stock options.