Faculty Directory

Gordon Phillips

Laurence F. Whittemore Professor of Business Administration; Professor of Finance

Email

Gordon.M.Phillips@tuck.dartmouth.edu

Phone

603-646-9139

Personal Website

http://faculty.tuck.dartmouth.edu/gordon-phillips/

Degree

PhD and MA, Harvard University, 1991; BA, Northwestern University, 1986

Areas of Expertise

Bankruptcy, capital structure, corporate finance, corporate valuation, finance, industrial organization, mergers, acquisitions and takeovers, private equity, venture capital

Courses

Venture Capital & Private Equity

Bio

Gordon Phillips is the Laurence F. Whittemore Professor of Business Administration and a professor of finance. He teaches the 2nd year course Venture Capital and Private Equity and specializes in private equity, mergers, and the impact of financial decisions on firms' strategic decisions. He is a faculty advisor at the Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, where he was the faculty director for 5 years, reorganizing and helping to expand the previously named Center for Private Equity. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a visiting research professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He previously taught at the University of Southern California and the University of Maryland. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, Duke University, HEC Paris, Insead, MIT, and Southern Mediterranean University. He received his MA and Ph.D. from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. His areas of research include corporate finance and how financial decisions impact firms' strategic decisions, and contracting in financial markets. His work in corporate finance includes studies of private equity issuance, capital structure, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, how leverage buyouts and other forms of high debt influence a firms' and rivals' investment decisions.

Recent research published in the Journal of Political Economy and the Review of Financial Studies has been on applying computational linguistics to firm financial statements to analyze merger synergies, dividends and product market competition. Research published in the Journal of Finance has been on real and financial booms and busts and mergers and acquisitions and how firms organize across multiple markets. He recently presented the keynote address on PIPEs (private investment in public equity) to an audience of executives and finance professionals. He has served as an associate editor at The Review of Financial Studies and The Journal of Corporate Finance.

Current Research Topics

  • Private equity
  • Finance and industrial organization
  • Patenting activity

Professional Activities

Academic positions

  • Professor of Finance, Tuck School of Business, 2022–present
  • Faculty Adviser, Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, Tuck School of Business, 2021–present
  • Laurence F. Whittemore Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business, 2018–present
  • Faculty Director, Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital, Tuck School of Business, 2016–21
  • C.V. Starr Foundation Professor and Faculty Director of the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship, Tuck School of Business, 2016–18
  • Charles E. Cook Community Bank Chair and Professor of Finance and Business Economics, University of Southern California, 2012–15
  • Bank of America Professor of Finance, University of Maryland, 2010–12
  • Visiting Professor, HEC-Paris, 2010
  • Visiting Scholar, INSEAD, 2009–10
  • Visiting Professor, Duke University, 2003
  • Visiting Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, 2001–02

Nonacademic positions

  • Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2002–present
  • President, Midwest Finance Association,  2020-2021, Vice President, 2019-20
  • Director, American Finance Association, 2020-23
  • President, Midwest Finance Association, March 2020 - March 2021, Vice President, 2019-20
  • Director, American Finance Association, 2020-23

Editorial positions

Associate editor:

  • Review of Corporate Financial Studies, 2010–present
  • Financial Management Association, 2009–present
  • Finance Research Letters, 2008–present
  • Annals of Finance, 2004–present
  • Journal of Corporate Finance, 2002–present
  • Journal of Financial Research, 2006–11
  • Review of Financial Studies, 2003–06
  • Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, 1999–2002

Awards

Research Grants

  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2019-2021. 3-year research grant with Kyle Herkenho for $299,976. Title: \The Impact of Consumer Credit Access on Earnings Mobility, Entrepreneurship and Income Inequality."
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2019-2020, with Gerard Hoberg, Craig Knoblock, Jay Pujara and Louiqa Raschid for $1,000,000. Title: “Exploiting Financial and Economic Data - Business OKN."
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2019-2020, with Kyle Herkenhoff for $299,976. Title: “The Impact of Consumer Credit Access on Earnings Mobility, Entrepreneurship and Income Inequality.”
  • Equitable Growth Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2017, with Kyle Herkenhoff for $47,500 to study the impact of personal credit on earnings, employment and entrepreneurship.
  • National Science Foundation,  Co-Principal Investigator,  2016-2018. 2-year research grant, with Gerard Hoberg, Craig Knoblock and Pedro Szekely for $518,000 to study competition, and industry change through text-mining of private and public firm webpages.
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2011-2016. 5-year research grant, 3 years extended, with Ethan Cohen-Cole for $478,306 to study the role of personal credit in new business formation.
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2008-2011. 3-year research grant with Brent Goldfarb and Vojislav Maksimovic, for $349,000 to study the role of organizational form in exploiting patents and innovation.
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 2002-2004. 3-year research grant with Vojislav Maksimovic, for $287,882 to study the role of finance in industry evolution and technology adoption.
  • National Science Foundation, Co-Principal Investigator, 1997-1999. 2-year research grant with Vojislav Maksimovic, for $163,800 to study capital structure and the time-series dimensions of mergers and asset sales.
  • ASA/NSF Research Fellowship, 1994-1995. Fellowship funded by the American Statistical Association and the National Science Foundation.

Honors

  • Keynote address, Financial Management Association Asia, “Industries and Competition: New Foundations for Corporate Finance and Asset Pricing,” July, 2019.
  • Keynote address, Southern Denmark University, “Financial and Organizational Decisions over the Firm and Industry Life Cycle,” June, 2019.
  • Keynote address, Stockholm School of Economics, “Product Integration and Merger Success,” April, 2016.
  • Keynote address, Claremont McKenna College, “(The Need for) Industrial Organization Foundations for Corporate Finance and Asset Pricing, ” October, 2015.
  • Keynote address, Nordic Finance Association, May 2010, “Industrial Organization and Corporate Finance.”
  • Keynote address, Brazilian Finance Association, July 2010, “Finance and Product Market Competition:  New Developments and Research  Possibilities.”
  • Series of five invited research lectures as the A.B. Freeman Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tulane University, Spring 2008.
  • ASA/NSF Research Fellowship, 1994-1995. Fellowship funded by the American Statistical Association and the National Science Foundation.
  • Judy Olian Research Fellowship, 2001 and 2002, “The Role of Finance in Firm Survival and Industry  Consolidation.”
  • General Research Board Research Fellowship, 1996, University of Maryland. “Bankruptcy, Financing Decisions and the Reallocation of Industry Capacity.”
  • Research Fellowship, Purdue University, 1994, “Capital Structure and Product Market Rivalry: An Examination of Plant Closing and Investment Decisions.”
  • Dean’s Fellowship, 1986-1991, Harvard Business School.
  • Departmental Honors in Mathematical Methods, 1986, Northwestern University. Frederick Deibler Award for economics honors thesis, 1986, Northwestern University.

Working Papers

  • With A. Zhdanov, "Venture Capital Investments, Merger Activity, and Competition Laws around the World," 2021
  • With G. Hoberg, "Scope, Scale and Competition: The 21st Century Firm," 2021
  • With G. Hoberg and Y. Li, "U.S. - China Innovation Competition," 2021
  • With E. Giambona, A. Kumar, "Hedging and Competition," 2021
  • With B. Larrain, G. Sertsios, and F. Urzúa I., "The Effects of Going Public on Firm Performance and Strategy: Evidence from International IPOs," 2021
  • With Z. Huang, J. Yang, and Y. Zhang, "Education and Innovation: The Long Shadow of the Cultural Revolution," 2020
  • With V. Maksimovic and L Yang, “Are Public Firms Really Myopic? Evidence from Matching IPO Firms at Birth,” 2020, revise and resubmit, Review of Finance
  • With K. Herkenhoff, J. Lise, and G. Menzio, "Production and Learning in Teams," 2018, revise and resubmit Econometrica
  • With C. Braxton and K. Herkenhoff, "Do the Unemployed Borrow: Implications for Public Insurance," 2019, revise and resubmit, Journal of Political Economy
  • With G. Hoberg and B. Li, "U.S. Innovation and Chinese Competition for Innovation Production," 2019
  • With G. Hoberg, "Product Integration and Merger Success," 2019
  • With A. Zhdanov, "Venture Capital Investments and Merger and Acquisition Activity around the World," 2019
  • With V. Maksimovic and L. Yang, "Do Public Firms Respond to Industry Opportunities More than Private Firms? The Impact of Initial Firm Quality," 2018

Selected Publications

  • With K. Herkenhoff and E. Cohen-Cole, "How Credit Constraints Impact Job Finding Rates, Sorting & Aggregate Output," forthcoming, Review of Economic Studies, 2023
  • With C. Hsu, X. Li, and Z. Ma, "Does Industry Competition Influence Analyst Coverage Decisions and Career Outcomes?," forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2022
  • With K. Herkenhoff and E. Cohen-Cole, "The Impact of Consumer Credit Access on Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship," forthcoming, Journal of Financial Economics, 2021
  • With S. Katie Moon, "Outsourcing Supply Contracts, Human Capital and Firm Capital Structure," Management Science, 67(1):363-387, 2021
  • With L. Fresard and G. Hoberg, "Innovation Activities and Integration through Vertical Acquisitions,” 33, Issue 7, July 2020, 33:7 pp. 29372976. Oliver Williamson best paper award
  • With M. Li and Y. Lu, “CEOs and the Product Market: When are Powerful CEOs Beneficial?” Lead article, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 54, 2019
  • With J. Bai and D. Carvalho, “The Impact of Bank Credit on Labor Reallocation and Aggregate Industry Productivity,” Journal of Finance, December 2018
  • With G. Hoberg, "Text-Based Industry Momentum," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, December 2018; Sharpe best paper award
  • With L. Fresard and U. Hege, “Extending Industry Specialization Through Cross-Border Acquisitions,” Review of Financial Studies, 30 (5), 2017 
  • With G. Hoberg, “Conglomerate Industry Choice and Product Language,” Management Science, August 2018
  • With G. Sertsios, “Financing Decisions and New Product Introductions of Private and Publicly Traded Firms,” Review of Financial Studies, 30 (5), 2017
  • With G. Hoberg, “Text-Based Network Industries and Endogenous Product Differentiation,” Journal of Political Economy, 2016
  • With G. Hoberg and N.R. Prabhala, “Product Market Threats, Payouts, and Financial Flexibility,” Journal of Finance, 69(1), 2014
  • With H. Ortiz-Molina, “Real Asset Illiquidity and the Cost of Capital,” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2014
  • With V. Maksimovic and L. Yang, “Private and Public Merger Waves,” Journal of Finance, 2013, 68(5), 2013
  • With G. Sertsios, “How Do Firm Financial Conditions Affect Product Quality and Pricing?”, Management Science, 59(8), 2013
  • With A. Zhdanov, “R&D and the Incentives from Merger and Acquisition Activity,” Review of Financial Studies, 26(1), 2013
  • With V. Maksimovic, “Conglomerate Firms, Internal Capital Markets and the Theory of the Firm,” Annual Review of Financial Economics, 5, 2013
  • With A. Gomes, “Why do Public Firms Issue Private and Public Securities?”, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 21, 2012
  • With V. Maksimovic and N.R. Prabhala, “Post-Merger Restructuring and the Boundaries of the Firm,” The Journal of Financial Economics, 102, 2011; Reprinted as chapter 5 in Mergers and Acquisitions, volume in The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, ed. J.H. Mulherin
  • With G. Hoberg, “Product Market Synergies and Competition in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Text-Based Analysis,” The Review of Financial Studies, 23, 2010; Reprinted as chapter 6 in Mergers and Acquisitions, volume in The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, ed. J.H. Mulherin
  • With G. Hoberg, “Real and Financial Industry Booms and Busts,” Journal of Finance, 65, 2010
  • With V. Maksimovic, “The Industry Life-Cycle, Acquisitions and Investment: Does Firm Organization Matter?” Journal of Finance, 63, 2008
  • With P. MacKay, “How Does Industry Affect Firm Financial Structure?” The Review of Financial Studies, December 2005
  • With V. Maksimovic, “Do Conglomerate Firms Allocate Resources Inefficiently Across Industries? Theory and Evidence,” The Journal of Finance, 57, 2002; Reprinted in Corporate Restructuring, volume in The International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics, ed. J. McConnell and D. Denis
  • With V. Maksimovic, “The Market for Corporate Assets: Who Engages in Mergers and Asset Sales and Are There Gains?”, Journal of Finance, 56, 2001; Reprinted in Corporate Restructuring, volume in The International Library of Critical Writings in Financial Economics, ed. J. McConnell and D. Denis. Also reprinted in Mergers and Corporate Governance, ed. J.H. Mulherin
  • With J. Allen, “Corporate Equity Ownership, Strategic Alliances and Product Market Relationships,” Journal of Finance, 55, 2000