Bio

Jillian P. Grennan is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University where she teaches Corporate Finance. Grennan’s research combines the disciplines of corporate finance, law and economics, and innovation.

Her recent research focuses on how formal institutions such as corporate governance interact with informal institutions such as corporate culture. In Grennan’s paper, “A Corporate Culture Channel: How Increased Shareholder Governance Reduces Firm Value,” she explores whether stronger shareholder governance affects firm value via its impact on intangible assets, and corporate culture in particular. In another paper, “Corporate Culture: Evidence from the Field,” she uses a novel survey tool to gather data about corporate culture from 1,900 chief executive and financial officers. The richness of the data allows her to explore the roles played by cultural values, norms, and other firm policies and practices such as governance and compensation in determining the effectiveness of corporate culture, and, in turn, the effect of culture on three different types of business outcomes: ethics, innovation, and productivity/firm value.

Grennan received her Ph.D. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. from Wellesley College. Prior to attending The Wharton School, Grennan worked at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the World Trade Organization, and KPMG.