I don't know, but it seems pretty easy to come up with a theory here - a large portion of executive compensation is from company stock, and short term actions that drive up the value of that stock will always be preferred, because as long as they aren't holding the proverbial hot potato when the thing collapses, they'll be fine - (and likely even if they are left holding it, they'll be fine - golden parachutes and all that).
So people making the decisions tend to incentivize the things that will maximize the return for their time.
So people making the decisions tend to incentivize the things that will maximize the return for their time.