The appointment of chief supply chain officers to top management teams: A contingency model of firm-level antecedents and consequences

Abstract

This study investigates the recent emergence of Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs). Drawing on contingency theory, we analyze firm-level antecedents and consequences associated with CSCOs being appointed to top management teams (TMTs). We conceptually develop the role of CSCOs and hypothesize that CSCOs are most likely to be appointed to TMTs at firms where supply chain-related integration and differentiation pressures are high. The results from a matched sample of S&P 1500 firms over a 21-year period reveal that financial leverage, internationalization, and diversification all predict CSCO appointment to the TMT. Our results also suggest that these same contingencies positively moderate the effect of CSCO presence on firm performance, with CSCOs proving beneficial when leverage, internationalization, and diversification levels are high, but detrimental when leverage, internationalization, and diversification are low. In addition, we find post-hoc evidence that suggests institutional forces may also be a factor in CSCO appointments. Our results reveal that most of the contingency performance effects manifest only for early adopters of the CSCO role, suggesting that late-mover elevation of the supply chain function to the TMT is a form of mimetic isomorphism. This study extends research on CSCOs and their emergence in TMTs, as well as the role of operations management in corporate strategy.