The impact of top management teams on firm innovativeness: a configurational analysis of demographic characteristics, leadership style and team power distribution

Abstract

In past studies, the impact of the top management team (TMT) on firm innovativeness was explained by reference to either the upper echelons theory or the transformational leadership theory. This study takes a different approach by investigating both TMT demographic characteristics and leadership style dimensions in a joint configurational analysis. To do so, qualitative interviews with 44 TMT members in 24 multinational European companies were conducted. By means of a fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we investigated multiple combinations of TMT demographic characteristics, leadership style and contextual factors. By combining these factors, we found distinct causal recipes that better explain firm innovativeness. This study shows that firm innovativeness reflects the fit of the TMT to its tasks and that, therefore, diverse strategic paths can lead to the same output of innovative performance. This insight is of special relevance for firms in order to enhance the impact of TMTs on firm innovativeness.