Influence Of Top Management Teams Research Articles

Top management team gender diversity and green innovation: A contingent curvilinear link

AbstractThe increasing significance of green innovation for firm competitiveness introduces greater risks and uncertain returns, challenging top managers' strategic decisions. The influence of top management team (TMT) characteristics, particularly gender diversity, on green innovation remains unclear. Drawing on gender difference and social identity theories, this study examines the curvilinear relationship between TMT gender diversity and green innovation among 2026 Chinese publicly listed manufacturing firms from 2011 to 2018. Through the use of fixed‐effects Poisson models to confirm our hypotheses, we uncover an inverted U‐shaped relationship between TMT gender diversity and green innovation. Furthermore, we delve into the contingent roles of individual, corporate, and industry factors affecting this primary relationship. Specifically, our findings reveal that the educational attainment of female executives and the strength of green industry innovation flatten the inverted U‐shaped curve between TMT gender diversity and green innovation, whereas state ownership steepen it. Our study resolves the inconsistencies found in previous research by integrating multiple theoretical perspectives and offers empirical insights into the role of women in shaping sustainable development in emerging markets.

Top management team career experience heterogeneity, digital transformation, and the corporate green innovation: a moderated mediation analysis

IntroductionDrawing upon upper echelon theory and the resource-based view, this study employs a moderated mediation model to investigate the moderating role and underlying mechanisms of digital transformation in the influence of top management teams (TMT) on corporate green innovation.MethodsOur analysis of panel data from 19,155 Chinese A-share listed companies (2011–2020) demonstrates that TMT career experience heterogeneity has a positive effect on green innovation, a relationship that is further strengthened by digital transformation.ResultsThis study shows the role of digital transformation in amplifying the effects of TMT diversity on green innovation and the crucial role of industry-academia-research collaboration as a mediator. Heterogeneity analysis highlights that non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) show more agility than state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in leveraging heterogeneous TMT to drive green innovation. Conversely, green innovation in SOEs benefits more from digital transformation, which includes both its direct and indirect effects of digital transformation. Enterprises located in non-Yangtze River Economic Belt regions benefit more from digital transformation, demonstrating the importance of a balanced distribution of digital resources.DiscussionThis study provides novel insights into leveraging inclusive leadership and digital capabilities to enhance ecological sustainability. This study underscores the potential of diversified TMTs and digitalization technology integration to catalyze green innovation, which is critical for environmentally responsible transformation.

Top Management Team Characteristics and Performance of Banks in Russia

This article explores the influence of top management team (TMT) characteristics on the performance of banks in Russia. Empirical research is based on both primary and secondary data of 178 banks. The study contributes to advancing research on upper echelon theory. The study’s results suggest that some top management characteristics have positive influence on the performance of banks, while others either negative or neutral. It was proven that percentage of Ph.D. holders in TMT and heterogeneity of functional expertise positively influence financial results of banks. In addition, CEO duality and gender heterogeneity have a negative effect on financial results of banks in Russia. Other TMT characteristics have no influence on banks performance (ROA, ROE and ROI).

The emergence of TMT learning goal orientation: contextual effects of TMT demographic diversity on TMT cognitive processes

This study examines the contingent influence of top management team (TMT) compositional diversity on the emergence of TMT learning climate. Based on a sample of 61 TMTs in Vietnam, the results show that TMT functional diversity exerts a positive moderating effect on the mediating process between TMT cognitive diversity and TMT learning goal orientation (LGO), providing confirmatory evidence for the positive effect of functional diversity on TMT dynamics. Nonetheless, neither TMT gender diversity nor educational diversity exhibits significant moderating impact on the development of TMT learning dynamics, suggesting that while social categorizations are conducive for the evolution of team climate in Western contexts, other compositional attributes such as relationship-based representations may be more prominent in East Asian culture. We contribute to the team learning literature by offering an integrated picture on how the interplay of TMT cognitive and demographic diversities determines executive members’ divergent attitude and then team learning proclivity.

Mediating effect of team trust on the influence of top management team (TMT) processes against HRM decision quality and satisfaction performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of top management team (TMT) team trust in examining the relationship between team processes (internal and external) and human resource management (HRM) decision performance (quality and satisfaction) in the context of the People’s Republic of China.Design/methodology/approachThe sample data of this study include 524 team members from 76 TMTs in east China’s Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui provinces. IBM SPSS AMOS 22.0 software was employed for the data analysis.FindingsThe study finds that TMT internal and external processes have significant positive effects on HRM decision quality and satisfaction. The study further finds that TMT team trust partially mediates the relationship between TMT processes (internal and external processes) and HRM decision quality and satisfaction.Practical implicationsThis research provides useful insights into the role of TMT team trust in enhancing managerial decision performance.Originality/valueThis study is among the limited studies that explore the influence of team trust in the relationship between TMT processes (internal and external processes) and HRM decision quality and satisfaction among TMTs in China. This study has extended TMT knowledge in mainstream management with guidelines on how to enhance organizational decision performance.

Orchestrating absorptive capacity: organizational catalysts of TMT’s influence

ObjetivoEste estudo tem como objetivo analisar a influência do top management team (TMT) e as capacidades de socialização de uma empresa em sua capacidade de absorção. Especificamente, este artigo examina a diversidade e a coordenação do TMT como “facilitadores” com potencial para desencadear os processos envolvidos no desenvolvimento da capacidade de absorção de negócios e, em segundo lugar, estuda um efeito de mediação da coordenação de TMT para através das capacidades de socialização da organização.Design/metodologia/abordagemA análise é baseada em uma amostra 96 empresas de manufatura em um país em desenvolvimento. Devido ao modelo sugerido, bem como ao tamanho da amostra, optamos por uma metodologia PLS-SEM.ResultadosOs resultados mostram que a diversidade do TMT não está significativamente relacionada à capacidade de absorção da empresa. Além disso, as evidências enfatizam que a coordenação das TMT influencia a capacidade de absorção da empresa quando é efetivamente complementada por mecanismos estruturais que visam promover maior comunicação, colaboração e coesão entre os membros de uma organização.Implicações práticasConfigurar um TMT simplesmente para ter diversidade ou garantir a coordenação entre os membros da equipe não é suficiente para estimular a capacidade de absorção da empresa. Um alinhamento de um TMT coordenado com a possibilidade de os funcionários se comunicarem livremente através de áreas funcionais e limites hierárquicos é um pré-requisito para a aquisição, assimilação, transformação e exploração de conhecimento externo.Originalidade/valorEste artigo apresenta um referencial teórico que destaca a influência do TMT em diferentes dimensões da capacidade de absorção. Com base na teoria do escalão superior, sugerimos que essa relação é muito importante, uma vez que a medida em que o conhecimento é adquirido, integrado e explorado dentro da empresa pode depender da configuração e estrutura de colaboração do TMT. Os autores consideram que este estudo levanta novas considerações sobre os esforços para entender como os recursos e capacidades individuais (por exemplo, configuração TMT) podem ser transformados em uma capacidade sistêmica baseada no conhecimento (por exemplo, capacidade de absorção)Palavras chaveCapacidade de absorção, Equipe de alta gerência, Capacidade de socialização, Coordenação da equipe de alta gerência, D da equipe de alta gerência, PLS-SEMTipo de artigoArtigo de pesquisa

Does mandated RFID affect firm risk? The moderating role of top management team heterogeneity

The adoption of radio-frequency identification (RFID) can improve the efficiency of firms. However, RFID may also affect the risk and uncertainty in the operations of a firm. Although several studies have examined the effects of RFID on firm performance, the effects of mandated RFID on firm risk and the influence of top management team (TMT) characteristics on such effects remain largely unexplored. By examining mandated RFID in manufacturing industries, this study reveals that mandated RFID reduced firm risk in the long term. We further examined TMT heterogeneity to capture the influence of TMT cognitions and behaviors on mandated RFID related to firm risk. The results show that manufacturers with higher levels of demographic heterogeneity and higher levels of pay dispersion from incentive compensation experienced a greater reduction in firm risk following mandated RFID. However, pay dispersion of base salary compensation had no moderating effect on the relationship between mandated RFID and firm risk. The findings of this research provide important insights that an appropriate match between mandated RFID and certain TMT characteristics can lower firm risk associated with mandated RFID. The present study also contributes to information technology and operations management literature by providing the first empirical evidence showing the effect of mandated RFID on long-term firm risk and the influence of TMT heterogeneity on that effect.

Top management team's green entrepreneurial attitude and its influence on green ebusiness adoption: empirical evidence from tour operators in Tanzania

ABSTRACTThis study assessed the influence of top management team’s green entrepreneurial attitudes on green e-business adoption. A multiple regression analysis was run to a sample of 148 tour operators, from Arusha, Kilimanajaro, Dar es Salaam and Unguja-Zanzibar. Interview responses were analysed using content analysis. The study revealed a positive and significant influence of managerial green entrepreneurial attitude (in terms of green affection, green cognition and green conation) on green eBusiness adoption. While some top management members were very positive towards green eBusiness adoption, several could not attach any value with their competitiveness. Prevalence of green washing was revealed, as an attempt for companies to overcome emerging green market pressures. The study highlights ecological practical business implications, which are in line with the SMEs generic characteristics in order to cultivate a positive green attitude that favours a triple bottom line of economical, social and environmental sustainable development.

The Influence of Top Management Team on Chinese Firms’ FDI Ambidexterity

ABSTRACTStrategic ambidexterity has been under researched in the context of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI). An ambidextrous FDI, balancing between exploratory and exploitive activities, is strategically desirable but managerially challenging. We examine the role of top management team (TMT) functional diversity in influencing Chinese firms’ degree of FDI ambidexterity, and its boundary conditions in relation to the informal and formal institutional environments within which the TMT operates. Based on a panel of Chinese outward-investing manufacturing firms, our empirical analyses show that a marginal positive effect of TMT functional diversity on a firm's FDI ambidexterity is strengthened by the social faultline presence in the firm's TMT, but is weakened by the development of formal institutions in the firm's external environment.

Disentangling the antecedents of ambidexterity: Exploration and exploitation

We view ambidexterity as a paradox whereby its components, exploration and exploitation, generate persistent and conflicting demands on an organization. Drawing on the attention based view of the firm (ABV), we examine three antecedents of organizational ambidexterity that reflect ABV’s three principles − the principle of focus of attention; the principle of situated attention; and the principle of structural distribution of attention. Specifically, we examine the influence of top management team (TMT) composition, whether or not the firm has a clear written vision, and the extent to which organizational attention is focused on investments in R&D, and continuous improvement. We empirically validate our model on a sample of 422 small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and find that ambidexterity is supported by a blend of integration and differentiation approaches.

Top management team incentive heterogeneity, strategic investment behavior, and performance: A contingency theory of incentive alignment

Research summary: We develop and test a contingency theory of the influence of top management team (TMT) performance‐contingent incentives on manager–shareholder interest alignment. Our results support our theory by showing that although TMTs engage in significantly higher levels of acquisition investment when their average incentive levels increase, investors' responses to those large investments are generally negative. More importantly, however, we further find that within‐TMT incentive heterogeneity conditions that effect, such that investors evaluate TMTs' large acquisition investments more positively as the variance in those top managers' incentive values increases. Thus, within‐TMT incentive heterogeneity appears to increase manager–shareholder interest alignment, in the context of large acquisition investments.Managerial summary: We find that as the average value of TMTs' incentives increase, relative to their total pay, they invest more in acquisitions and investors' respond negatively to the announcement of those deals. However, we further show that investors respond more positively to acquisitions announced by TMTs whose members' incentive values vary (some TMT members hold higher incentives and others hold lower). Results imply that when TMT members hold differing incentives levels, they approach investments from divergent perspectives, scrutinize those investments more heavily, and make better decisions, relative to TMTs with similar incentives. They also suggest that boards seeking tighter manager–shareholder interest alignment may benefit from introducing variance into TMT members' incentive structures, as doing so appears to create divergent preferences that can improve team decision making. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Making the foreign familiar: The influence of top management team and board of directors characteristics on the adoption of foreign practices

This paper examines the firm-level antecedents of Six Sigma adoption in Korea. Our results indicate that firms with top executives and board members having work experience in the foreign country where the focal management practice originated and was popularized are more likely to adopt this practice. Furthermore, firms’ exposure to foreign investors exerts a direct effect and also moderates the impact of foreign work experience on adoption. Prior work experience in the country of practice origin reduces the uncertainty inherent in cross-border adoption by providing executives and board members with greater insight into the presumed benefits of the focal practice.

Changes in top management team strategies caused by the external financial environment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the onset of the financial crisis caused changes in the influence of top management team (TMT) on corporate results. Design/methodology/approach – The sample is comprised of the list of S & P 500 Index firms between 2002 and 2008. The study uses a longitudinal panel methodology applying a two-step GMM estimator system. This approach addresses potential unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity, and dynamic endogeneity. Findings – The primary results reveal that the onset of the financial crisis stimulated those TMTs with large teams and a high frequency of meetings to improve corporate performance, without leading to a reduction in corporate risk taking. Originality/value – This study reveals that different environmental conditions call for different behaviour from TMTs to fulfil their responsibilities. This study also suggests changes in normative and voluntary guidelines for improving the quality of the TMT’s work.

Striving for excellence: the role of top management team diversity in universities

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of top management team diversity on academic excellence in universities. Academic excellence is conceptualized as successfully gaining funds for inter-organizational research collaborations, interdisciplinary graduate schools and high-ranked scientific reputation.Design/methodology/approach– The study applies upper echelon theory to universities. Three hypotheses are developed: (overall) top management team heterogeneity is positively associated with successful funding of excellence clusters, (overall) top management team heterogeneity is positively associated with successful funding of graduate schools and (overall) top management team heterogeneity is positively associated with academic reputation. The empirical study is based on a cross-sectional dataset with a time lag, covering characteristics of 75 German public universities from 2008 to 2013. Multiple-regression analysis is applied to test the hypotheses.Findings– Our results indicate that disciplinary and educational diversity of upper echelons has a positive effect on the outcomes. Other top management team characteristics (age, gender, etc.) show no significant effects. Besides top management team composition, we find that a high number of faculties and a broad inclusion of internal status groups (students, tenured faculty, academic and administrative staff) and external stakeholders in decision making processes may enhance academic excellence of universities.Research limitations/implications– First, the study contributes to the body of literature concerned with higher education. It is situated at the crossroads of management studies and higher education research, unlocking strategic management theorizing for the public context. Furthermore, the study contributes to the body of literature on strategic leadership in pluralistic organizations. It highlights the importance of heterogeneous governance structures and modular organization designs for achieving academic excellence.Practical implications– The paper may inform practitioners in administrative or leading positions and policy-makers concerned with higher education. The more diverse a top management team is in terms of multiple disciplinary backgrounds, the more likely they succeed in driving the university toward academic excellence.Originality/value– The study is among the first to evaluate the influence of top management teams in universities with a quantitative research design.

Top Management Team Pay Structure and Corporate Social Performance

This paper examines the influence of top management team (TMT) pay structure characteristics (such as pay dispersion, long-term variable pay, and short-term variable pay) on corporate social performance (CSP) based on upper echelon theory and agency theory. The analysis using a large panel sample of US public firms reveals that long-term oriented and egalitarian TMT pay structure has a positive influence on CSP. In addition, the negative influence of short-term variable pay on CSP becomes stronger as the pay difference among TMT members becomes greater. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings will be discussed.

The Effects of Top Management Team Integrative Complexity and Decentralized Decision Making on Corporate Social Performance

We examine the influence of top management teams’ (TMTs’) integrative complexity and decentralization of decision making on corporate social performance. We argue that both factors increase TMT ability to gather information on, and attend to, stakeholder needs, thereby yielding higher corporate social performance. We further predict that decentralization moderates the relationship between integrative complexity and corporate social performance in such a way that the relationship is stronger under conditions of centralization. Using a Q-sort methodology, which translates complex qualitative observations into quantitative metrics, we examined integrative complexity and decentralization in 61 Fortune 500 firms and found support for our predictions. In the wake of numerous corporate scandals, corporate social performance has garnered much attention from business practitioners and academics alike. Corporate social performance refers to “a business organization’s configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm’s societal relationships” (Wood, 1991: 693). The dominant perspective taken in evaluating a firm’s corporate social performance is the stakeholder approach, according to which firms act in a socially responsible manner when they take the interests of multiple stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees) into account (McGuire, Dow, & Argheyd, 2003; Ruf, Muralidhar, Brown, Janney, & Paul, 2001).

The influence of top management team’s corporate governance orientation on strategic renewal trajectories: a longitudinal analysis of Royal Dutch Shell plc, 1907-2004

The influence of top management team’s corporate governance orientation on strategic renewal trajectories: a longitudinal analysis of Royal Dutch Shell plc, 1907-2004

Top Management Team Diversity and Strategic Innovation Orientation: The Relationship and Consequences for Innovativeness and Performance

A firm's strategic innovation orientation, which is aimed at discovering and satisfying emerging customer needs with novel technological solutions, has repeatedly been shown to be crucial for firm innovativeness and firm performance. Despite its apparent importance, relatively little research has addressed antecedents of a firm's strategic orientation that help explain heterogeneity in innovation strategies across firms. Especially the influence of top management teams (TMT) should be critical, since innovation strategies are shaped at the top management level. Building on the theory of upper echelon, this study investigates how TMT characteristics affect a firm's strategic innovation orientation, and how this relates to innovation outcomes and firm performance. Hypotheses are tested on a sample of goods manufacturers using a combination of survey data, document analysis, and objective capital market data for firm performance. Results indicate that TMT diversity, measured as heterogeneity in educational, functional, industry, and organizational background, has a strong positive effect on a firm's innovation orientation. A strong proactive focus on emerging customer needs and on novel technologies then lead to a portfolio of new products with higher market newness and technology newness, which both increase firm performance. The results therefore emphasize the importance of TMT characteristics as antecedent for innovation strategy and innovation outcomes.

The Influence of Top Management Team's Corporate Governance Orientation on Strategic Renewal Trajectories: A Longitudinal Analysis of Royal Dutch Shell plc, 1907–2004

abstractUsing the upper echelons perspective together with corporate governance and strategic renewal literature, this paper investigates how top managers' corporate governance orientation influences a firm's strategic renewal trajectories over time. Through both a qualitative analysis (1907–2004) and a quantitative analysis (1959–2004), we investigate this under‐researched question within the context of a large incumbent firm: Royal Dutch Shell plc. Our results indicate that top managers having an Anglo‐Saxon corporate governance orientation are more likely to pursue exploitative and external‐growth strategic renewal trajectories, while those having a Rhine corporate governance orientation are more likely to pursue exploratory and internal‐growth strategic renewal trajectories. We also found a positive moderating effect of the proportion of shareholders from the Anglo‐Saxon countries on exploitative and external‐growth strategic renewal trajectories. Our findings indicate that top managers' corporate governance orientation can be an important antecedent of strategic renewal and of organizational ambidexterity, both of which influence corporate longevity.

The Influence of Top Management Teams in the Strategic Orientation and Performance of Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises

Identifying which factors affect firms' performance is a critical issue in strategic management research. This paper addresses the influence of managerial team over the behaviour and performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). By treating top management team (TMT) characteristics as predictors of a firm's strategic orientation, we seek to provide a more complete understanding of how the characteristics of managerial teams shape decision‐making processes and SMEs' behaviours in order to successfully compete in low munificent environments. Based on primary data regarding managerial characteristics and firms' behaviours of a sample of 295 SMEs, our results confirm that a firm's strategic orientation plays a mediating role in explaining how TMT characteristics determine SMEs' performance.