Role Of Chief Executive Officer Research Articles

Effects of female CEO and female CFO on internationalization and firm performance

Purpose The study aims to examine the influence of female chief executive officer (CEO) and female chief financial officer (CFO) on the linkage between internationalization and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach This study used 2926 firm-year observations of nonfinancial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the period 2012–2021. This study used ordinary least squares regression method to test the hypotheses, and additionally, generalized method of moments estimation and fixed effect analysis were used to check for the robustness of the results. Findings Using the framework of upper echelons theory and resource dependence theory, this study reports that internationalization has a positive impact on firm performance. Moreover, the results show that the presence of female CEO and female CFO strengthens the positive relationship between internationalization and firm performance. The results add to the gender diversity literature by highlighting the positive role of female CEOs and female CFOs on the internationalization and performance of firms in a male-dominated society. Originality/value This study adds to the limited literature on the internationalization of businesses in an emerging market and provides empirical support to upper echelons theory and resource dependence theory by highlighting the benefits brought to the firm through female CEOs and female CFOs.

Corporate Social Responsibilities and Financial Performance: The Role of Chief Executive Officer’S Power

Corporate Social Responsibilities and Financial Performance: The Role of Chief Executive Officer’S Power

Generalist CEOs and stock price crash risk

AbstractWe investigate whether generalist chief executive officers (CEOs), that is, CEOs who gain transferable skills across firms and industries, have less incentive to hoard bad news. To address endogeneity concerns stemming from firm–CEO matching, we deploy a difference‐in‐differences method utilizing exogenous CEO turnovers, propensity score matching and entropy balancing matching methods, and Oster's coefficient stability test. Supporting our conjecture, we find a negative relation between CEOs’ general ability index (GAI) and future stock price crash risk. The effect of CEOs’ GAI on crash risk is stronger when labor demand is stronger and when firms have more agency conflicts. Our analysis further suggests that generalist CEOs attenuate crash risk by increasing conditional accounting conservatism and reducing real earnings management. Taken together, our findings highlight the role of CEOs’ general human capital in increasing their tolerance for failure and mitigating the agency problem.

Examination of Operational Strategy of International Tourist Hotels

To gain a competitive edge in the dynamic landscape of the global tourist hotel industry, strategic development is important. Thus, we scrutinized the strategic management plans to diversify hotel business models, focusing on the role of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). We conducted qualitative research with a snowball sampling method and interviewed ten experienced CEOs who were engaged in the industry. All interviewees possessed a minimum of 14 years of expertise and experienced a minimum of two types of business models. They experienced the industry as entry-level employees and various tasks such as room or food and beverage (F&B) management. Four used to work for six hotels and four for globally franchised hotels. The research result revealed that CEOs must have self-learning and a proclivity to undertake challenges in diverse regions and distinct systems. Moreover, CEOs need to align their operational strategies with the eight indices specified by the Tourism Bureau. The business model of the global hotel franchise is attributed to its cost-effectiveness, profitability, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. The management team with industry expertise is advantageous for the hotel. Eight operational strategies were proposed to mitigate potential damages arising from external factors. Franchise hotels exhibited commendable accommodation rates and profitability compared to their independent counterparts. To alleviate interdepartmental conflicts, well-organized supporting systems must be implemented.

Strategic turnaround: unraveling the impact of CEO power on firm performance during retrenchment

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of retrenchment strategy on firm performance in the context of Pakistani firms while considering the moderating role of chief executive officer (CEO) power. By examining the influence of CEO duality and CEO share ownership on the relationship, this study contributes to strategic management and corporate governance knowledge within the Pakistani business environment. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was used to analyze the relationship using data from annual financial statements. The sample consisted of 76 companies from the KSE-100 index from the year 2015 to 2020. Random effects regression models were used, along with hierarchical regression to explore the moderating effect of CEO power. Findings The findings demonstrate that the implementation of a retrenchment strategy positively impacts firm performance in Pakistani firms. The study also reveals that CEO power plays a crucial role in strengthening the relationship between retrenchment strategy and firm performance. Moreover, the study highlights the importance of considering the temporal sequence, size and age of firms when examining the impact of CEO power and retrenchment strategy on firm performance. Research limitations/implications The study enhances the understanding of the contingent nature of retrenchment strategies and the influence of CEO power in the Pakistani business context. Practically, the research contributes to strategic management and corporate governance dynamics, facilitating the development of strategies that enhance firm performance and sustainability in Pakistan. Originality/value This research provides original insights by specifically focusing on the Pakistani context and analyzing the interplay between retrenchment strategy, CEO power and firm performance. The study adds to the limited literature on the relationship between retrenchment and performance in the Pakistani business environment. Additionally, it highlights the significance of CEO power as a critical factor in determining the success of retrenchment.

CSR fit with CEO image: Unpacking its influence on stakeholder engagement and authenticity perception

ABSTRACT This study explores the significant role of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in communicating a corporation’s commitment to Social Responsibility (CSR) and their influence on consumer engagement in CSR initiatives. This study introduces a conceptual model that integrates the sense-making approach and social exchange theory within the CSR domain. The model posits a positive correlation between a CEO’s ethical leadership, their personal image congruence with CSR initiatives, and consumer engagement in CSR. Central to this study is the empirical testing of the model, which revealed that CSR authenticity and Consumer-Company Identification (CCI) significantly mediate the relationship between CEO attributes and consumer engagement. Data collected from an online survey with 988 respondents supported that CEOs who are perceived as ethically sound and whose personal image aligns with CSR initiatives tend to foster higher levels of consumer engagement through enhanced perceptions of CSR authenticity and strengthened CCI. These findings offer new insights into the dynamics of CEO influence on CSR communication and consumer engagement.

Patterns of Resource Allocation and Divisional Budgets: The CEO's Strategic Lens Across Various Industries

This paper explores how Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) across various industries adapt their resource allocation and divisional budgeting strategies in response to contemporary business challenges. It aims to shed light on the evolving role of CEOs in steering organizational success through strategic initiatives, highlighting the shift from traditional, efficiency-focused models to flexible, value-driven approaches. By conducting a qualitative analysis of recent literature, the study examines patterns in strategic decision-making, focusing on the balance between operational needs and strategic goals amidst changing market conditions. The research emphasizes the impact of industry-specific factors, such as market volatility and organizational size, on these strategic adaptations. Findings reveal a significant trend towards more adaptable and strategic resource management practices among CEOs, moving beyond short-term operational efficiency to support long-term goals. This shift is evident across different sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, and e-commerce, though the extent and nature of its implementation vary according to each industry's unique challenges and opportunities. The study underscores the importance of strategic adaptability for organizational resilience and success in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Navigating uncharted skies: The role of pilot CEO in FinTech adoption

Employing the pilot credentials of chief executive officers (CEOs) as a proxy of the proclivity for venturing into uncharted territories and pursuing novel experiences, this study finds that pilot CEOs are associated with higher intensity of FinTech adoption. This positive association is more pronounced in firms with a powerful CEO and less significant in financially constrained firms, suggesting that the impact of pilot CEOs on FinTech adoption is affected by the CEO's power and the firm's access to external financial resources. Overall, our evidence advances the understanding of the role of CEO characteristics in driving FinTech adoption.

Corporate social responsibility and green supply chain efficiency: conditioning effects based on CEO narcissism

Accelerating the construction of the green supply chain system and improving the efficiency of the green supply chain is the key to promoting the high-quality development of enterprises. In view of this, based on stakeholder theory, higher order theory and expectancy theory, this study focuses on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate green supply chain efficiency (GSCE) and the moderating role of chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism. A regression analysis of the observed sample reveals that CSR significantly enhances GSCE. Further decomposing CSR into internal CSR and external CSR to reveal the impact of different types of CSR on GSCE, we find that internal CSR fulfillment has a significant positive impact on GSCE, and this relationship is strengthened when CEOs are narcissistic. Furthermore, external CSR has a significant negative impact on GSCE, and this relationship is also strengthened by CEO narcissism. The main contribution of this paper is to study the relationship between CSR and green supply chain efficiency, decompose CSR into internal and external CSR, enrich the research on the intrinsic mechanism of value creation of CSR. It also enriches the research in the context of CSR from the perspective of CEO personality traits, providing new ideas and suggestions for manager selection and corporate greening governance in practice.

CEO social capital, business environment, and the level of corporate risk‐taking in China

AbstractWe find a significant positive role of chief executive officer (CEO) social capital on the level of corporate risk‐taking for Chinese listed firms from 2008 to 2019. We reveal that a better business environment tends to reduce this positive relationship. In addition, we also find that corporate innovations provide moderation effects on the relationship. Further analysis of heterogeneity tests on firm characteristics suggests that CEO social capital's effect on corporate risk‐taking is significant and stronger for non‐state‐owned enterprises, firms with fewer female directors on their board, and firms with more cash holdings.

CEO wealth and cross-border acquisitions by SMEs

This study examines the role of chief executive officers’ (CEOs) wealth in explaining the cross-border acquisition (CBA) activity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). CBAs require substantial financial resources and expose the firm to additional risks. Within a micro-foundations framework, we integrate insights from the resource-based view and the upper echelons theory and argue that CEO wealth plays a dual role in the CBA activity of SMEs by alleviating financial constraints and increasing willingness to take risks. Using Norwegian census data for the period 2000–2013, we find consistent evidence that CEO wealth has a positive effect on the number, the geographic scope, and the likelihood of engaging in CBAs in high political risk countries.

Corporate Attributes as Correlates of Social Accounting Reporting: The Mediating Role of CEO Education

This study determined the moderating effect of corporate attributes and social accounting reporting: the moderating role of chief executive officers’ educational qualification in Nigeria. This study adopted ex-post facto research design. Simple random sampling technique to sample listed consumer and health companies. Secondary data derived from the financial statements of listed healthcare and consumer’s firms were reviewed for the study for the period 2017-2021. The data set was first subjected to pre-regression analyses which include descriptive statistics analyses, correlation analyses and the test for normality of residua. Logistic regression was used for the data analysis. Findings of the study revealed there is a significant moderating effect of CEO educational qualification on the influence of firm size, leverage and board size on financial, social reporting disclosures of listed Nigerian companies. It was recommended that company boards should factor in CEO educational qualifications when choosing a chief executive for the company. Also, Organizations must set up market measures and parameters that will empower them to be educated about being socially and environmentally responsible to make corporate social responsibility fruitful and to make industrial products meet anticipated economic, social and environmental needs.

Can CEO environmental awareness promote new product development performance? Empirical research on Chinese manufacturing firms

AbstractDespite the growing interest in the role of chief executive officers' (CEOs') environmental awareness in enhancing performance, its impact on new product development (NPD) performance, as well as the underlying mechanisms and contextual bounds of the impact, remains unexplored. Based on upper echelons theory, we suggest that CEO environmental awareness promotes NPD performance through corporate environmental practice. We further theorize that the role of CEO environmental awareness is contingent on environmental institutional pressure. To validate the model, we collected survey data from 534 senior executives of 178 manufacturing firms in China. The main results show that corporate environmental practice completely mediates the relationship between CEO environmental awareness and NPD performance. The relationship is positively moderated by environmental normative pressure, whereas environmental regulatory pressure negatively moderates this process. Theoretical and practical implications of how to leverage CEO environmental awareness and environmental institutional pressure to boost NPD performance are discussed.

The impact of CEO attributes on corporate decision-making and outcomes: a review and an agenda for future research

PurposeThe role of chief executive officer (CEO) personal characteristics in shaping corporate policies has attracted increasing academic attention in the past two decades. In this review, the authors synthesize extant research on CEO attributes by reviewing 232 articles published in 29 journals from the accounting, finance and management literature. This review provides an overview of existing findings, highlights current trends and interdisciplinary differences in research approaches and identifies potential avenues for future research.Design/methodology/approachTo review the literature on CEO attributes, the authors manually collected peer-reviewed articles in accounting, finance and management journals from 2000 to 2021. The authors conducted in-depth analysis of each paper and manually recorded the theories, data sources, country of study, study period, measures of CEO attributes and dependent variables. This procedure helped the authors group the selected articles into themes and sub-themes. The authors compared the findings in various disciplines and provided direction for future research.FindingsThe authors highlight the role of CEO personal attributes in influencing corporate decision-making and firm outcomes. The authors categorize studies of CEO traits into three main research themes: (1) demographic attributes and experience (including age, gender, culture, experience, education); (2) CEO interactions with others (social and political networks) and (3) underlying attributes (including personality, values and ideology). The evidence shows that CEO characteristics significantly affect a wide range of specific corporate policies that serve as mechanisms through which individual CEOs determine firm success and performance.Practical implicationsCEO selection is one of the most crucial decisions made by corporations. The study findings provide valuable insights to corporate executives, boards, investors and practitioners into how CEOs’ personal characteristics can impact future firm decisions and outcomes that can, in turn, inform the high-stake process of CEO recruitment and selection. The study findings have significant practical implications for corporations, such as contributing to executive training programs, to assist executives and directors attain a greater level of self-awareness.Originality/valueBuilding on the theoretical foundation of upper echelons theory, the authors offer an integrated theoretical framework to consolidate existing empirical research on the impacts of CEO personal attributes on firm outcomes across accounting and finance (A&F) and management literature. The study findings provide a roadmap for scholars to bridge the interdisciplinary divide between A&F and management research. The authors advocate a more holistic and multifaceted approach to examining CEOs, each of whom embodies a myriad of personal characteristics that comprise their unique identity. The study findings encourage future researchers to expand the investigation of the boundary conditions that magnify or moderate the impacts of CEO idiosyncrasies.

How CEO responsible leadership shapes corporate social responsibility and organization performance: the roles of organizational climates and CEO founder status

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how chief executive officer (CEO) responsible leadership impacts corporate social responsibility (CSR) and organization performance by considering diverse organizational climates (including ethical, service and initiative climates) as mediators and CEO founder status as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzed survey data from 212 service organizations in China with structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results clearly established that CEO responsible leadership played a crucial role in augmenting both CSR and organization performance by shaping positive organizational climates. Notably, CEO responsible leadership significantly fostered ethical, service and initiative climates. Furthermore, an ethical climate promoted CSR and organization performance, whereas service and initiative climates specifically enhanced organization performance. Additionally, responsible CEOs with founder status exhibited a higher propensity for enhancing ethical, service and initiative climates within service organizations.Practical implicationsService organizations should take measures to build CEO responsible leadership, especially for CEOs with founder status. Furthermore, service organizations should motivate employees to reach consensus on ethical conducts, superior service and proactive approach to work.Originality/valueFirst, the findings on CEO responsible leadership’s effects on CSR and organization performance extend the research on responsible leadership outcomes. Second, this paper adds to responsible leadership literature through exploring the mediating effects of ethical, service and initiative climates. Finally, the finding on the moderating role of founder CEOs offers a novel perspective regarding the boundary condition of the effects of CEO responsible leadership.

The impact of board ethnic diversity and Chief Executive Officer role on corporate social responsibility

AbstractWe examine the influence of board ethnic diversity on firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities within modern day corporations. Using firm‐year observations in Australia from the period 2004–2017, we document that board ethnic diversity leads to better CSR performance and CSR disclosure. Our results suggest that for every additional ethnic cluster represented on the board, on average, a firm's CSR performance rating from ASSET4 is higher by 2.6% and the odds ratio of producing a CSR report increases by 38.8%. The results are robust to controlling for endogeneity (using both instrumental variable approach and difference‐in‐differences analysis) and alternate proxies to measure CSR performance and ethnic diversity. We also document the moderating impact of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power on the relationship between board ethnic diversity and firms' CSR activities. Specifically, a less powerful CEO and a CEO of ethnic minority (i.e., non‐Anglo) are more likely to facilitate this relationship. This study adds to our understanding of how board ethnic diversity, an often‐overlooked factor in prior research, can have significant impacts on firm outcomes.

Firm performance and CEO turnover: the moderating role of CEO attributes

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of firm performance on chief executive officer (CEO) turnover and the moderating role of CEO attributes on the firm performance–CEO turnover relationship. Design/methodology/approach Probit regressions were used to examine the relationship between various CEO attributes and CEO turnover and the moderation effect of firm performance on the CEO attributes–CEO turnover relationship. The sample comprises firms from the FTSE 350 Index covering the period 1999–2018. Findings The results indicate that firm performance negatively and significantly impacts CEO turnover. Further analysis reveals that selected CEO attributes, namely, CEO internal experience, CEO network size and CEO age, moderate the relationship between firm performance and CEO turnover. Specifically, CEO internal experience and performance combine to reduce the likelihood of CEO turnover. However, CEO network size and age when combined with firm performance increase the likelihood of CEO turnover. Practical implications The results imply that boards should pay more attention to CEO attributes in their decisions to hire and fire executive managers as these factors may affect a wide variety of firm outcomes. Originality/value This paper makes key contributions to the CEO turnover and corporate governance literature by providing evidence of key factors other than performance that can affect the CEO dismissal decision. Specifically, this study shows that CEO attributes such as CEO internal experience, CEO networks and CEO age far outweigh the importance of performance as a factor influencing CEO turnover decisions.

Founder or descendant CEOs, tax avoidance and firms' future risks: the Indonesian evidence

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of founder or descendant chief executive officers (CEOs) on the relationship between tax avoidance and firms' future risk. This issue is important because of an ongoing debate about founder and descendant CEOs' impacts, contributions and implications for firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of publicly listed nonfinancial Indonesian firms in 2012–2019, most of which are family firms and adhere to a two-tier governance system that was understudied in previous studies. The authors use panel-random effect data regression for the statistical analysis.FindingsThe results demonstrate that founder or descendant CEOs do not affect the positive relationship between tax avoidance and firms' future risks.Research limitations/implicationsThis research supports the upper-echelon theory, arguing that top management teams affect firms' strategic policies and outcomes.Practical implicationsCEOs play weaker roles in countries with a two-tier governance system than in a one-tier one. Additionally, in relation to Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Indonesia has collective and feminist characteristics that emphasize elements of togetherness and group so that firms reflect the firms' top management teams and not only CEOs.Originality/valueThis research fills a research gap on the role of founder and descendant CEOs in the relationship between tax avoidance and firms' future risks by analyzing firms in Indonesia, a country with a two-tier governance system and collective and feminine cultural characteristics.

Is medical leadership associated with better hospital management? Evidence from a structural analysis of hospitals in Germany

Background/Aims Excellent hospital leadership is essential for the delivery of high-quality care and financial viability of healthcare services. In Germany, the role of chief executive officer of a hospital can be held by an individual with a medical or non-medical background. This study explored the potential differences between the structural and financial parameters of hospitals, depending on the background of their chairperson or chief executive. Methods Publicly available data on financial and structural parameters for 178 hospitals in Germany from the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 were collected and mean values were calculated for all variables. Nearest-neighbour matching was performed to allow comparisons to be made between hospitals with medical and non-medical leadership. Results While the results showed no significant differences between leadership types in terms of financial results, the values for structural characteristics, especially staffing levels, number of inpatient cases and case mix index values, were significantly higher for hospitals with medical leadership versus non-medical leadership. Conclusions Hospital leadership structure is a crucial factor in organisational performance. The presence of a person with a medical background at the top level of hospital management can have a beneficial impact on the delivery of healthcare.

Female CEO and board composition: A gender rivalry approach to family firms

This paper investigates the impact of female chief executive officers (CEOs) on women’s representation on the board of directors (BoD). As scholars maintain that positive effects exerted by board gender diversity on firms’ performance depend on the achievement of a critical mass, we focus on the role of female CEOs as a determinant of the number of appointed women in the context of family businesses, exploring how the persistence of gender stereotypes, along with homosocial reproduction and individual socio-emotional wealth (SEW) objectives affect tokenism phenomena. We test our hypothesis on a sample of 70 listed family firms in the 2014–2021 period. Consistently with our prediction, our findings provide evidence of a negative association between female CEOs and the number of female directors, thus suggesting that family businesses’ dominant male coalitions and SEW matters may hinder female inclusiveness to avoid inter-group dysfunctionalities in decision-making.