Top Management Team Behavioral Integration Research Articles

Family firm performance through transformational CEO leadership and familiness-related team forces

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test the role of familiness-related team forces induced by the CEO of family firms. In particular, we report on the effects of the transformational leadership style of CEOs on their respective top-management team (TMT) and firm performance when viewed through a familiness lens.Design/methodology/approachSurvey measures were taken from a snowballed sample of 72 CEOs of German family firms as well as from 245 members of their TMTs. We tested the aggregated firm-level data with objective performance indicators of the firms they led.FindingsSupport was obtained for the three hypothesized team-force mediations and the four-path mediation model. The relationship between CEO’s transformational style and high family-firm performance is found to be serially mediated by TMT cohesion, behavioral integration and efficacy. Together, these three types of collective forces are assumed to be the familiness effect of a family-member CEO with a transformational leadership style.Originality/valueWith our model, we quantitatively tested familiness-type forces vis-à-vis firm performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Building Micro-Foundations for Digital Transformation: A Moderated Mediation Model of the Interplay between Digital Literacy and Digital Transformation

In an era where digital transformation (DGT) is pivotal for organizational resilience and competitiveness, integrating sustainability into the digitalization process has emerged as a strategic imperative. By employing the resource-based view (RBV) and the dynamic capability theory (DCT), this study delves into the micro-foundations of DGT in medium- and large-sized enterprises, highlighting the synergistic role of managerial digital literacy in fostering digital transformation through the mediation role of digital readiness and the moderation role of the top management team (TMT). To fulfill the objectives of this study, data were collected through a cross-sectional mail survey, yielding responses from 235 senior and mid-level managers across medium- and large-sized firms in various industries within Turkey. Results have confirmed that digital literacy significantly enhances digital transformation and readiness, laying the groundwork for successful digital transformation initiatives. Digital readiness significantly mediates the relationship between digital literacy and digital transformation, indicating that enhancing digital literacy is a crucial step that indirectly influences digital transformation through improving digital readiness. The moderating effect of top management team (TMT) behavioral integration on the digital literacy and digital readiness link is affirmed, highlighting its critical role in facilitating organizational digital adaptation. TMT behavioral integration does not positively moderate the direct relationship between digital literacy and digital transformation. The study’s findings offer a novel lens on digital transformation, revealing that the interplay between digital literacy, readiness, and TMT behavioral integration crafts a strategic scaffold for enhancing organizational agility and competitive edge in the digital era.

The impact of Top Management Team Behavioral Integration in enhancing organizational prestige: An exploratory study of the opinions of academic leaders at the University of Mosul

يهدف البحث إلى معرفة أثر التكامل السلوكي لفريق الإدارة العليا بأبعاده الفرعية المتمثلة بـ(السلوك التعاوني ،تبادل المعلومات، التشارك في صنع القرار) في تعزيز الهيبة التنظيمية بأبعادها المتمثلة بـ(الهيبة التنظيمية الداخلية، الهيبة الخارجية المدركة)، كما تتمثل اهمية البحث من خلال توضيح الدور الهام الذي يؤديه فرق الادارة العليا في الجامعة المبحوثة لتصبح الجامعة ذات هيبة عالية وفعالة وقادرة على التعريف بذاتها وحضورها ومواكبة التغيرات السريعة محلياً وعالمياً للوصول إلى العالمية بالمقارنة مع الجامعات الاخرى في الدول المتقدمة. وقد جرى اختيار جامعة الموصل ميداناً للبحث، حيث طبق البحث أسلوب الحصر الشامل، على عينة الباحث البالغة عدده (214) قائداً تتمثل بـ (رئيس الجامعة ومساعديه، وعمداء الكليات والمعاونين، ورؤساء الأقسام فضلاً عن المراكز العلمية) في جامعة الموصل الا أن مجموع الاستمارة المستلمة بلغ (189) و(25) استمارة استبانة لم يتم استلامها. وأستخدم الباحث الاستبيان للحصول على البيانات، وتبنى البحث المنهج الوصفي التحليلي من أجل بلوغ النتائج باستخدام البرنامج الإحصائي (AMOS V.25)، وخرج البحث بجملة من الاستنتاجات اهمها ان التعاون وتبادل المعلومات يجعل أعضاء فريق الإدارة العليا يظهرون التضامن والتماسك ويترجم هذا التماسك إلى عمليات اتخاذ قرار أكثر سلاسة، وتخصيص الموارد بكفاءة، والتنفيذ الاستراتيجي، وكلها تساهم في تحقيق هيبة المنظمة، كما قدم الباحث مجموعة من المقترحات أهمها "ضرورة توسيع قاعدة التشارك بصنع القرار وعدم اقتصارها فقط على اعضاء مجلس الجامعة من خلال اشراك الخبراء في العمل الموظفين الاكاديمي من الاساتذة واصحاب الالقاب العلمية المتميزين في الادارات التنفيذية لغرض الوصول الى مستوى من الكفاءة عند وضع القرار وتنفيذه بفاعلية".

How CEO transformational leadership affects business model innovation: a serial moderated mediation model

PurposeThis study aims to reveal how chief executive officer (CEO) transformational leadership affects business model innovation (BMI) by exploring the serial mediating role of top management team (TMT) collective energy and behavioral integration and the moderating role of TMT-CEO value congruence.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of 520 TMT members from 127 enterprises in North China was collected through a two-wave questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping were used to test the hypothetical relationships proposed in this study.FindingsThe results indicate that TMT collective energy and behavioral integration play a serial mediation role between CEO transformational leadership and BMI. TMT-CEO value congruence positively moderates the relationship between CEO transformational leadership and TMT collective energy as well as the serial mediation effect.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that CEOs can stimulate TMT collective energy by demonstrating transformational leadership behaviors, thereby promoting TMT behavioral integration and ultimately achieving BMI. In addition, to enhance the effectiveness of CEO transformational leadership, enterprises should take measures to ensure that TMT members hold values that are consistent with those of CEOs.Originality/valueBased on social cognitive theory, the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions of CEO transformational leadership that affect BMI are revealed by this study, thus opening the “black box” of the relationship between the two. It also supplements research on the role of TMT among the antecedents of BMI.

Do top management team diversity and chief sustainability officer make firms greener? Moderating role of top management team behavioral integration

AbstractAchieving green innovation goals is a challenging task. Several scholars have tried to explore the important determinants of green innovation; however, this concept needs further exploration from the corporate governance perspective. Hence, this study aims at determining the role of a firm's top management team (TMT) composition regarding green innovation. Specifically, we explore the impact of TMT diversity and the presence of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) on green innovation with moderating role of TMT behavioral integration. Data was collected from the hotels' top management in Pakistan. The findings reveal that TMT diversity, CSO, and TMT behavioral integration positively impact green innovation. However, the impact of TMT diversity on green innovation will be stronger with TMT behavioral integration. This study adds value to the upper echelon theory and the literature on green innovation. That is followed by the managerial implications.

Cognitive Diversity in Strategic Decision Making: A Contextual Contingency Perspective

The riddle of diversity remains unresolved; it can spur innovation and creativity, yet also give rise to hostile conflict. Indeed, disagreement abounds as to whether cognitive diversity—which represents differences in ideas, preferences and beliefs among top managers concerning firm strategy—leads to positive or negative outcomes. While meta-analyses have concluded that the consequences of cognitive diversity among upper echelons executives are largely negative; the fact remains that the effects of diversity vary considerably across different studies, indicating the presence of unknown moderators and mediators. Hence in this study, recognizing the embeddedness of top managers within their firm and broader environmental context, we build new theory concerning moderating and mediating influences on the effects of cognitive diversity. We test our theory on a multi-informant, multi-source sample of 117 strategic decisions. We find a main negative effect of cognitive diversity on top management team behavioral integration, and that behavioral integration mediates the negative effects of cognitive diversity on decision comprehensiveness. We further develop new knowledge by drawing on resource-based theory, and we theorize that firm size and environmental hostility moderate the effects of cognitive diversity on behavioral integration and on comprehensiveness.

CEO Ethical Leadership in Promoting Ambidextrous Learning: Examining the CEO-TMT Interface

How can a firm develop and utilize knowledge more effectively and efficiently in ways that increase its learning ability to pursue an ambidextrous orientation? Based on the upper echelons theory and social learning theory, we provide a new theoretical insight that highlights the role of CEO, especially the ethical leadership of CEO. We argue that ethical leaders who are more likely to stress the importance of two-way communication and integrate knowledge can increase firms’ ability to promote the process of ambidextrous learning. Moreover, based on CEO-TMT interface, we theorized and tested two mediating mechanisms from top management team (TMT) level, transactive memory system and behavioral integration. Using a sample of 204 firms in China, we find the indirect effect of TMT transactive memory system and behavioral integration on the relationship between CEO ethical leadership and ambidextrous learning coexist. The theoretical contributions, future research directions, and managerial practice implications of these findings are discussed.

The Impact of Resource Bricolage on Entrepreneurial Orientation in Start-ups: The Moderating Roles of TMT Heterogeneity and TMT Behavioral Integration.

Prior studies demonstrate the role of resources in shaping a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation from the resource-based view. We expand this line of research by theorising and testing the impact of resource bricolage on entrepreneurial orientation. Based on the data of 295 start-ups, we find that when start-ups face resource constraints, the strategy of resource bricolage has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial orientation, and the relationship is positively moderated by top management team (TMT) heterogeneity. Meanwhile, the relationship is negatively moderated by TMT behavioral integration. The results are expected to provide theoretical guidance for start-ups to overcome resource constraints and achieve smooth survival and growth.

The Effects of CEO Original Family Harmony on Firm Product Innovation Performance

In this study, we integrate work-family enrichment theory and upper echelons theory to examine how and when chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) original family has impacts on their firm performance. We argue that CEO original family harmony has an indirect effect on firm product innovation performance through CEO family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) and top management team (TMT) behavioral integration, which operate in sequence. Additionally, we propose that CEO founder status strengthens the effects of CEO original family harmony. Results of data from 125 CEOs and 568 TMT members in various high-technology industries in China indicated that the positive relationship between CEO original family harmony and firm product innovation performance is serially mediated by CEO FSSB and TMT behavioral integration. Moreover, CEO founder status exacerbates the direct effect of CEO original family harmony on CEO FSSB and its indirect effect on firm product innovation performance. The findings provide insightful theoretical contributions, practical implications, and new research directions for understanding CEO family-work spillover and CEO-TMT interface.

Emotionally intelligent top management and high family firm performance: Evidence from Germany

Executives in family firms are often confronted with emotionally loaded issues, in part due to the need to include the interests of the owning family. Given this context, we hypothesize how high family-firm performance is affected by the emotional intelligence (EI) of a family-based CEO and top-management team (TMT), in addition to the CEO's transformational leadership (TFL) and TMT's behavioral integration. Survey measures were taken from a random sample of 72 CEOs of German family firms and 245 members of their TMTs. We found that TMT behavioral integration mediates between CEO TFL and objective firm performance while CEO EI is significantly related to both CEO TFL and TMT EI. Implications are discussed for future research thereby suggesting an extension to upper-echelon theory.

Multilevel models of transformational leadership, behavioral integration of top management team and manager ambidexterity in SMEs

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effect of transformational leadership (TL), behavioral integration of top management team (TMT) and team conflict on manager ambidexterity behavior.Design/methodology/approachHierarchical linear modeling has been applied to test the degree of influence of TL and behavioral integration of TMT on manager ambidexterity using data collected from 60 chief executive officers (CEOs) and 322 TMT members of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Chinese electronic commerce industry.FindingsThe results suggest the following: transformational leadership is positively associated with the behavioral integration of TMT and a high level of TMT behavioral integration strengthens the positive relationship between transformational leadership and manager ambidexterity. Also, team conflict moderates the mediating role of TMT behavioral integration in the relationship of transformational leadership to manager ambidexterity.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this study does not directly test whether transformational leadership encourages a focus on manager ambidexterity, although the results on behavioral integration draw attention to the usefulness of such leadership. Second, in focusing on manager ambidexterity, this paper omits key variables, especially skills and abilities.Practical implicationsGiven that several aspects of leadership can be learned and adjusted, the findings suggest that organizations can improve their individual ambidexterity by helping the CEOs develop and display transformational leadership through training and mentoring. TMTs were found to rely mostly on the behavioral integration approach (collaborative behavior, quality of information exchange and joint decision-making) and team conflict management. Such reliance, in turn, predicts effective team behavioral coordination and subsequent manager ambidexterity.Originality/valueFirst, this study goes beyond the current research that focuses primarily on ambidexterity at the inter-organizational alliance, firm and business unit levels. This earlier research lacks a conceptually and empirically validated understanding of ambidexterity at the level of the manager. In contrast, by investigating and examining the antecedents of manager ambidexterity behavior, the study develops an individual perspective to elucidate the ambidextrous mechanisms. Second, the study also contributes by explaining how transformational leadership relates to manager ambidexterity. To date, only limited research has disentangled how transformational leaders enhance managers’ teamwork (e.g. behavioral integration) and how such leaders affect the ambidextrous orientation of managers.

The relationships between CEOs' psychological attributes, top management team behavioral integration and firm performance

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of chief executive officers' (CEO’s) core self-evaluation and grandiose narcissism on firm performance. This work combines bright and dark personality sides to explore how complex CEO's behavioral characteristics affect firms' outcomes. In addition, top management team (TMT) behavioral integration is considered as an organizational setting that acts as a conductive device bridging CEOs behavioral characteristics with firms' performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study are based on 187 respondents, including CEOs and TMTs, across medium and large firms in Turkey through an online survey using a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected.FindingsThe study finds that only CEO-TMT narcissism and TMT behavioral integration have a positive direct effect on firm financial performance. Contrary to expectations, CEO-TMT core self-evaluation has a negative direct effect on firm performance. Moreover, the results show that environmental dynamism interacts positively and significantly with CEO-TMT narcissism. Thus, the claim that TMT behavioral integration has a mediating effect is not supported in the context of medium and large firms in Turkey.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the upper echelons theory (UET) literature by highlighting the boundary conditions under which narcissistic CEOs can interact with more behaviorally integrated TMT members to exchange information, make joint decisions and collaborate in a relatively dynamic environment, as well as aggregating the bright side and dark side of CEOs personality traits and examining their effects alongside those of TMT behavioral integration on the firm performance. Finally, this study enriches the upper echelons literature by providing evidence from Turkey.

Governing behavioral integration of top management team in megaprojects: A social capital perspective

Behavioral integration (BI), or the extent to which top management team (TMT) members engage in collective interactions, is a critical element for achieving business success in corporate management that has rarely been examined in megaproject studies. The organizational complexities of megaprojects contribute to biases in TMT's behavior. This study presents a team-level analysis of the drivers of BI in megaprojects through the theoretical lens of social capital. Based on a survey conducted with 128 senior managers from 48 megaprojects, the results showed that (1) both the structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital have a significantly positive effect on BI, with the structural dimension being more influential; (2) the relational dimension of social capital showed a partial effect on BI; (3) affective commitment plays a mediating role that bridges social capital and the TMT's BI. These findings shed new light on cultivating interactions among TMT members in governing megaprojects.

More Stable, More Sustainable: Does TMT Stability Affect Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility?

ABSTRACT Building on the TMT behavioral integration of upper echelon theory, this study explores whether the stability of top management team (TMT) affects sustainable corporate social responsible activities (CSR). We also examine how the TMT stability-sustainable CSR relationship is moderated by CEO power. Analyzing a dataset of publicly listed firms in China for the period of 2009–2017, we provide evidence that a relatively stable TMT engages in sustainable CSR. This finding supports the argument that a stable TMT focuses on long-term sustainable development. Moreover, the positive effect of TMT stability on sustainable CSR is pronounced only for firms with weak CEO power. Further analysis shows that a positive association between TMT stability and sustainable CSR occurs for firms in CSR-sensitive industries and in an environment with low economic uncertainty. We then confirm that TMT stability positively affects sustainable CSR by improving team cohesion, which in turn contributes to higher firm performance and lower operational risk.

Family-Firm Transformational Leadership, Familiness, and Performance

Familiness is considered one of the most valuable assets of family firms. But how familiness-related forces at the top management level of family firms may work their way into positive firm performance has not been addressed empirically before. The present field study couples upper-echelon theory with team-leadership theory and examines the effects of the transformational leadership style (TFL) of family- based CEOs in top management team (TMT) processes and on firm performance. Survey measures were gathered from 72 CEOs of German family firms as well as from 245 members of their TMTs. We tested the aggregated firm-level data, including objective firm-performance indicators of the 72 German family firms they led. Support was obtained for a four-path mediation model, in which three distinct familiness-related team forces (TMT cohesion, behavioral integration, and efficacy) serve as mediators between CEO TFL and family-firm performance in a series. With our model we focus on the under- researched area of familiness vis-à-vis family-firm performance. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are offered for new avenues of family-firm familiness inquiry.

The Cascading Effects of CEO Dark Triad Personality on Subordinate Behavior and Firm Performance: A Multilevel Theoretical Model

Chief executive officer (CEO) personality has emerged as a key predictor of firm performance. A burgeoning literature rooted in psychology has shown that leaders with the dark triad personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) can have harmful effects on organizations. However, scholars have not fully illuminated the “black box” of processes that explain how and why CEO dark personality matters. Specifically, we know little about the microfoundations of CEOs’ influence: how and why do the effects of CEO dark personality cascade down to affect employees and outcomes throughout the different levels of the firm. Therefore, we explore how CEOs’ personalities shape their relationships with other top management team (TMT) members and how these relationships affect other employees in the organization. Specifically, drawing on upper echelons theory and social exchange theory, we provide a multilevel theoretical model examining how distinct CEO dark triad traits shape CEO–TMT exchange quality, TMT destructive leadership, TMT behavioral integration, subordinates’ counterproductive work behaviors, and ultimately firm performance. Implications for theory, future research, and practice also are discussed.

Top Management Team Tenure Diversity and Performance: The Moderating Role of Behavioral Integration

Integrating insights from organizational information processing theory and social categorization theory, we examine how top management team (TMT) tenure diversity affects team performance. We propose a theoretical framework that examines how these two conflicting processes occur simultaneously within diverse TMTs by arguing that TMT tenure variety influences information processing while TMT tenure separation influences the social categorization process. We argue for the presence of nonlinear relationships between tenure variety, tenure separation, and team performance. Furthermore, we propose that these relationships are moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Based on a sample of 357 senior managers from 126 firms in China, we find that both TMT tenure variety and TMT tenure separation have opposing and nonlinear relationships with TMT performance, and the relationship between TMT tenure separation and TMT performance is moderated by the level of TMT behavioral integration. Our results help clarify the conflicting conclusions of previous TMT tenure diversity research. Our findings suggest that the effect of diversity depends on the type of diversity as they affect different processes. Our findings also explain how the opposing effects of both information processing and social categorization can occur simultaneously in the TMT. Furthermore, the effects of both processes are not linear while the level of diversity variety and diversity separation can affect the marginal effects. Finally, TMT behavioral integration processes affect how tenure diversity plays its role in team performance.

Relationship between top management team internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between top management team (TMT) internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed, and further explore role of TMT behavioral integration in their relationship. It reveals how TMT internal social capital impacts strategic decision-making speed. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the social capital theory and upper echelons theory, at first, a model about TMT internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed is proposed by exploratory case study. Then, the data obtained via questionnaire from 67 TMTs by software SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 17.0 are analyzed, and the theoretical hypotheses as mentioned above are verified. Findings The empirical study found that different dimensions of TMT internal social capital have significant positive impact on TMT behavioral integrity; TMT behavioral integrity has significant positive impact on strategic decision-making speed; and TMT behavioral integrity as an intermediary variable played a brokering role in the relationship between TMT internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed. Originality/value The study enriches the empirical test on the relationship between TMT internal social capital and decision speed, thereby helping the authors further understand how to improve the speed of strategic decision making in TMT.

Exploring the Influence of CEO Extraversion and Openness to Experience on Firm Performance

Research about the impact of the CEO’s personality on firm-level outcomes has been ambiguous, partly because the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Given that the individuals most strongly influenced by a firm’s CEO are the top management team (TMT) members, this study focuses on the CEO–TMT interface as a salient intervening relationship. We hypothesize that CEO personality traits of extraversion and openness to experience would influence firm performance indirectly through TMT behavioral integration (TMT teamness). Using multisource survey data from 138 small- to medium-sized firms, we test and find general support for a mediation model in which the CEO’s personality traits are positively related to TMT behavioral integration, which, in turn, enhances firm performance. Limitations and implications for future research are also discussed.

Ambidextrous leadership and TMT-member ambidextrous behavior: the role of TMT behavioral integration and TMT risk propensity

It has been suggested that organizations capable of pursuing exploration and exploitation simultaneously obtain superior performance. Ambidextrous organizations often have multiple and conflicting goals, which can pose considerable challenges for top managers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ambidextrous leadership of chief executive officers (CEOs) influences the ambidextrous behavior of top management team (TMT) members. The analysis of multisourcesurvey data reveals that CEO ambidextrous leadership predicts TMT-member ambidextrous behavior. The relationship is mediated by TMT behavioral integration (i.e. collaborative behavior, information exchange and joint decision-making). Moreover, the indirect relationship is moderated by TMT-member risk propensity. Theoretical contributions and research implications are discussed.