Top Management Team Characteristics Research Articles

Which Top Management Team Characteristics Drive a Firm’s Tax Aggressiveness?

Which Top Management Team Characteristics Drive a Firm’s Tax Aggressiveness?

The characteristics of top management team and the quality of governance at brazilian federal universities

A gestão das universidades públicas brasileiras passa por desafios diários, demandando a adoção de boas práticas de governança para subsidiar adequadamente as decisões. Segundo a Teoria dos Escalões Superiores, as características dos gestores do alto escalão influenciam a qualidade da gestão. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é identificar se as características dos gestores do alto escalão influenciam na qualidade da governança nas universidades públicas do Brasil. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise de regressão com dados em painel utilizando o índice de governança disponibilizado pelo Tribunal de Contas da União, relacionando-o com idade, gênero e titulação dos gestores. Adicionalmente, usou-se o porte e a maturidade das universidades como variáveis de controle. Os resultados indicam que idade e gênero não foram significantes para explicar o fenômeno e que a titulação impactou negativamente, acarretando a rejeição das hipóteses. As variáveis de controle, porte e maturidade, influenciaram positivamente, como esperado. Sendo assim, a pesquisa disponibiliza informações sobre como ponderar acerca da melhor composição das equipes de gestão. Ademais, foi possível destacar a importância de um olhar diferenciado para as universidades de menor porte e mais novas, disponibilizando, por exemplo, capacitações na área de gestão para aperfeiçoar as competências dos gestores.

Connecting Top Management Team (TMT) Characteristics to Earning Management: Sample Companies in Saudi Arabia

This study investigates whether specific characteristics of a firm's top management team (TMT) affect the company's earnings management (EM) in Saudi Arabia. The data was collected from 163 companies listed in Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2021. The TMT characteristics were measured using two different criteria: the academic qualifications and the management expertise of the team. Two models were used to analyze the data: the modified Jones model (1995) was used to measure accrual management, and the Kothari model (2006) was used to estimate accrual discretionary. The research findings revealed that TMT characteristics do not significantly impact EM in Saudi Arabia. According to the Kothari model approach (2006), both the academic qualifications and the management expertise did not influence EM. However, when we followed the Jones model approach (1995), the results showed that management expertise significantly and positively impacts EM. On the other hand, the academic qualifications do not seem to significantly impact EM.

A Study on the Relationship between Top Management Team Characteristics and Firm Performance from a Team Life Cycle Perspective

As the most important human resource of an enterprise, top management has received much attention from many researchers, and the top echelon theory proposed by Hambrick and Mason (1984) has laid a theoretical cornerstone for the study of the relationship between the characteristics of the top management team and the performance of the enterprise.Existing studies have focused on the impact of top management team characteristics on firm performance by using top management team demographic characteristics as a proxy variable for measuring top management team characteristics. However, from empirical studies, the relationship between top management team characteristics and firm performance has yet to achieve consistent conclusions. This paper reviews the research lineage of the relationship between top management team characteristics and corporate performance, analyzes the limitations of the existing research, and proposes future research directions in this field with a new perspective on the team life cycle.

How does TMT heterogeneity affect breakthrough innovation? The moderating effect of strategic decision-making logics

PurposeDrawing on the upper echelons theory, this study focuses on how top management team (TMT) heterogeneity affects breakthrough innovations and examines how strategic decision-making logic (including causation and effectuation) moderates the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation.Design/methodology/approachBy conducting an empirical test of 227 sample firms in China, the authors applied linear hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses on the TMT heterogeneityinnovation relationship and the moderating roles of causation and effectuation.FindingsThe empirical tests show that TMT heterogeneity positively affects breakthrough innovation, and both causation and effectuation positively moderate the positive relationship between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation. In addition, effectuation has a stronger moderating effect on the positive correlation between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation than causation.Originality/valueThis study extends the upper echelons theory to explain how the characteristics of TMTs affect firm innovation. Specifically, the authors explore the TMT heterogeneity–breakthrough innovation relationship from the perspectives of information processing and core competence and reveal the boundary condition of strategic decision-making logic in the correlation between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation. In this vein, the authors contribute to the literature by untangling the internal mechanisms between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation and extending the discussion on effectuation theory from the entrepreneurship domain to the innovation field. Furthermore, the research findings can provide helpful implications for TMTs to manage breakthrough innovation effectively.

The Influence of Firm’s Top Management Team Characteristics on Big Data Analytics Capability and Competitive Advantage

ABSTRACT This study examines the influence of four critical top management team (TMT) characteristics: (i) shared mindset, (ii) education, (iii) social capital, and (iv) the presence of a chief data officer on a firm’s ability to orchestrate big data analytic capabilities to achieve competitive advantage. Our study’s results indicate that education and social capital of the TMT have a significant positive impact on the firm’s ability to orchestrate big data analytics capabilities for competitive advantage.

Effect of Top Management Team Characteristics and Green Innovation on Firm Performance in Indonesia: Role of Carbon Emission Disclosure

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether top management team (TMT) characteristics and green innovation (GI) affect firm performance, and if so, whether the effect is mediated by carbon emission disclosure (CED). This quantitative study employs the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses. The data were collected from the high-profile companies listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2015 - 2019 period. A mediating research framework was developed to explain the association among constructs. Using agency theory and sustainability theory (triple bottom line), the results show the following findings. First, TMT characteristics positively affect firm performance. Second, GI positively affects on firm performance. Third, CED partially mediates the effect of TMT characteristics on firm performance. Fourth, CED partially mediates the effect of GI on firm performance. The current study addresses the existing research gaps and debates in the previous studies in term of proposing a more comprehensive framework by adding CED as a mediating variable. This study also builds a new dataset and focuses on environmental issues in the Indonesian research setting as an emerging country and a two-tier governance system adopter.

Top management team academic competence, university–industry collaboration, proximity and innovation performance: a moderated mediating effect analysis

PurposeThe academic experience of top management team (TMT) has a positive impact on firms' innovation performance. However, existing studies predominantly focus on the educational qualifications and institutional prestige of TMT, failing to comprehensively evaluate whether TMT possess genuine academic experience and the role of academic competence. This article aims to examine whether TMT academic competence has a potential influence on firm innovation performance and to understand the mechanisms behind this relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing firm-level metrics of Chinese listed firms and TMT scholarly publication data spanning 2000–2021, this paper investigates whether TMT academic competence can promote firms' innovation performance and conducts a moderated mediating effect analysis.Findings(1) Academic competence of TMT can contribute positively to firms’ innovation performance; (2) university–industry collaboration partially mediates this relationship; (3) the mediating effect is enhanced by cognitive proximity and (4) distance proximity does not diminish the mediating effect.Research limitations/implicationsOutcome of this study can assist academia in further understanding the impacts of TMT on firm innovation and aid government in promoting university–industry collaboration. Simultaneously, it can help firms adjust their TMT selection and training strategies to enhance innovation performance.Originality/valueThis article, as the first to construct an index of academic competence and to explore whether it has an impact on firms' innovation performance and its inherent mechanism, can provide a new research perspective for the study of the impact of TMT's characteristics on firms' innovation.

The Impact of Executive Green Incentives and Top Management Team Characteristics on Corporate Value in China: The Mediating Role of Environment, Social and Government Performance

The pursuit of economic growth remains a consistent focal point in the development of nations. However, this heightened emphasis on economic expansion has precipitated a global environmental crisis (e.g., climate change, air pollution, etc.). Numerous countries have announced targets and commitments aimed at mitigating carbon emissions. Enterprises are the mainstay of economic development. In the context of low-carbon development, the current challenge faced by enterprises lies in transforming their business philosophy and value orientation to achieve a harmonious integration of economic growth and carbon emission reduction. Consequently, within the framework of sustainable development, the stability and developmental trajectory of enterprise value have emerged as prominent research subjects in recent years. As the concept of sustainable development gradually permeates society, there has been widespread attention from various sectors toward evaluating corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. This study focuses on listed companies in China’s manufacturing industry as the research subject. Drawing upon the principal–agent theory, stakeholder theory, upper echelon theory and tournament incentive theory, we aim to validate the feasibility of selecting a top management team that aligns with the characteristics of sustainable development during enterprise transition. By constructing a structural equation model and conducting hypothesis testing under the premise of limited rationality among top management, we explore how green incentives provided to top management impact both enterprise transition toward sustainability and enhancement of corporate value. Additionally, we investigate how demographic characteristics of top management contribute to amplifying the role of green incentives on corporate value. The results show that executive green incentives and top management team characteristics positively impact the corporate environment, social and government (ESG) performance and that implementing environment, social and government aspects can improve corporate value. Upon further analysis, it is found that there is a moderate degree of coupling between top management team characteristics and executive green incentives in promoting better ESG performance and enhancing corporate value. This study provides empirical evidence of the favorable economic outcomes associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, which offers valuable insights for companies to consider when selecting and incentivizing executives, as well as for government departments aiming to enhance environmental, social and governance (ESG) incentive policies.

AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF MODERATING INFLUENCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL SLACK ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TMT CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR FIRMS’ DEGREE OF SEARCH RISK-TAKING

One remaining challenge in research on variable risk-taking by organizations is to reconcile mutually contradictory arguments on associations between organisational slack and organisational degree of risk-taking. We focus on moderating (rather than moderated) influences of organisational slack to argue that slack governs the strength of the association by unleashing the discretion of top management teams (TMTs), while the direction of the association depends on the characteristics of TMTs. Accordingly, as slack increases, organizations led by TMTs characterised by high-risk preference pursue risky search initiatives more aggressively, while decisions by TMTs characterised with low-risk preference grow more risk-avoiding. Our empirical examination of the Japanese electronic appliances industry from 2006 to 2017 empirically supports the argument with endogeneity robust inference on the coefficient of the slack variable. Organisational slack alleviates concerns over constraints on decisions, thereby unleashing discretion to pursue as well as to avoid search risk-taking.

How do top management team characteristics affect digital orientation? Exploring the internal driving forces of firm digitalization

The top management team (TMT) plays a key role in the process of the firm digital transformation. However, few studies have focused on the impact of TMT characteristics on the digital orientation of firms. In this paper, we simultaneously explore the impact of the dispersion, aggregation, and background characteristics of TMT on the digital orientation of firms. Based on the upper echelons theory and strategic orientation theory, we propose that the diversity and average education level of TMT positively impact firms' digital orientation. The average age and tenure of TMT have a negative impact on the digital orientation of firms. The overseas and financial backgrounds of TMT members have a positive impact on the digital orientation of firms. Our hypothesis was tested using large-scale longitudinal data and computer-aided text analysis methods from Chinese listed companies. This paper provides useful supplements to early research on digital driving factors and digital orientation in emerging economies, and also provides more universal suggestions for digital practices in firms.

Top Management Team Heterogeneity and the Performance of Cross-Border M&A

In this paper, we aim to investigate the impact of the top management team (TMT) on the performance of cross-border M&A, using a sample of 270 cross-border M&A events of Chinese listed companies. We find that the heterogeneity of TMT characteristics could affect the performance of cross-border M&A in different ways. More specifically, a higher heterogeneity in gender can improve the M&A performance significantly, while more heterogeneities in tenure and overseas background lead to a significant reduction in long-term and short-term M&A performances, respectively. We believe that our study can contribute to a different perspective for the selection of the executive teams of M&A companies. This, in turn, is conducive to optimizing the structure of the senior management team, and may help companies make better decisions and improve their performance.

Industry and Regional Peer Effects in Corporate Digital Transformation: The Moderating Effects of TMT Characteristics

Currently, the research on corporate digital transformation is mainly explored from the perspective of independent decision-making, but pays less attention to the interactive impact among peer firms. Taking the listed equipment manufacturing enterprises in China as its research sample, this paper uses theoretical analysis and empirical tests to test the impact of peer effect in corporate digital transformation and the moderating effect of top management team (TMT) characteristics. The results show that there are industry peer effects and regional peer effects in corporate digital transformation in which TMT characteristics play a moderating effect. Furthermore, the higher the proportion of females, the younger the average age, the higher the average education, and the longer the average tenure in TMT, the more significant the positive impact of industry peer effect and regional peer effect in corporate digital transformation. The above conclusions remain valid when using change variables, Tobit tests, lag period tests, and IV methods for robustness tests. Further analysis of the results shows that there is a non-linear impact between digital transformation and green technological innovation, and there are multiple mediating effects among industry and regional peer effects, digital transformation, R&D, and green technological innovation. In addition, it is necessary to further examine the social network peer effect in corporate digital transformation as well as the mechanism and economic consequences of peer effect in the future. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the driving factors that affect the digital transformation of equipment manufacturing enterprises in China and provide new evidence and theoretical contributions for enterprises to enhance the efficiency of digital transformation and strengthen the construction of a TMT.

Top management team characteristics, technological innovation and firm's greenwashing: Evidence from China's heavy-polluting industries

Greenwashing has become an important strategy for firms to cope with the huge pressure brought by environmental sustainability and win environmental legitimacy. Based on the upper echelon theory and legitimacy theory, this study uses the grounded theory research method to develop the scale of firm's degree of greenwashing specialized with Chinese characteristics, and empirically tests the relationships among top management team (TMT) characteristics, technological innovation, and firm's greenwashing. The results show that TMT education level has a significantly negative effect on firm's greenwashing, while TMT functional background diversity has a significantly positive effect on firm's greenwashing. Technological innovation has a significantly negative impact on firm's greenwashing, and significantly moderates the relationships between TMT age and firm's greenwashing and between TMT functional background diversity and firm's greenwashing, respectively. Our findings provide references for managers and policy makers to understand the influence of TMT characteristics on firm's greenwashing as well as the effective weakening effect of technological innovation on firm's greenwashing.

Supplier transaction, TMT characteristics, and the persistence of earnings: do their relationship contribute towards sustainable performance of Chinese listed manufacturing sector firms?

The construction of supplier transaction is one of the strategic choices of many firms. However, the impact of business strategies on the persistence of earnings remains to be further investigated. The innovation of this paper lies in interpreting the impact of supplier transaction on earnings persistence from the perspective of characteristics of the top management team (TMT). We consider Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2012 to 2019 to examine the relationship between the supplier transaction and the persistence of earnings. Statistical results show that supplier transaction characteristics of the TMT have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between the supplier transaction and the persistence of earnings. This implies that the behavior of TMT can be vital to the firm in maintaining sustainable performance. The higher age level or longer average tenure of TMT can significantly improve the positive effect of the supplier transaction tenure heterogeneity of TMT that will significantly improve the negative effect. This paper expands the literature on supplier relationship, and corporate earnings from a new perspective that improves the empirical evidence of the upper echelons theory, and also provides evidence support for the construction of supplier relationship and TMT.

The Impact of Top Management Team Characteristics on the Risk Taking of Chinese Private Construction Enterprises

Private construction businesses have grown quickly, greatly boosting China’s economic growth; nonetheless, these businesses suffer tremendous developmental uncertainty, particularly when compared to larger state-owned businesses. The traits of the top management team (TMT) may have a direct impact on how risk-taking and decision-making behaviors are exhibited by businesses, according to earlier studies. The majority of private construction companies in China are family businesses with family members making up the majority of their top executives. As a result, these companies are vulnerable to family centralization, which will definitely boost their risk-taking level. This study used a sample of private listed companies in China’s construction industry from 2009 to 2019 to explore the impact of CEO traits on the risk-taking degree of enterprises. The findings show that a higher percentage of top female managers and a higher average rate of TMT member both lower the level of risk taking in private construction businesses. The level of risk taking, however, is positively impacted by the top management’s higher average education level. The average tenure and overseas experience of TMTs and the degree of risk taking in private construction enterprises are not significantly correlated. Additionally, the degree of risk taking in private construction firms can vary depending on the qualities of the senior management team.

RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TMT, FINANCING CONSTRAINTS AND ENTERPRISE INNOVATION--BASED ON THE DATA OF CHINESE LISTED COMPANIES

The paper, taking the relevant data of Chinese A-share listed companies in both Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2019 as the research samples and searching annual reports, CSMAR database and WIND database as data sources manually, attaches importance to study the relationship between the characteristics of top management team (TMT), financing constraints and enterprise innovation so as to structure the framework model of these three elements and further verify the relationship among them. The specific study goes to make educational level, tenure, age and gender as proxy variables to measure TMT characteristics, and financing constraints as moderator variables to study the moderating effect of the relation between TMT characteristics and enterprise innovation. Further, the paper also draws the conclusion about how financing constraints regulate the influence of various dimensions of TMT characteristics on enterprise innovation. What is the most innovative part in this paper is to bring the financing constraints as moderator variables to study its impact on TMT characteristics as well as enterprise innovation.

Regional culture: The role of the invisible hand in shaping local family firms' top management team.

Research on family businesses has focused on the differences between family and non-family firms regarding the top management team (TMT), while this study further explores the difference within family firms from different regional culture based on the perspective of socio-emotional wealth (SEW) and evolutionary psychology. Using a sample comprised of all 625 family firms listed on the Small & Medium Enterprise Board and Growth Enterprise Board in Shenzhen Stock Exchange, this study finds that in regions of strong clan culture, family members are more willing to be involved in a family business and accept lower economic rewards. Particularly, when financial risk is high, these relationships mentioned above become more significant. Based on the results, this study proves that regional culture can affect the characteristics of top management teams in family firms, explains the heterogeneity of family firms' decision-making from a culture-based perspective and extends existing research on family business from the level of "family firm vs. non-family firm" to that of "family firms affected by different regional cultures".

Nexus between environmental disclosures and top management team characteristics: a systematic review.

Voluntary nature of sustainability disclosures in most of the countries shifts focus of academicians towards discretion of top executives as a major determining force for firms to make their operations environmentally and socially sustainable. Based on two decade literature on the topic available at Scopus database this study aims to present a comprehensive knowledge map of intellectual structure on the relationship of top management characteristics on sustainability spending and disclosures. A bibliometric systematic review of 164 articles from 2002 to 2022 has been conducted with the help of VOSviewer and identified most influential journals, articles, and the countries whose corresponding authors have contributed in the field and influential research clusters in the literature. These research clusters are first, red cluster with 94 articles has discussed the upper echelon's personal and professional characteristics in relation to sustainability disclosures. Second, green cluster with 60 articles has discussed particularly the gender diversity in top executives and board of directors in relationship with sustainability disclosures. Third, blue cluster with 10 articles has elaborated the influence of independent directors on sustainability disclosures of corporate sector. The findings of this study will particularly help the regulators to make regulations regarding critical mass of female on boards and top management, family-owned firms, and politically connected directors. Moreover it will also help consultants, analysts, and investment bankers to differentiate firms with pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive institutional investors. From this review shareholders can be very much clear in the selection of their representatives and ultimately the appointment of top management team. This study also provides an insight for future direction so that unexplored dimension of this field may further be discovered by upcoming researchers.

TMT Heterogeneity in Breakthrough Innovation: The Role of Strategic Decision-making Logics

Breakthrough innovation can create new technological trajectories, new markets and even change the competitive landscape, which serves as the driving force of firms’ competitive advantages. Based on Upper Echelons Theory, we focus on how TMT heterogeneity affects breakthrough innovations, and examine how strategic decision-making logics (causation & effectuation) adopted by members of top management teams moderate the relationship between the TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation. By using a sample consists of 227 respondents from China, we use linear hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses on the TMT heterogeneity-innovation relationship. Our findings show that TMT heterogeneity has a positive impact on breakthrough innovation. Both causation and effectuation positively moderate the positive relationship between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation. In addition, compared with causation, effectuation has a stronger moderating effect on the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and breakthrough innovation. We follow and extend the interpretive logic of strategic decision-making underlined by Upper Echelons Theory in explaining the relationship between characteristics of top management teams and organizational outcomes. Combining perspectives of information processing and core competence, our work mainly reveals the relationship between TMT heterogeneity and innovation, and explore the contingency effect of decision-making logics (causation & effectuation) in that relationship. Our research conclusions help TMTs deeply understand the generation as well as its mechanism of breakthrough innovation, and provide new perspectives and guidelines for them to carry out breakthrough innovation as well.