Top Management Positions Research Articles

Female leadership and environmental, social and governance performance. Empirical evidence from France

Purpose This paper aims to examine the extent to which the presence of women in governance and top management positions is likely to affect corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. This study also examines the interaction effect between female leadership and cultural leadership in the boardroom. Design/methodology/approach The empirical quantitative paper covers a sample of French-listed non-financial companies from 2018 to 2022 (925 firm-year observations). France is the European Union pioneer of non-financial reporting and gender equality policies. A fixed-effect panel regression analysis was estimated to unveil the links between the presence of women in governance and top management positions and ESG performance. Findings Results show that appointing more women on the board of directors and executive team is conducive to higher ESG performance. Nevertheless, the interaction effect between female and cultural leadership does not impact ESG performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the accounting and corporate governance literature on gender diversity and ESG performance by investigating female leadership in both directorship and top executive roles.

Green Human Resource Acquisition Practices as a Determinant of Employee Performance in Developing Countries: Evidence from Public Universities in Western Kenya

Many organizations are embracing sustainability initiatives as the global race towards environmental conservation picks momentum. Some organizations in Kenya including public universities, have undertaken green-oriented human resource management practices, including employee acquisition practices as they seek to cope with reduced government financial support for their operations. The role of green human resource acquisition practices on academic staff performance in public universities remains relatively unexplored in Kenya. This study assessed the effect of green human resource acquisition practices on employee performance. Anchored on a positivist philosophy and using the Ability, Motivation and Opportunity Theory, an correlational research design was used to undertake the study on a target population of 438 academic staff holding top and middle level management positions in 11 public universities in the Western region of Kenya. From it, a sample size of 209 respondents was determined using Slovin’s sample determination method. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The collected Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics where correlation analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0. The results show that green Human Resource Acquisition practices had a strong positive correlation(r=0.702) to the employee’s performance. The research concluded that Human Resource Acquisition practices of recruitment and selection determined employee performance. The study recommends that Public Universities should focus on recruiting and selecting green focused human resources in order to improve employee performance.

Organizational silence in private small and medium enterprises in Malaysia

Currently, there is little study on managing organizational silence in Malaysia post COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the determinants of organizational silence and the impacts of silence on private sectors and employees. The target respondents are two hundred individuals above 21 years old working in private sectors across Malaysia. Purposive sampling is selected for this study because the target respondents must be individuals working in private sectors across Malaysia. The strongest predictor of organizational silence is the attitudes of immediate superior, followed by attitudes of top management and communication opportunities. This study provides valuable information to the employees and management in the private sector to recognize the behaviors that will create silence within the organization.

Challenging the Status Quo: Headhunters and Gender Bias in Executive Recruitment: “Women have been at a Disadvantage, and it is long Overdue to Correct that”

This paper investigates the exclusion of women from the recruitment process for top management positions, focusing on the role of headhunters in Iceland—a country ranked first in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report for 15 consecutive years. Despite Iceland's reputation as a leader in gender equality, women remain significantly underrepresented in executive roles. This study addresses this paradox by exploring how headhunters' recruitment practices both perpetuate and challenge gender bias. Through semi-structured interviews with 44 board members (22 men, 22 women) and eight headhunters, this study uncovers structural and behavioral biases limiting women’s opportunities in executive roles Headhunters often rely on established networks and emphasize CEO experience, which favors male candidates. However, the study also highlights the potential of headhunters to act as change agents by expanding candidate pools and rethinking traditional hiring criteria. The theoretical contribution of this research lies in its exploration of how headhunters, positioned as both gatekeepers and agents of change, can influence gender diversity in leadership. This study also uses agency theory to explain the dynamic between headhunters and boards, examining how their conflicting goals shape executive recruitment outcomes.

Broken rung roles in the female leadership deficit phenomenon in Indonesia

The underrepresentation of women in top management positions is marked by a decline in participation as the hierarchy rises. This study investigates the impact of the "broken rung" phenomenon—referring to unfair promotion systems as a key barrier to female career advancement—on the leadership deficit among women in Indonesia. Using a qualitative methodology and a phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The research analysis followed four stages of coding: open coding, axial coding, selective coding, and process coding. Findings reveal that gender stereotypes in certain industries and occupations contribute to the scarcity of female leaders. The shortage of female leaders initially stems from the limited presence of women in specific industries, influenced by these stereotypes. The "broken rung" is not the primary factor in Indonesia’s female leadership deficit, as there were already few women in specific sectors before unfair company systems impacted them. The root cause is not an unfriendly promotion system, but rather the unequal distribution of female workers across industries. Feminine-dominated sectors see higher female representation, while masculine-dominated sectors do not. Unfortunately, a significant portion of jobs are perceived as masculine, leading to an overrepresentation of male-dominated industries.

Top-management attitudes toward workplace happiness: An exploratory case study at a semi-government organization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This study aimed to gain insights into the attitudes and strategies of top management regarding workplace happiness within a semi-government organization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Six senior managers at the organization were interviewed to explore their perspectives on employee happiness and the initiatives implemented to enhance it. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several key findings. Top managers demonstrated strong commitment and willingness to prioritize employee well-being through long-term research-driven improvements. A variety of strategies incorporating personal, organizational, and Human Resources Management (HRM) factors known to impact happiness were utilized. Religious considerations and empowerment initiatives respect personal values while fostering intrinsic motivation. Top leaders modeled strategic priorities through their conduct, emphasizing visible support. The organization balanced individual needs with organizational goals respectfully. The findings provide practical implications for optimizing retention and performance outcomes through dedicated strategic happiness efforts guided by empirical research. However, more extensive research across diverse populations could further advance understanding in this field.

Big data analytics capabilities and leadership: catalysts of firm performance in telecommunications

PurposeThe proliferation of big data analytics (BDA)-enabled tools and technologies has endowed organizations with the capacity to augment decision-making processes, optimize operational endeavors and foster innovation across diverse business domains. Consequently, BDA has been posited as a catalyst for enhanced customer relationship management, improved risk mitigation strategies and heightened operational efficiencies, all of which converge to augment overall firm performance. Thus, the purpose of this research is to introduce a conceptual framework aimed at explaining the influence of BDA capabilities on the performance of telecommunications firms in Pakistan. Additionally, it examines the potential mediating effect of talent capabilities and moderating effect of top management attitude on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachData from a sample comprising 520 participants were collected via survey questionnaires. The study employed Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling to empirically evaluate the proposed model.FindingsResults reveal a positive association between BDA technology and information capabilities with both BDA talent capabilities and firm performance. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that BDA talent capabilities mediate the relationship between BDA dynamic capabilities and firm performance, while top management attitude acts as a moderator, enhancing the relationship between BDA talent capabilities and firm performance.Originality/valueThere is a scarcity of research that has examined the relationship of BDA capabilities, top management attitude and firm performance. This study attempts to examine their interrelationships. First, it enhances the extant literature by elucidating the mediating role of BDA talent capabilities in the relationship between BDA technology and information capabilities and firm performance. Second, the study introduces a novel dimension by incorporating top management attitude as a moderator variable. This augmentation adds layers of complexity to comprehending BDA implementation dynamics, emphasizing leadership’s role in fostering an enabling environment for effective utilization of BDA capabilities.

Caste affiliation and access to high-authority jobs in the Indian service sector

Restricting high authority jobs to a specific section of society leads to market inefficiencies, resulting in higher costs and lower quality of goods and services due to suboptimal management. Moreover, such favouritism exacerbates social inequalities across occupational hierarchies. Given India’s caste-based societal structure, it is crucial to investigate whether all social groups have equal access to top management and leadership positions. Using the 2019–2020 Periodic Labour Force Survey and binary logit models, this study reveals significant disparities in securing high-authority roles between lower and upper castes. The results show an average marginal effect of −7.3% for lower castes relative to upper castes. These disparities are further amplified if the lower caste individual is female, resides in a urban area, or holds a graduate-level education.

Lean Management and Firms Competitive Advantage

This study focused on lean management and firms' competitive advantage in Akwa Ibom State. Two hypotheses and two research questions were developed for the study, using a survey methodology. The population consisted of 59 employees in top management, middle management, and lower management positions at particular manufacturing companies in the state of Akwa Ibom. Utilizing census techniques, data on the total population was gathered. The two hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance using the Ordinal Regression Tool Analysis. The findings indicated that the Lean Management dimension (employee involvement: 8.298, PV = 0.003; Just-in-Time: 7.246, PV = 0.002) and firms' competitive advantage in Akwa Ibom State were significantly correlated. Just-in-time and employee involvement are relational characteristics that might improve enterprises' competitive advantage and organizational performance in Akwa Ibom State. The study’s management was advised to improve their policies to support manufacturing and operations by figuring out what the customer values, mapping out the value stream the complete sequence of steps necessary to deliver a good or service—and analyzing the value stream to find and get rid of wasteful practices like overproduction, waiting times, needless motion, defects, and excess inventory. To boost overall cost efficiency, it was also advised that manufacturing companies integrate waste elimination into their operational processes.

Impacts of climate for change, process of change and openness towards change on employees’ readiness to transform conventional banking into Islamic banking system in Libya

Purpose This study aims to investigate the determinants of employees’ readiness to adapt to the change from the conventional banking system to the Islamic banking system in Libya. The determinants identified by this research include supervisors’ support, trust in leadership, participatory management, employees’ involvement in the change, the attitude of top management towards the change, openness towards the change and nature of change. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative approach by using a self-administered questionnaire survey where a total of 482 sets of questionnaires were distributed manually of which 316 completed questionnaires were found to be usable. The structural equation modelling techniques were used to test and validate the proposed model. Findings Statistically, the study found that supervisor support, employees’ involvement in the change process and openness towards change showed significant relationships on employees’ readiness to perform their jobs in Libyan banks where the conventional financial system had been changed to the Islamic banking system. However, on the contrary, trust in leadership, participatory management and the attitude of top management towards the change process were found to have no significant relationship towards employees’ readiness. In addition, a significant moderation effect of the nature of change has been found on the relationship between openness to change and employees’ readiness for change. Practical implications Determinants of employees’ readiness for the transformation process identified in the present study can be used in assessing the employees’ readiness before implementing any change. In fact, openness and willingness towards change were found to be significant factors in employees’ readiness in the transformation process. Therefore, banks can use this information as one of the important criteria in recruiting employees. Open-minded and receptive attitudes towards change could be the quality of employees that banks should look for. Originality/value Overall, this study can be considered as novel because its findings will prompt other researchers to conduct and expand similar research in this field. Specifically, the findings of this research could facilitate the Central Bank of Libya in identifying their readiness gaps and organisational obstacles that stalled the move of conventional banks in Libya to migrate into the Islamic banking system.

Efficacy of Green Reward Management Practices on Workers’ Performance: Evidence from Public Universities in Western Kenya

Few organizations in Kenya have implemented green-oriented practices, including public universities, which continue to experience internal wastage and suboptimal resource utilization amidst reduced government financial support for their operations. The role of green human resource management practices on academic staff performance in public universities remains relatively unexplored in Kenya. This study assessed the effect of green reward management practices on employee performance. Based on a positivist philosophy, and guided by the Ability, Motivation and Opportunity Theory, an explanatory research design was used to undertake the study on a target population of 438 employees holding top and middle level management positions in 11 public universities in the Western region of Kenya. From it, a sample size of 209 respondents was determined using Slovin’s sample determination method. Questionnaires were used to collect data. They were tested for reliability and validity before use. The collected Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics where correlation and multiple regression analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0. The results indicated that green reward management practices had a significant effect on the employee’s performance since the R-Square of 0.111 implied that 11.1% change in the employee’s performance was attributable to the green reward management practices which were significant on employees’ commitment to achieve set performance targets (t = 5.011, p<0.001). The study recommends that Public Universities should invest more resources towards green reward schemes to motivate staff to be sustainably productive.

Shaping a Digital Future: Examining Technology, Organisation and Environment (TOE) Framework

The uptake of e-commerce (EC) has seen a rise, increasing from 27.8% in 2019 to 37.9% in 2021, leading to a greater emphasis on online sales. However, according to SME Corporation Malaysia’s 2021 report, 65.5% of SMEs believe EC is unnecessary and prefer physical stores, while 16.6% cited a lack of skilled employees to initiate, maintain, and manage online systems. Therefore, this study examines the critical constructs surrounding the adoption of EC by SMEs in the service and other sectors in Malaysia. Utilizing the constructs of perceived benefits (H1), EC complexity (H2), top management attitude (H3), competitors' pressure (H4), and government support (H5), the adoption of EC by Malaysian SMEs was measured and analysed. This study is supported by the Technology, Organisation, and Environment (TOE) framework dimension. The data were collected through an online questionnaire-based survey, and 155 responses were used for this study. Two of the most recognised statistical software are utilised to analyze the collected data. First, the R software was used to perform descriptive statistics. The majority of the respondents (56.77%) stated that their enterprise’s sales turnover was below RM300,000, with an additional 26.45% of respondents’ firms falling within the sales turnover range of RM300,001 to RM3,000,000. Second, the SmartPLS was utilized to test measurement and structural models. The findings indicated that theperceived benefits and EC complexity are positively associated with EC adoption by SMEs. In contrast, the results concerning top management attitude, competitor pressure, and government support indicated otherwise. As SMEs navigate the path to digitalisation, this study may be helpful to investors, owners, researchers, policymakers, and any individuals interested in knowing more about the progress of EC adoption among Malaysian SMEs.

The role of women in top management in carbon emission disclosure – Evidence from banking entities in ASEAN

Previous empirical research suggests that the characteristics of individuals in the board of directors or peak management teams should be examined. There is a significant gap related to the role of women in the upper level of management and disclosure of carbon emissions. Therefore, this study aims to review the impact of women in top management positions on carbon emission disclosure in the ASEAN banking sector. We analyzed data from 146 banks throughout ASEAN from 2018 to 2022, comprising 719 data of observation. Sample selection employed purposive sampling. Statistical analysis was conducted using Stata MP 17 software, with the fixed effect model identified as the appropriate regression model through Chow, LM, and Hausman tests. Our empirical findings reveal a significant influence of women in upper management, specifically on carbon emission disclosure, as assessed through both Board of Directors (BOD) and audit committee perspectives. These findings have implications for investors and policymakers which support ASEAN countries in achieving net zero pledge, so that sustainability goals related to climate change can be achieved.

Experimental Designs in Management Studies for Bias Assessment: Setting and Stimulus Material

This manuscript stems from an ongoing research project on gender inequality in Portuguese businesses, particularly concerning access to leadership positions. It aims to provide new insights into the constraints that limit women’s access to managerial roles – both from the worker/employee’s perspective, by exploring expectations, aspirations, and perceived barriers, and from the employer/hierarchy’s perspective, by analysing which biases in recruitment and promotion processes are likely to limit women’s rise to top management positions. Against this analytical background, this paper aims to provide a reflection on the inquiry protocol developed within the project, with particular emphasis on the quantitative approach based on an experimental design. A survey has been developed targeting professionals and directors of large, listed companies and large/medium unlisted companies, where the respondents are given the framework of hiring hypothetical applicants for a management position. The methodological protocol involves elaborating different fictitious CV profiles, representing hypothetical candidates. These profiles are constructed by varying attributes according to various dimensions, specifically gender, combined with educational and professional characteristics. Based on the process of designing the experimental setting, the aim is to reflect on the nuances, obstacles, and limitations in constructing a set of stimulus materials and manipulating the experimental conditions regarding the fictitious applicants’ characteristics (including gender), vertical segregation (‘glass ceiling’ in access to top management positions), horizontal segregation (i.e., associating candidates with typically female or male occupations) and measurement items/scales for assessing the applicants in different dimensions (e.g., perceived competence, job fit, promotion recommendation, etc.). Therefore, this paper aims to reflect on the methodological challenges and advantages of an experimental research design and data analysis strategy to address gender bias in hiring contexts and capable of sustaining an ongoing data observatory to support the definition of public policies and organisational practices aimed at promoting gender equality in top positions.

Empirical Study on the Influencing Factors of Small and Medium Enterprises' Willingness to Adopt Digital Technologies under the Context of New-Quality Productive Forces

Under the development of new-quality productive forces, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have encountered unprecedented challenges, and digital transformation has become the path to break through. Based on the TOE (Technology-Organization-Environment) analytical framework, this study explores the influencing factors of SMEs' willingness to adopt digital technologies in Guangdong Province. The findings indicate that at the technological level, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have significant positive impacts on SMEs' willingness to adopt digital technologies. At the organizational level, top management involvement has a significant positive effect on SMEs' willingness to adopt digital technologies, while the influence of top management attitudes is not significant. At the environmental level, mimetic pressure and normative pressure have significant positive impacts on SMEs' willingness to adopt digital technologies, but the impact of coercive pressure is not significant. Based on these findings, suggestions are put forward from the three levels mentioned above to assist SMEs in achieving digital transformation and upgrading.

A Study Regarding Long-Term Change Management for Quality 4.0: Findings from Hybrid Project Management Implementation in The Fintech Setting

The authors of this study want to analyze organizational purpose while focusing on the adoption of hybrid project management (HPM) methodology in FinTech system development. It is critical to identify the internal and external elements that influence organizational decision-makers intentions for HPM adoption. This study intends to use a theoretical approach that combines the Technology Organization Environment (TOE), which investigates the factors that influence FinTech organizations' decisions to incorporate HPM into their software development projects, with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which investigates behavioral intention. It tackles the elements that influence organizational decision-makers preparation for HPM deployment and their willingness to employ it. When the independent, dependent, and moderating variables are combined, the results show that relative advantage, top management support, and industry pressure all have a positive impact on an individual's attitude towards HPM adoption in FinTech and sustainability in Quality 4.0. The authors also examined the impact of attitudes and perceived behavioral control factors on the long-term intention to use HPM in the FinTech business. The stated hypotheses were verified using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), except for the direct effect of top management support or attitude on intention to adopt.

The French approach to promoting gender diversity in corporate governance

An increasing number of countries are adopting policies on gender diversity in corporate governance. Some regulators believe that non-binding recommendations, or ‘soft law’, are sufficient and that stakeholder social pressure will promote diversity. Others argue that ‘hard law’ is needed, including mandatory quotas with sanctions for non-compliance. Both sides believe that increasing gender diversity on boards of directors is necessary to promote diversity in executive committees and other top management positions. Empirical evidence from France sheds light on this debate. Initially, the country supported the ‘soft law’ approach. However, following the Norwegian example, France passed the Copé-Zimmermann law in 2011, which imposed a mandatory quota of 40% gender diversity on boards of directors by 2017. In 2021, the French parliament passed the Rixain law, recognising the limited progress of the previous law and setting a mandatory quota of 40% on boards by 2029. This law was the first of its kind in Western countries.

Does managerial myopia exacerbate firms excessive financialization? Evidence from Malaysia

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of managerial myopia on the excessive financialization behavior of listed firms on Bursa Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThrough a sample of 313 firms from 2015 to 2021, the author examine whether managerial myopia promotes or inhibits corporate financialization. The author uses ordinary least squares and Logit as the baseline models and addresses potential endogeneity through the dynamic-panel generalized method of moments. The results are also robust to alternative measures of financialization and managerial myopia.FindingsThe results show a significant positive effect of managerial myopia on the excessive financialization of enterprises. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the impact of managerial myopia on the over-financialization of enterprises is more prominent in periods of low economic policy uncertainty. However, the relationship between excessive financialization and managerial myopia is weakened in the presence of female chief executive officers.Practical implicationsThe empirical results have useful policy implications. First, firms should establish scientific managerial assessment and supervision systems to avoid excessive financial investment behavior by myopic managers caused by assessments that place too much emphasis on short-term performance. Second, regulators and policymakers should encourage firms to appoint women to top management positions, which may inhibit short-sighted financialization behavior. Finally, the regulatory authorities should undertake the necessary measures driving companies to disclose the investment direction of the funds so that shareholders and investors can understand the use direction of the funds in a timely manner, which can effectively prevent the economy “from the real to the virtual” and promote the development of the real economy.Originality/valueThis paper expands the existing research on corporate financialization behavior and provides a new theoretical basis for the underlying factors of excessive financialization. It studies the influence of corporate financialization from the perspective of short-run managerial actions and deepens the understanding of managerial myopia and companies’ financialization levels.

Challenges of Women Working as Leaders in Aruba’s Hotel Industry

Summary The hotel industry tends to underrepresent females in top management positions. Arguably, this problem is more acute in small island nations where few higher management positions are available due to the smallness of the sector. This case study explores female hotel leaders’ perceptions of gender bias in Aruba’s hotel sector. Semi-structured interviews were expanded with the Zoomorphic Forced Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZFMET). This method surfaces nonconscious memories and offers rich insights on study participants’ perception of the implicit bias barriers that they encountered. These self-reports include their cognitive and behavioral responses to these barriers. Results show how the female managers evolve as they overcame gender bias. Overall, the managers perceive that they have grown wiser, stronger, and more alert to the occurrence of implicit gender bias. Information © The Authors 2024

Carbon emissions, female CEOs and earnings management

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the association between carbon emissions and earnings management (EM). This study also considers the effect of female CEOs on the association between carbon emissions and EM.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the carbon disclosure project (CDP) for carbon emissions data, the Compustat database for financial information and the ExecuComp database for female CEOs. The empirical sample of this study consists of 1,692 firm-year observations in the USA that voluntarily participated in the CDP survey from 2007 to 2015. Regression analysis and robustness tests are conducted for this study and both accrual and real EM are considered.FindingsThis study provides evidence that firms with female CEOs who voluntarily disclose their carbon emissions information engage in less real EM. Thus, the presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM. This study/paper also finds a positive association between carbon emissions and real EM, although there is an insignificant association between carbon emissions and accruals EM.Practical implicationsThe association between carbon emissions and EM has important implications for investors, regulators and policymakers. This study suggests that policymakers should improve the conditions that promote inclusion of females in the top management positions to constrain EM.Originality/valueThis study focuses on the USA, which is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions in the world. The presence of female CEOs moderates the association between carbon emissions and EM and firms with female CEOs show a greater impact on EM.