Abstract: Strategy research has long been interested in understanding the influence of CEOs' demographic and dispositional traits on firm actions. However, according to distal-proximal personality theories, proximal motivational constructs will have a stronger influence on action than more distal traits since they directly impact how people regulate their behavior. We test the effect of a key motivational construct, CEO emotionality, on two firm actions: strategic change and change in the scope (diversification) of the firm. Building on the broaden-and-build theory we develop hypotheses and find differential effects with positive emotionality being negatively related to strategic change but positively related to change in firm diversification. On the other hand, negative emotionality is positively related to strategic change and negatively related to change in firm diversification.

Abstract: Is embarrassment effective in imposing social norms on top executives? Drawing from social cognitive theory, social psychology, and personality research, we hypothesize that personality traits and the social context that affect the likelihood to experience embarrassment give rise to differences in the response to moral criticism. Using personality measures such as overt narcissism and measures for the social environment such as local social preferences and being a parent, we test the hypotheses on data about the responsiveness of U.S. CEOs to events of public criticism of their compensation levels. Public criticism is measured through negative press articles about the CEO's pay package.

Abstract: To better understand the cognitive frames of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) regarding boardroom dynamics as compared to those of Board members this research applied a multidimensional holistic perspective. Survey responses by 963 CEOs and 841 board members from Norwegian firms were analyzed and compared to test the structural hypotheses. Results revealed differences regarding the configuration of variables which includes CEO domination and board acquiescence to shareholders. This configuration reflected inconsistencies when comparing the perceptual structures of each group, and was associated with cognitive as opposed to emotional responses, occupying orthogonal axes in their respective multidimensional spaces. The remaining structure was invariant across the two samples. These differences in cognitive frames point to some sources of group fractioning in governing boards and offer insights potentially useful for overcoming boardroom inertia.

Abstract: How do top executives respond to anxiety? Abundant research in psychology has shown that anxiety can strongly influence individual cognition and behavior, which suggests that anxiety could affect how executives decide upon strategic courses of action. Integrating perspectives from strategy and cognitive psychology, we investigate how job-related anxiety in executives manifests in strategic decision-making. We hypothesize and find evidence that more anxious top executives tend to staff their management teams with more loyal subordinates, spend less time deliberating strategic alternatives, and pursue less risky strategies, and these effects become amplified in family businesses. To get into the “black box” of strategic decision-making we used a multisource, multimethod data collection approach that included self-report, team-report, other-report, and archival data from a sample of 94 top executives.

Abstract: Using a unique database of 682 CEOs based in Latin America over the last six years, we studied what activities do CEOs deem conceptually important as part of their responsibilities differentiating the sample into three main groups: (a) CEOs which are owners of the company they manage, (b) CEOs managing a local company, but not owners and (c) country or regional managers from multinational companies. The analysis of the different ways they understand their job is important enough to be taken into account when trying to understand the performance characteristics of firms according to their origin and the type of leader that rules it.

Abstract: Using a behavioral observation approach for assessing CEO personality traits displayed in publicly available video clips, I examine the impact of CEO likability, charisma, narcissism, and the big five on returns to shareholders and the favorability of analysts’ recommendations. The results suggest CEO personality traits do influence returns to shareholders and, even after controlling for personality, likability also influences returns to shareholders. Furthermore, likability mediates the relationship between charisma and analyst’s recommendations as well as the link between openness to experience and analyst recommendations. Results suggest assessing CEO personality using behavioral ratings based on observation of short video clips may be a viable option for overcoming the problem of CEO personality measurement. Also, the effect of CEO likability on firm level outcomes warrants further investigation.