Who Lives in the C-Suite? Organizational Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management

This paper shows that top management structures in large US firms radically changed since the mid-1980s. While the number of managers reporting directly to the CEO doubled, the growth was driven primarily by functional managers rather than general managers. Using panel data on senior management positions, we explore the relationship between changes in executive team composition, firm diversification, and IT investments—which arguably alter returns to exploiting synergies through corporate-wide coordination by functional managers in headquarters. We find that the number of functional managers closer to the product (“product” functions i.e., marketing, R&D) increase as firms focus their businesses, while the number of functional managers farther from the product (“administrative” functions i.e., finance, law, HR) increase with IT investments. Finally, we show that general manager pay decreases as functional managers join the executive team suggesting a shift in activities from general to functional managers—a phenomenon we term “functional centralization.”

Ouverture de 'The 4th Industrial Revolution. Business Model Innovation & Global Competition'

The 4th Industrial Revolution is expected to lead to a paradigm shift in business, with strong effects on manufacturing and service processes, and consequent competitive advantages for firms, industries, and regional/national systems. Such effects will manifest in the disruption of traditional incumbents and the re-organization of production processes where information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, and operational technologies enable smart, self-organizing distribution systems in factorie

Executive AI Literacy: A Text-Mining Approach to Understand Existing and Demanded AI Skills of Leaders in Unicorn Firms

Despite the growing relevance of artificial intelligence (AI) for busi-nesses, there is a lack of research on how top-level executives must be skilled in AI. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this paper explores executive AI literacy, defined as the combined AI skills of top-level executives, and its relevance for different executive roles. We conducted a text-mining analysis of 1,625 execu-tives’ online profiles and 1,033 executive job postings from unicorn firms re-trieved via web-scraping from an online professional social network. We find that AI skills are mostly required in product-related executive roles (vs. adminis-trative roles). Thus, we provide an AI-specific perspective complementing prior information systems research on executives, which asserts that (non-AI) IT is driven by administrative executive roles. Our paper contributes to AI literacy lit-erature by shedding light on the substance of executive AI literacy within firms. Lastly, we provide implications for AI-related information systems strategy

VEIKSNIAI, ĮGALINANTYS VEIKSMINGAI VEIKTI ORGANIZACIJŲ TINKLĄ

Straipsnyje pateikti veiksniai, įgalinantys organizacijų tinklą efektyviaiveikti, jų sąveikos rezultatas yra pridėtinės vertės kūrimas. Nustatyta, kad tinklasgali būti įvardijamas kaip efektyvus, jei turimas bendras tikslas, sukurta politika,turimi įvairių rūšių ištekliai, kurių reikia veiklai vykdyti, koordinuotaorganizacinė valdymo struktūra, užtikrintas optimalus[1]valdymas ir nuolatinė komunikacija. Straipsnyje parodoma šių veiksnių svarba,užtikrinant organizacijų tinklo veiklos efektyvumą. Pateikta veiksnių,įgalinančių organizacijų tinklą efektyviai veikti, principinė schema.PAGRINDINIAIŽODŽIAI: organizacijų tinklas, efektyvumas,veiksniai.[1] Optimalus – tinkamiausia,etaloninė reikšmė (Mackevičius, Valkauskas, 2010, p. 218).DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v10i2.15

Technology management as a profession and the challenges ahead

This paper is aimed at current and future managers in the field of technology management (TM), and those who train and educate them. After briefly describing TM as a management discipline, the potential challenges likely to rise in the field are introduced according to three processes given in the TM framework: innovation, operation and strategy. Then, a set of propositions are developed regarding the potential impact of those challenges on TM professionals. Concentrating on a long term perspective provides TM professionals with the opportunity to consider their existing knowledge and skill base so that they can prepare for the challenges they will face in the future. The paper ends with implications for professionals and educators.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jengtecman.2016.05.00

Selling the Fourth Revolution: The Correlation between C-Suite Architecture and a Big Data Mindset as Portrayed in the Letter to the Shareholders

Big data’s diverse applications for the modern data deluge span problems and industries. While offering titular possibilities, is big data an area of serious corporate inquiry or is it a source of hype? This research seeks to add to the growing body of management literature on big data. C-suite architecture additions of a CIO and/or a CTO demonstrate an environment for and increased BDA mindset. A review of the annual letter to the shareholder is a proxy for the external narrative of a big data strategy. To measure correlation between C-suite structure and outward narrative, a regression for eight industries, from 2011 to 2014, measure correlation between external and organizational positioning. Additional regressions examine industry-sensitivity and leader-laggard dynamics. Five of the eight industries demonstrate correlation between architectural repositioning and perceived investor support for big data, indicating that big data intensive C-suite architecture correlates with letter to the shareholder big data emphasis

Do Relationships Matter? Evidence from Loan Officer Turnover

We show that the cost of employee turnover in firms that rely on decentralized knowledge and personal relationships depends on the firms' planning horizons and the departing employees' incentives to transfer information. Using exogenous shocks to the relationship between borrowers and loan officers, we document that borrowers whose loan officers are on leave are less likely to receive new loans from the bank, are more likely to apply for credit from other banks, and are more likely to miss payments or go into default. These costs are smaller when turnover is expected, as in the case of maternity leave, or when loan officers have incentives to transfer information, as in the case of voluntary resignations

Three Essays on the Antecedents of Structural Changes in Top Management Teams

This dissertation examines the antecedents of structural changes in top management teams (TMTs). While upper echelons research has mostly focused on the composition, processes, incentives, and leaders of top management teams, structure dimension of TMTs remained relatively unexplored. This thesis shifts the focus to the emerging research on TMT structures by exploring how and why TMT structures change along the role and hierarchy dimensions and by investigating how and why TMTs become structurally interdependent. This dissertation consists of three studies, each of which explores distinct characteristics of TMT structures. Study 1 focuses on the role structures and investigates the antecedents of the presence of a new generational role in TMTs, namely Chief Innovation Officers. Study 2 applies a more general lens and investigates the determinants of the structural interdependence across TMTs. Finally, Study 3 explores the TMT hierarchical structures by analyzing their characteristics and determinants. This doctoral thesis integrates upper echelons literature with different theoretical approaches such as contingency, institutional, and behavioral theory of the firm. It also adopts different research methodologies as inductive and deductive by collecting unique data on Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 firms. Overall, this dissertation makes significant theoretical contributions. First, it responds to the calls from many scholars to pay more attention into the structure of TMTs. Second, it treats TMT characteristics and structures as consequences rather than antecedents to firm performance and explores the determinants of different TMT structural reconfigurations accordingly. Finally, it introduces behavioral theory of the firm as a new lens to analyze the antecedents of TMT structural changes by demonstrating how firms can engage in problemistic search for their TMT structures when they are below their performance aspirations

Limits of language: Stylistic, linguistic and modal convergence in blue-collar communication

The present study examines how two Danish manufacturing companies communicate corporate information to blue-collar employees located in foreign production units. By drawing on interview and document data from the companies’ communication departments, this study investigates whether staff at headquarters take any particular considerations into account when they communicate with blue-collar employees. The findings – which are discussed on the basis of communication accommodation theory (CAT) (Giles & Wiemann 1987) and the concept of foreigner talk (Ferguson 1975) – reveal that communication professionals at headquarters converge towards blue-collar employees in three distinct ways: in the form of stylistic, linguistic, and modal convergence. The findings also suggest that the need for convergence arises due to three sector-specific factors, namely the economic geography of manufacturing, the physical work environment of production units, and the educational level of blue-collar employees

The role of the C-suite in a self-managing organization

Self-managing organization (SMO) is an organization form that is based on the decentralization of authority. The C-suite or the top management team has the highest executive decision-making power in an organization. This study searched to answer the question, what is the role of the C-suite in a SMO. First, the role of the C-suite is studied on a general level. The composition of the C-suite reflects the values, the focus points, and the working culture of the organization. The C-suite is responsible of the strategy process. In addition to the strategy content, the C-suite decides on the level of involvement of employees and how the strategy is implemented. Depending on the organization, the C-suite can take a role that is more managerial or more focused on leadership. Researchers have defined three criteria for a SMO. They are having radically decentralized authority, a formal system and having them adapted organization wide. When a SMO is successfully implemented it can increase employee intrinsic motivation and productivity. Meeting boundary conditions such as a highly customized product increases the probability of a successful implementation. SMOs are flat organizations that can replace the managers by having motivated employees capable in leading their own work and by creating formal systems e.g. for rewarding. Eventually, the C-suite is responsible for making the high-level decision like the organization form. By having a broad view to the organization’s history, current state and future, the C-suite can analyze the suitability and the degree of self-management to the organization. The C-suite is responsible for setting the direction for the organization, this applies also for SMOs. However, the employee involvement level in strategy process can vary. By listening to the employees needs and concerns and by analyzing the business side, the C-suite can create structures that support self-management. To help the self-managed team to work efficiently and effectively, a coaching system can be introduced. SMOs benefit from having a team responsible for high-level decision. Being actively present in everyday working e.g. as coaches can help the organization to perform better and the C-suite to analyze the organization’s current state. Issues to pay attention to are the suitability of the current organization form, how well the structure supports the organization form and the development of the business