Shifting Perspectives: How Scrutiny Shapes the Relationship Between CEO Gender and Acquisition Activity

Research Summary: Several upper echelons studies have found that firms led by female executives are less likely to engage in risky endeavors than those led by male top executives. We argue that conceptualizing female CEOs as universally conservative decision-makers may paint too simplistic a picture and that the impact of CEO gender on strategic decision-making may vary significantly depending on the given situation CEOs are experiencing. We integrate executive job demands and gender research to propose that scrutiny will exhibit differential effects on female and male CEOs\u27 acquisition activity. We show that in high-scrutiny contexts, the difference between male and female CEO acquisition activity disappears. In contrast, in low-scrutiny contexts, the difference between male and female CEOs\u27 acquisition activity is exaggerated. Managerial Summary: Substantial research has shown that female executives acquire at a lower rate than male executives. We argue that viewing female CEOs as universally conservative decision-makers may paint too simplistic a picture and that the impact of CEO gender on strategic decision-making may vary significantly depending on the given situation CEOs are experiencing. In particular, we argue and find that in high-scrutiny contexts, the difference between male and female CEO acquisition activity disappears. This research suggests that managers should consider the impact of environmental context—especially the role of scrutiny—when considering the risk propensity of female leaders

Recommended isolated-line profile for representing high-resolution spectroscopic transitions (IUPAC Technical Report)

The report of an IUPAC Task Group, formed in 2011 on "Intensities and line shapes in high-resolution spectra of water isotopologues from experiment and theory" (Project No. 2011-022-2-100), on line profiles of isolated high-resolution rotational-vibrational transitions perturbed by neutral gas-phase molecules is presented. The well-documented inadequacies of the Voigt profile (VP), used almost universally by databases and radiative-transfer codes, to represent pressure effects and Doppler broadening in isolated vibrational-rotational and pure rotational transitions of the water molecule have resulted in the development of a variety of alternative line-profile models. These models capture more of the physics of the influence of pressure on line shapes but, in general, at the price of greater complexity. The Task Group recommends that the partially Correlated quadratic-Speed-Dependent Hard-Collision profile should be adopted as the appropriate model for high-resolution spectroscopy. For simplicity this should be called the Hartmann--Tran profile (HTP). The HTP is sophisticated enough to capture the various collisional contributions to the isolated line shape, can be computed in a straightforward and rapid manner, and reduces to simpler profiles, including the Voigt profile, under certain simplifying assumptions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Pure and Applied Chemistr

CEO succession and the CEO’s commitment to the status quo

Chief executive officer (CEO) commitment to the status quo (CSQ) is expected to play an important role in any firm’s strategic adaptation. CSQ is used often as an explanation for strategic change occurring after CEO succession: new CEOs are expected to reveal a lower CSQ than established CEOs. Although widely accepted in the literature, this relationship remains imputed but unobserved. We address this research gap and analyze whether new CEOs reveal lower CSQ than established CEOs. By analyzing the letters to the shareholders of German HDAX firms, we find empirical support for our hypothesis of a lower CSQ of newly appointed CEOs compared to established CEOs. However, our detailed analyses provide a differentiated picture. We find support for a lower CSQ of successors after a forced CEO turnover compared to successors after a voluntary turnover, which indicates an influence of the mandate for change on the CEO’s CSQ. However, against the widespread assumption, we do not find support for a lower CSQ of outside successors compared to inside successors, which calls for deeper analyses of the insiderness of new CEOs. Further, our supplementary analyses propose a revised tenure effect: the widely assumed relationship of an increase in CSQ when CEO tenure increases might be driven mainly by the event of CEO succession and may not universally and continuously increase over time, pointing to a “window of opportunity” to initiate strategic change shortly after the succession event. By analyzing the relationship between CEO succession and CEO CSQ, our results contribute to the CSQ literature and provide fruitful impulses for the CEO succession literature

Motivated to acquire? The impact of CEO regulatory focus on firm acquisitions

Regulatory focus theory proposes that decision making and goal pursuit occur via either a promotion focus (a sensitivity to gains and a desire for advancement and growth) or a prevention focus (a sensitivity to losses and a desire for stability and security). Recent theorizing in strategic management research suggests that there may be important firm-level outcomes influenced by the regulatory focus of top executives. We expand research on regulatory focus theory by testing whether chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) regulatory focus impacts the proclivity of firms to undertake acquisitions. Furthermore, regulatory focus theory suggests that the effects of people’s promotion and prevention foci are magnified when their regulatory focus is congruent with salient situational characteristics, a phenomenon known as regulatory fit. As a test of this idea, we demonstrate how the effects of CEO promotion and prevention foci are differentially impacted by one such characteristic, namely incentive compensation. Our findings indicate that CEO regulatory focus impacts both the quantity and scale of acquisitions undertaken by a firm. We also find some support for our arguments that these relationships are moderated by stock option pay

Attitudes about wife abuse among police officers, victims, and victim advocates

Law enforcement agencies are in a position to be of great service to battered women, yet they have recently been criticized for the manner of their response. This survey of police officers, battered women, and advocates for battered women was conducted to shed light on the controversy over the police response. The results show that officers generally viewed marital violence as criminal and unacceptable, yet very few saw arrest as the best solution. In contrast, the majority of victims wanted arrest used, often to force the offender to get help in addition to being punished. Victim-blaming by officers was related to traditional views of women's roles. Somewhat divergent views and negative stereotyping seemed to characterize the police-advocate relationship. Recommendations for improving police-advocate dialogue and police training are given.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90851/1/Saunders-DG-Size-P 1986-Attitudes About Woman Abuse Among Police Officers, Victims, and Victim Advocates JIV.pd