Human capital in top management teams seen through the lens of senior human resources managers

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 571-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Garcia-Carbonell ◽  
Fernando Martin-Alcazar ◽  
Gonzalo Sanchez-Gardey
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Human Resources Managers ◽  
Strategic Issue

Purpose Despite the strong influence of Hambrick and Mason’s (1984) seminal work, the effects of top management team (TMT) characteristics on strategic processes remain unclear. This study aims to go beyond the traditional upper echelon theory and to propose a human capital taxonomy of TMTs from the perspective of top human resources managers. Design/methodology/approach The research integrates arguments from the strategic human capital and strategic issue diagnosis literatures. An exploratory cluster analysis was conducted in an attempt to describe different human capital typologies in TMTs in a sample of 120 Spanish companies. Findings The exploratory analysis showed three distinct human capital profiles: “technocratic teams”, “highly skilled teams” and “operational teams”. In addition, this paper provides preliminary results about the effects of each profile in the above taxonomy on strategic issue diagnostic processes, suggesting that “highly skilled teams” present the most appropriate combination of human capital attributes. Practical/implications This analysis provides a guide for top managers regarding the human capital needs they may face when interpreting strategic issues in strategy formation processes. Originality/value This paper makes a twofold contribution to the extant literature: proposing an analysis of TMTs’ human capital from a synergistic perspective (“human capital profiles”) instead of using the traditional “more is better” approach and providing preliminary explanations about how those human capital combinations contribute to success in the strategic issue diagnosis process.

Strategic issue diagnosis by top management teams: A multiple-agent model

2021 ◽  
pp. 147612702199379
Author(s):  
Kent D Miller ◽  
Shu-Jou Lin
Keyword(s):  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Learning From Experience ◽  
Agent Model ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Multiple Agent ◽  
Strategic Issue ◽  
Diagnosis Accuracy

This study proposes an explanation for the accuracy of top management teams’ diagnoses of strategic issues. Key determinants are the number of members on the management team, as well as the span of managers’ attention and its allocation to the environment and to other managers. Depending on the nature of the issues faced, managers who reason analogically from past experience to draw inferences about current strategic issues may arrive at accurate or inaccurate diagnoses. We specify and analyze a multiple-agent model that encompasses individual, top management team, and context characteristics relevant to classifying strategic issues as opportunities or threats based on learning from experience. Results from our model indicate that attending to the environment improves the accuracy of strategic issue diagnoses, whereas attending to other managers’ inferences proves detrimental. Adding members can enhance issue diagnosis accuracy for a team that makes decisions according to majority-rule voting, despite leaving the accuracy of individual managers’ diagnoses unchanged.

Can corporate philanthropy be driven from the bottom to the top? Evidence from China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 841-861
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Shenjiang Mo ◽  
Honghui Chen ◽  
Jintao Wu
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Philanthropy ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that corporate philanthropy can be driven from the bottom to the top. In particular, the authors investigate whether employees’ donations influence corporate philanthropy and under what conditions this effect occurs. Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of Chinese listed firms that disclosed the amount employees donated in response to the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. The Heckman two-stage selection model is applied to examine the effect of employees’ donations on corporate philanthropy and the conditions under which this effect occurs. Findings The results show that employees’ donations are positively associated with corporate philanthropy. Furthermore, a higher percentage of females in top management teams can significantly strengthen the effect of employees’ donations on corporate philanthropy. When the average age of the top management team members is high, the influence of employees’ donations on corporate philanthropy is stronger. Practical implications This is an empirical study that helps to predict corporate philanthropy. Another practical implication is that employees should be recognized as an important element of corporate social responsibility. Social implications The results encourage employees to become drivers of corporate social responsibility. Originality/value This study contributes to the corporate social responsibility literature by demonstrating that corporate philanthropy can be driven from the bottom to the top. Moreover, this study integrates signaling theory into the study of corporate social responsibility. Finally, this study identifies two important contingent factors that strengthen the effect of employees on top managers’ decisions about corporate social responsibility.

The glue that holds an organization together: building organizational vision with top management teams

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Frank Lattuch ◽  
Patricia Dankert
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Development ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Organizational Vision ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Top-management teams often have no shared understanding of the organizational vision, or they find it unhelpful for decision-making due to its vague and uninspiring style. The purpose of this paper is to test a theory-based workshop to effectively develop a shared vision for organizational development and learning. Design/methodology/approach Based on the Collins and Porras (2008) vision framework, the authors tested a workshop design with top management teams. Findings The outlined vision workshop is a useful tool to develop a shared organizational vision in a systematic way. Originality/value This paper provides a practical approach to vision building that is relevant and shared by top management teams. Lessons drawn from the case analysis provide insights into the means by which organizations can shape their development through a compelling, guiding force.

Antecedents of relationship conflict in top management teams

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Camelo-Ordaz ◽  
Joaquin García-Cruz ◽  
Elena Sousa-Ginel
Keyword(s):  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Top Management ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Integration ◽  
Measurement Analysis ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Relationship Of

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of two categories of conflict antecedents – input and behavior antecedents – on the level of relationship conflict (RC) in top management teams (TMTs). The authors apply a process view to conflict, and consider that the effect of the input antecedents on RC may be mediated by a behavioral antecedent: behavioral integration. Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey instrument, multi-informant data were collected from 64 TMTs. An aggregation and measurement analysis was performed. To test the hypotheses of mediation, bootstrapping procedures were used. Findings – The results show that the effects of team tenure, intragroup trust and value consensus on relationship conflict are mediated by behavioral integration. However, TMT size does not affect relationship conflict – either directly or indirectly – through behavioral integration. Research limitations/implications – It is concluded that encouraging intragroup trust and value consensus among TMT members facilitates the integrated behavior of the team. This behavioral integration may allow conflict to be constructive. Therefore, firms should make an effort to encourage this psychological context. Originality/value – Previous research about the antecedents of RC in the field of TMTs is inconclusive. Additionally, a new approach to conflict antecedents is considered, to establish a direct and independent relationship between different categories of antecedents and TMT conflict. A relationship of interdependence is considered between different types of antecedents and their effects on RC.

Is top-management remuneration influenced by board characteristics?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastien Deschenes ◽  
Hamadou Boubacar ◽  
Miguel Rojas ◽  
Tania Morris
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Management Compensation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Characteristics ◽  
Good Corporate Governance

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine if certain board characteristics have an impact on the total remuneration of top management and the ratio of stock-based remuneration to total top-management remuneration. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on data from the largest public Canadian companies, the constituents of the TSX/60 index. The study controls for firm size and profitability. Findings – The authors concludes that total remuneration of top management is directly linked to board-member total remuneration and the board average number of director-tenure years. The study also shows that the ratio of stock-based to total top-management remuneration is positively affected by the percentage of independent directors, total remuneration of board directors, the ratio of stock-based remuneration of directors to their total remuneration and the average number of tenure years of the board of directors. Practical implications – If regulators are determined to curb the excesses in top-management remuneration by means of promoting boards with certain characteristics, they should implement measures facilitating the control of directors’ remuneration and tenure, to discourage cronyistic behavior. Good corporate governance requires that the board act as a counterbalance to top management, ensuring that a substantial percentage of top-executive total compensation is variable, and not fixed. According to our findings, the boards that are the most likely to hold managerial avoidance of variable pay in check are those favoring director independence, variable director remuneration and longer director tenures. Social implications – The present article examines specifically the latter aspect, namely, the role of board characteristics (independence, size, compensation, board director ownership and tenure, etc.) in the determination of top-management compensation. This relationship is important because it allows us to further the analysis of corporate governance. If the above-mentioned traits of boards have a meaningful relationship with the compensation of the top management, one might conclude that certain practices in the composition of boards could influence good corporate governance practices. This is relevant for regulatory agencies, for investors and for corporations. Originality/value – The article adds to the extant literature in a number of ways. Firstly, it considers the role of the traits of the board in the determination of the compensation of the top-management teams, and not only of the chief executive officer, as is the focus of previous literature. Secondly, the article focuses on the power interplay between boards and managers, and, more particularly, on the ability of boards to be an effective mechanism of corporate governance. Finally, the article examines the potential impact of board traits in the determination of top-management compensation in the context of Canadian firms, a subject that has received less attention from academic research, which has mostly concentrated on analyzing the issue in the US context.

Talent management in government organizations: identification of challenges and ranking the solutions to address them

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad-Hadi Sehatpour ◽  
Behnam Abedin ◽  
Aliyeh Kazemi
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

PurposeThe main aim of this research is to rank and prioritize the solutions to address the challenges for the successful implementation of talent management (TM) in government banks in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThis paper has identified the challenges of TM implementation in government banks and proposed the solutions to address these challenges through a review of the extant literature. The identified challenges and solutions were ranked using two multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods called PROMETHEE and VIKOR based on the insights from 20 senior managers of government banks in Iran.FindingsThe challenges and solutions were categorized into cultural, managerial, human resources and environmental-related factors. “Building culture of TM in organizations”, “making TM as an ongoing process in organizations”, “commitment of senior managers to TM process”, “managing TM pipeline” and “focusing on meritocracy in recruitment and selections” were ranked as the top solutions to address cultural, managerial, human resources and environmental challenges, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings can provide a comprehensive view of different types of challenges and solutions in the TM process for government organizations and institutions. It also provides helpful insights for top managers to define their organizations' strategies effectively and to implement the TM process by ranking and prioritizing the solutions to address their challenges.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to develop a comprehensive framework in which, identification of different types of challenges in the implementation of TM processes can be addressed and the approaches to remove or mitigate the effects of these challenges are ranked by using two well-established MCDM techniques.

scholarly journals The politics of sensemaking and sensegiving at work

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathrine Filstad
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Middle Management ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate how political activities and processes influence sensemaking and sensegiving among top management, middle management and employees and to examine its consequences for implementing new knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in a Norwegian bank using in-depth interviews with middle managers and financial advisers. Observations of meetings, informal conversations and verbatim notes were also used in data collection among top managers. A practice-based approach was used as an analytical lens. Findings – Top managers' political activities of excluding others from the decision process affect their sensemaking and resulted in sensegiving contradictions between spoken intent and how to change practice. Middle managers' political activities were to accept top managers' sensegiving instead of managing themselves in their own sensemaking to help financial advisers with how to change their role and practice. As a result, middle managers' sensemaking affects their engagement in sensegiving. For financial advisers, the political processes of top and middle managers resulted in resistance and not making sense of how to change and implement new knowledge. Research limitations/implications – A total of 30 in-depth interviews, observations of five meetings and informal conversations might call for further studies. In addition, a Norwegian study does not account for other countries' cultural differences concerning leadership style, openness in decisions and employee autonomy. Originality/value – To the author's knowledge, no studies identify the three-way conceptual relationship between political activities, sensemaking and sensegiving. In addition, the author believes that the originality lies in investigating these relationships using a three-level hierarchy of top management, middle management and employees.

Corporate entrepreneurship strategy: an analysis of top management teams in SMEs

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi ◽  
Khaled Nawaser ◽  
Alexander Brem
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Ambiguity Tolerance ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
East Of Iran

Purpose In order to learn more about the antecedents of strategy at the top management team’s (TMT) level, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of TMT cultural intelligence on corporate entrepreneurship strategy. Then, the authors examine how TMT’s ambiguity tolerance mediates this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the hypothesis by collecting survey data from 41 TMTs of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the south-east of Iran. Findings The survey results confirm that a high level of cultural intelligence in TMTs is conducive to corporate entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the result shows that higher levels of cultural intelligence in TMTs relate to a higher level of ambiguity tolerance, which, in turn, enhances the possibility of pursuing corporate entrepreneurship strategy by SMEs. Research limitations/implications The data for this study were obtained from 41 TMTs in the south-east of Iran, which increases the probability that the results may not be directly transferable to certain companies in Western countries. Future research might attempt to test the ideas developed in this paper across different settings and samples. Originality/value Several theoretical and empirical studies have explored possible antecedents of corporate entrepreneurship. But a few papers investigated the role of TMT dispositions on corporate entrepreneurship strategy. By addressing the prominent role of TMT psychological dispositions on corporate entrepreneurship strategy, this paper attempts to fill this gap.

Top management team international experience and strategic decision-making

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akbar Azam ◽  
Cristina Boari ◽  
Fabiola Bertolotti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Top Management Team ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
International Experience ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Team ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Strategic Decision Making ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of top management team international experience on international strategic decision-making rationality and, subsequently, its effect on decision effectiveness (decision performance). Design/methodology/approach This analysis is based on survey data of small- and medium-sized international Pakistani firms operating in the IT industry. Findings Results show that top management team international experience is positively related to international strategic decision-making rationality, and the latter partially mediates the international experience – decision effectiveness relationship. Research limitations/implications The study is based on data collected from a single industry and focuses on an international decision that occurred within a time-frame of previous four years. Practical implications Findings suggest that international firms, when composing their top management teams, should favor the inclusion of internationally experienced managers. Originality/value The study of the influence of international experience on the decision-making process in general and decision-making rationality in particular has been largely neglected in extant literature. This paper highlights one way through which the international experience of the top management team as a whole relates to the effectiveness of international decisions. The paper also advances emergent managerial cognition literature focusing on the top management team and not individual decision makers.

Revisiting the potential of human capital development to predict commitment: an empirical approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 289-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benon Muhumuza ◽  
Sudi Nangoli
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Human Capital Development ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Capital Development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to revisit the potential of human capital development to predict commitment from an empirical perspective. This followed the fact that while organisations continue to invest a lot of resources into development of their human capital, a growing tendency of the trained staff to quickly abandon the organisation and move on to search for greener pastures has also been registered.Design/methodology/approachThis study takes a positivistic approach. It is an explanatory, cross-sectional study that is based on a case study approach.FindingsThe findings revealed that developing human resources still leads to enhanced commitment among staff. The findings provide empirical support for the tenets of the human capital development theory.Research limitations/implicationsInvestment in development of human resources is still a worthy while cause for organisations as it positively and significantly contributes to commitment.Practical implicationsWhile organisations ought to keep watch of the costs that come with human capital development endeavours the practice of developing human resources should be continued as it contributes to the organisational performance of staff.Originality/valueThe paper deepens the understanding on how human capital development is currently enhancing the commitment of organisational staff in a typical developing economy and sector. Such knowledge provides a clear basis for allocating resources on people development endeavours.

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