scholarly journals Conversations across the table: shared cognition in top management teams

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Evans
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Team Cognition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mapping Techniques

Purpose This paper aims to examine the shared mental models (SMMs) of a top management team (TMT) using an emergent perspective in conditions of uncertainty. The paper examines how a TMT conversation represents an emergent cognitive process to reach an action for future planning. Design/methodology/approach The design uses an emergent SMM approach based on a TMT discussion in an uncertain context. Cognitive mapping techniques illustrate how concepts emerge and are structured. This approach addresses the need for an alternative to aggregate mapping methods and supports the notion of team cognition as an emergent and dynamic process. Findings Findings showed that the emergence of a SMM could be elicited and represented using cognitive mapping techniques. Domain knowledge and social relationships supported the emergence of shared knowledge relevant for action on team tasks. A SMM based on team contribution and concept connectivity was identified. Research limitations/implications The study is based on data collected from a recorded discussion in a quarterly company meeting, ten days before the UK’s original planned exit date, March 2019. Originality/value This research study contributes to the SMM and team cognition literature streams by examining the TMT’s shared understanding as an emergent process. Empirical studies using cognitive mapping techniques in this context are rare.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Bank top management teams, disclosure, learning, survival and failure – 1990-2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Holland
Keyword(s):  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Shareholder Wealth ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bank Disclosure ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Financial Communications

Purpose Corporate financial communications concern public and private disclosure (Holland, 2005). This paper aims to explain how banks developed financial communications and how problems emerged in the global financial crisis. It explores policy responses. Design/methodology/approach Bank cases reveal construction and destruction of the social, knowledge and economic world of financial communications over two periods. Findings In the 1990s, learning about financial communications by a “dominant coalition” (Cyert, March, 1963) in bank top management was stimulated by gradual change. The management learnt how to accumulate social and cultural capital and developed “habitus” for disclosure (Bourdieu, 1986). From 2000, rapid change and secrecy factors accelerated bank internalisation of shareholder wealth maximising values, turning “habitus” in “market for information” (MFI) (Barker, 1998) into a “psychic prison” (Morgan,1986), creating riskier bank cultures (Schein, 2004) and constraining learning. Research limitations/implications The paper introduces sociological concepts to banking research and financial disclosures to increase the understanding about financial information and bank culture and about how regulation can avoid crises. Limitations reflect the small number of banks and range of qualitative data. Practical implications Regulators will have to make visible the change processes, new contexts and knowledge and connections to bank risk and performance through improved regulator action and bank public disclosure. Social Implications “Masking” and rituals (Andon and Free, 2012) restricted bank disclosure and weakened governance and market pressures on banks. These factors mediated bank failure and survival in 2008, as “psychic prisons” “fell apart”. Bank and MFI agents experienced a “cosmology episode” (Weick, 1988). Financial communications structures failed but were reconstructed by regulators. Originality/value The paper shows how citizens require transparency and contested accountability to democratise finance capitalism. Otherwise, problems will recur.

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.

The antecedents of innovation performance: the moderating role of top management team diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng-Yu Li ◽  
Kuo-Feng Huang
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
International Diversification ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
D Investment ◽  
Educational Diversity

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate why firms engaged in R&D investment and international diversification produce different results in innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a sample of 283 Taiwanese manufacturing firms in the information technology industry.FindingsThe findings showed that in the top management teams (TMTs) with greater tenure diversity there was a stronger relationship between R&D investment and innovation performance. In addition, the TMTs with greater educational diversity enhanced the relationship between international diversification and innovation performance.Originality/valueThis study stresses the vital role of TMT diversity in resource allocation and information processing during the process of innovation. The authors examined the critical role of TMT educational diversity in bringing a wider range of network resources and the role of TMT tenure diversity in the allocation of firm-specific resources. The TMT diversity causes firms to experience different innovation results during the innovation process.

Dynamic modeling of strategic thinking for top management teams and its impact on firm performance: a system dynamics approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqueeb Sohail Shaik ◽  
Sanjay Dhir
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Psychological Traits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Thinking Process

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to model the strategic thinking process, considering the different psychological traits of TMTs (top management teams) and how the technological dynamism affects the strategies framed together impacting the performance of the firm.Design/methodology/approachModeling and simulation are done in this study using the system dynamics (SD) tool. The data are extracted using social media analytics, and the same is given as an input for the SDmodel, which is used for modeling and simulation of the interdependencies between the psychological factors, technological dynamism and firm performance. The analysis decodes how a change in the thinking process of a TMT has an impact on the performance of the company in an automobile market.FindingsThe study has explained how different psychological traits affect the thinking process of a TMT and how the strategies framed with this thinking behavior have an impact on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited only to the automobile industry in India, and only partial psychological constructs were considered to examine their impact on firm performance. This study can be further extended by analyzing the same to various other industries along with many other psychological constructs.Practical implicationsThe findings identify the change in behavior of the performance due to the thinking process and technological dynamism. This helps the top management to take into consideration different factors that affect the strategies framed for the company and what are the threshold points in the system that are to be focused on during the framing of a strategy.Originality/valueThe study fills the unattended gaps in the literature regarding how the psychological traits are interdependent and how their relationship is affecting the thinking process, which is going to have an impact on the behavior of the firm performance. It also adds to the literature of systems thinking.

Unfolding the concept of a TMT-diversification strategy fit

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 139-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Weiss ◽  
Dirk Schneider ◽  
Jekaterina Lebid
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Upper Echelons ◽  
Conceptual Foundation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Upper Echelons Theory ◽  
Strategy Fit ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a conceptual foundation of a fit between top management teams (TMTs) and their company’s corporate strategy. The authors fortify the importance of the concept of fit if the impact of upper echelons on organizational performance is trying to be explained. Yet, a constitutive concept of fit for the corporate strategy, a particularly important dimension of strategy, was previously neglected. Design/methodology/approach – In a conceptual/theoretical approach, the authors selected demographic managerial characteristics from previous empirical studies from the research stream on upper echelons and combined them with other promising characteristics. To analyze them in respect to the requirements of low and highly diversified companies, the authors applied the concept of the dominant logic, an important theory in the field of corporate strategy. Findings – The authors establish two distinct profiles of TMT members for low and high degrees of diversification and provide guidance on how to measure the TMT-corporate strategy fit – for individual TMT members and for the entire TMT – as a degree of fit on a ratio scale. Originality/value – This work constitutes the first exhaustive concept of a TMT-corporate strategy fit. It provides a profound research foundation for scholars in the field of TMTs and the upper echelons theory as well as a promising and complementary perspective for practitioners when assessing their TMT composition.

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