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Management tenure and explanations for success and failure

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  • Schwenk, C

Abstract

Several researchers have argued that executives with longer tenure in their companies may become psychologically committed to the status quo and that this commitment may reduce the quality of decision making and company performance. The study described in this paper extends prior research on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and top management team (TMT) tenure and on attributions of responsibility for past performance by assessing the relationship between tenure, company experience and attribution patterns. The results show that CEO and TMT tenure and company experience are positively associated with self-serving attributions (taking credit for positive outcomes and laying blame on the environment for negative outcomes), which are, in turn, associated with lower subsequent financial performance. However, tenure and company experience are not directly associated with poor performance to a significant degree. These results suggest that executives with more extensive experience in a company tend to identify more strongly with the company and with current strategy and therefore attribute negative outcomes to external causes. This biased attribution pattern in turn may reduce the effectiveness of decision making, leading to poorer future performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Schwenk, C, 1993. "Management tenure and explanations for success and failure," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 449-456, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jomega:v:21:y:1993:i:4:p:449-456
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Aerts, Walter, 2005. "Picking up the pieces: impression management in the retrospective attributional framing of accounting outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 493-517, August.
    2. Srivastava, Abhishek & Lee, Hun, 2005. "Predicting order and timing of new product moves: the role of top management in corporate entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 459-481, July.
    3. Mark Clatworthy & Michael Jones, 2003. "Financial reporting of good news and bad news: evidence from accounting narratives," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 171-185.
    4. Rutherford, Brian A., 2013. "A genre-theoretic approach to financial reporting research," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 297-310.
    5. Abraham Carmeli & Zachary Sheaffer, 2009. "How Leadership Characteristics Affect Organizational Decline and Downsizing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(3), pages 363-378, May.
    6. Stefan Schmid & Simon Mitterreiter, 2020. "International Top Managers on Corporate Boards: Dissimilarity and Tenure," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(5), pages 787-825, October.
    7. Li, Chihua & Tseng, Yijie & Chen, Tsung-Kang, 2016. "Top management team expertise and corporate real earnings management activities," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 117-132.
    8. Nina Engels & Denise Fischer-Kreer & Malte Brettel, 2022. "CHRO firm dinosaur versus CHRO role gorilla: the effect of CHRO company and role tenure on firms’ social performance," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 92(6), pages 929-954, August.
    9. Ben Aissa, Sami & Goaied, Mohamed, 2016. "Determinants of Tunisian hotel profitability: The role of managerial efficiency," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 478-487.
    10. Wei Shi & Guoli Chen & Boshuo Li, 2023. "Problem Solving or Responsibility Avoidance? The Role of CEO Internal Attribution Tendency in Shaping Corporate Downsizing in Response to Performance Shortfalls," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1273-1301, July.
    11. Ferreira Leonor Fernandes & Fernandes Joaquim Santana & Rebelo Efigénio, 2024. "A Path Analysis of Goodwill Impairment – Does Corporate Governance Matter?," Journal of Intercultural Management, Sciendo, vol. 16(1), pages 5-48, March.
    12. Jake G. Messersmith & Jeong-Yeon Lee & James P. Guthrie & Yong-Yeon Ji, 2014. "Turnover at the Top: Executive Team Departures and Firm Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 776-793, June.
    13. Diacon, Stephen R. & O'Sullivan, Noel, 1995. "Does corporate governance influence performance? Some evidence from U.K. insurance companies," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 405-424, December.

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