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Centers of Gravity: The Effect of Stable Shared Leadership in Top Management Teams on Firm Growth and Industry Evolution

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  • Rajshree Agarwal
  • Serguey Braguinsky
  • Atsushi Ohyama

Abstract

We study the processes of firm growth in the evolution of the Japanese cotton spinning industry during 1883-1914 by integrating strategy and historical approaches and utilizing rich quantitative firm-level data and detailed business histories. The resultant conceptual model highlights growth outcomes of path dependencies as firms evolve across periods of single vs. shared leadership, establish stability in shared leadership, or experience repeated discord-induced TMT leader departures. While most firms do not experience smooth transitions to stable shared TMT leadership, a focus on value creation, in conjunction with talent recruitment and promotion, enabled some firms to achieve stable shared leadership in spite of discord-induced departures, engage in long term expansion, and emerge as “centers of gravity” for output and talent in the industry.

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  • Rajshree Agarwal & Serguey Braguinsky & Atsushi Ohyama, 2018. "Centers of Gravity: The Effect of Stable Shared Leadership in Top Management Teams on Firm Growth and Industry Evolution," NBER Working Papers 24742, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24742
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    7. Maloney,William F. & Zambrano,Andrés, 2021. "Learning to Learn : Experimentation, Entrepreneurial Capital, and Development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9890, The World Bank.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • N85 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Asia including Middle East

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