Differences that matter: hiring modes and demographic (dis)similarity in executive selection

Georgakakis, D., Greve, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2936-4399 and Ruigrok, W. (2021) Differences that matter: hiring modes and demographic (dis)similarity in executive selection. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32 (3). pp. 650-679. ISSN 1466-4399 doi: 10.1080/09585192.2018.1496126

Abstract/Summary

Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have long acknowledged the importance of understanding the antecedents of top management team (TMT) composition. Yet, research on how and why firms select executives who are demographically dissimilar to incumbent TMT members remains limited. We take a step toward answering these questions by employing a sample of 575 individual-level executive appointments at 170 large European firms between 2005 and 2009. Drawing on the person-group fit perspective, we argue that firms are more likely to appoint socio-demographically dissimilar executives through internal promotion – while external hires are more likely to socio-demographically resemble incumbent top managers. Our results support the hypothesized relationship. They also show that this relationship is influenced by the level of administrative complexity and environmental uncertainty facing the firm. Overall, our theory and results enhance our understanding of ‘why top management teams are composed the way they are’, by highlighting the impact of internal and external hiring modes in the selection of demographically (dis)similar executives.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/78123
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/09585192.2018.1496126
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Henley Business School > International Business and Strategy
Uncontrolled Keywords	executive appointments, diversity, top management teams, upper echelons
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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