RESEARCH

My research spans around the "Upper Echelons" theory. I study the top management teams and how they change depending on different factors. Additionally, I am interested in the new generational and slightly non-traditional roles created in the C-suites as well as the underlying antecedents behind their emergence. Some of my research projects are outlined below.

“RISING STARS OF THE C-SUITE”: ANTECEDENTS OF CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER PRESENCE IN THE TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS with Fabrizio Castellucci and Markus Menz

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of Chief Innovation Officers (CINO) as the new members of Top Management Teams (TMTs). Accordingly, this paper explores the antecedents of CINO presence within the TMTs depending on two different theoretical perspectives, as the behavioral theory of the firm and the institutional theory. In line with the behavioral theory, the paper predicts that CINO presence in TMTs will be positively related to the decreasing performance compared to aspirations across “sales” and “innovation” dimensions. On the other hand, the study also assumes that CINO presence is influenced by the prevalence of the role within the industry of the focal firm, based on the institutional perspectives. After looking at a sample of 280 science-oriented firms listed in the Standard & Poor Index between 2008 and 2017, the paper finds out that CINO presence in TMTs is better explained by institutional arguments rather than behavioral theory ones. The likelihood of CINO presence increases significantly in a firm as its industry peers also create the same role within their TMTs. On the other hand, the likelihood of CINO presence decreases as the firm sales performance decreases compared to its social aspirations, which signals a rather conservative behavior among firms towards CINOs. Moreover, specific innovation performance expressed in terms of patents over R&D spending ratio does not seem to be correlated with CINO presence in the TMTs. The findings of this study contribute to different fields such as Upper Echelons, Innovation Governance and Behavioral Theory of the Firm.

"PEOPLE OR STRUCTURE": HOW DO TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS RESPOND TO PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK? with Fabrizio Castellucci and Markus Menz (Data Collection Stage)