Top management team demography and firm operating performance: a path analysis
Journal of Strategy and Management
ISSN: 1755-425X
Article publication date: 22 August 2020
Issue publication date: 25 January 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examined the relationship between TMT demographic properties and firm performance using diversity and level variables and measuring differing constructs of firm performance representing divergent strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling was used to test the relationships between TMT demographic properties and firm performance measured as return on net operating assets (RNOA), and its disaggregates profit margin (PM) and asset turnover (ATO). Data were from 89 Finnish firms during the years 2008–2011, resulting in 320 observations.
Findings
TMT team tenure had associations with RNOA through both PM and ATO while TMT age, age diversity, firm tenure, firm tenure diversity and team tenure diversity showed paths through ATO. TMT firm tenure diversity showed effects in opposing directions through PM and ATO.
Practical implications
The results help to understand and apply the separate effects of age, firm tenure and team tenure on TMT and firm performance. These results also provide explanations on how these TMT properties affect firm performance in diverse types of firms pursuing different strategies.
Originality/value
The results suggest that both diversity and level in a measured TMT demographic property are linked with firm performance, and the effect can be in differing directions. These links go through differing paths when using disaggregated operational firm performance measures. Also, diversity in top management is not always beneficial since it can cause separation or conflict impairing performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by University of Jyväskylä grants 1/13.00.04.00/2015 and 2018 awarded to Tapio Jukka.
Citation
Jukka, T. (2021), "Top management team demography and firm operating performance: a path analysis", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 19-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-12-2019-0224
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited