Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Moore School of Business

Sub-Department

Business Administration

First Advisor

Anthony J. Nyberg

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the antecedents to the selection of CEOs with higher levels of narcissism, as well as their impact on the CEO succession process. The first study predicts how and when boards select CEOs with higher levels of narcissism. I predict when firm performance is low, environmental dynamism is high, and when environmental munificence is high, the board is more likely to select a CEO with higher levels of narcissism. I further predict that environmental conditions (i.e., dynamism and munificence) have a moderating effect on the relationship between firm performance and the level of narcissism of the newly-selected CEO. I find no statistically significant evidence that a board will select a CEO with higher levels of narcissism based solely on firm performance or environmental conditions, or a combination of the two.

The second study predicts CEOs with higher levels of narcissism are less involved in the CEO succession process, encourage a more competitive CEO succession process, and have fewer than average ready-now successors while having greater than average numbers of successors who are not-ready-now. It also predicts that when the CEO is highly narcissistic, the board will be less involved in the CEO succession process. I find evidence that CEOs with higher levels of narcissism have lower levels of involvement in the CEO succession process, and that boards are less involved in the CEO succession process when the CEO has higher levels of narcissism. However, I find no statistically significant evidence that CEOs with higher levels of narcissism are related to a more competitive CEO succession processes or number of successors, regardless of successor readiness.

Rights

© 2018, Ormonde R. Cragun

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