Impact of buyer-supplier TMT misalignment on environmental performance

Abstract

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between buyer-supplier top management team (TMT) demographic misalignment (defined as differences in TMT composition based on background, age and gender) and environmental performance (EVP).Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting is publicly held US manufacturing firms that are present in both the Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini’s (KLD's) annual EVP ratings and Bloomberg's supply chain database. The study employs panel data regression methods on an unbalanced panel dataset of 7,493 dyad-year observations comprising 427 unique firms.FindingsThe research shows that misalignment in functional background and gender composition between TMTs have a negative outcome on both the buyer's and the suppliers' EVP. However, increasing presence of females across TMTs has a positive influence on EVP. Further, the research shows that misalignment based on age between the TMTs does not impact EVP in any significant way. On the contrary, increasing age across TMTs is a significant predictor of EVP.Originality/valueThis study builds on existing works in TMT heterogeneity and adds context to the heightening belief in the positive linkage between heterogeneity and performance through extension to a boundary spanning interfirm context.

Women leaders and corporate social performance: do critical mass, CEO managerial ability and corporate governance matter?

“…Consistent with this view, BoDs, considered as the central corporate governance (CG) axis of the decision-making body in a public corporation, are faced with how best to safeguard the interests of a broader stakeholder. Empirical literature (Lim and Chung, 2021;Villalba-R ıos et al, 2021;Burkhardt et al, 2021;Tran and Pham, 2020;Kumar et al, 2020;Pan et al, 2020;Furlotti et al, 2019;Zou et al, 2018), based on the aforementioned theories, suggests that firms with female leaders, CEOs with higher ability and stronger board attributes achieve superior social performance. A significant limitation of this literature is that while CEO managerial ability and CG attributes are assumed to be the main factors driving superior social performance, these variables are neither explicitly incorporated in the CSP research design nor jointly considered to display how they complement or substitute the impact female leaders have on CSP.…”

“…, Villalba-R ıos et al (2021),Burkhardt et al (2021),Kumar et al (2020) andPan et al (2020) who supported that gender diversity among top leaders is associated with a stronger commitment to environmental and social strategies. Moreover, they are in line withTran and Pham (2020) who indicate that leader gender diversity is an important driver of CSP.…”

Using supply chain databases in academic research: A methodological critique

“…In dyadic/triadic settings, the regressors reflect supply chain partners' characteristics, such as size (Kumar et al, 2019); cultural, demographics, and power differences between the buyer and the supplier (e.g., Kumar et al, 2020); and the tenure and strength of the relationship (e.g., Chae et al, 2020). In studies that consider the extended supply network, variables are defined through a network analysis perspective (see Borgatti & Li, 2009, for an overview) to derive both global measures (e.g., clustering and density) and node-level dimensions (e.g., degree and betweenness centrality) (Adhikary et al, 2020;Basole et al, 2018;Falcone et al, 2022;Sharma et al, 2019).…”

“…These relationships-approximately 2000 per year (Agca et al, 2022)-are also included in Bloomberg, FactSet, and Mergent. Further, these have global coverage and monitor also other sources. As a result, they identify at least seven times more buyer-supplier relationships than Compustat (Kumar et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2015). For these reasons, Compustat was not considered here.…”

Supply chain and operations management on the TMT: A study of recall propensity

“…We extend UET by theorizing on the benefits to the strategic search process of having SCOM presence on the TMT through incorporating search theory logic. We further extend UET by theorizing with regard to the role that SCOM experience plays in the behavioral drivers of executive decision making, building on prior research which identified the importance of the SCOM function in the TMT (Flöthmann & Hoberg, 2017; Hendricks et al, 2014; Kumar et al, 2020; Kumar & Paraskevas, 2018; Roh et al, 2016; Wagner & Kemmerling, 2014). We do this by detailing how SCOM experience impacts an executive's field of vision, selective perception, and interpretation, all of which drive the executive's search for strategic options (Hambrick & Mason, 1984).…”