Understanding Top Management and Organizational Change Through Demographic and Processual Analysis*

Abstract

Top management theory has been strongly influenced by demographic studies of top management teams (TMTs), but not by research into organizational adaptation to conditions of extreme institutional turbulence. This article analyses the transformation of a post-socialist enterprise through a combination of demographic and processual methods to develop an enriched account of the micro-processes through which top management constructed organizational change. Adding layers of narrative data and processual explanation directly addresses the well rehearsed problems in demographic TMT studies. From the findings, we propose a set of theoretical arguments that conceptualizes top management in terms of management regimes, to which TMTs are politically tied and through which they seek to realize their values and strategies in organizational outcomes. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2007.

Exploitation and exploration learning and the development of organizational capabilities: A cross-case analysis of the Russian oil industry

“…Their entrepreneurial approach enabled them to do things differently. These characteristics resemble features observed in other turbulent contexts, which show that short tenure and heterogeneity of the TMT assist organizational change (Clark & Soulsby, 2007;Lawrence, 1997) and improve organizational performance in turbulent environments (Keck, 1997).…”

International returnees as outside directors: A catalyst for strategic adaptation under institutional pressure

“…We argue that demographic characteristics can make a difference in such a situation. Organizational members whose experiences and characteristics put them on the fringe of the specific institutional environment are less likely to be restricted by current institutional pressures and logics (Clark & Soulsby, 2007;DeFillippi & Ornstein, 2003;Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). As such, demographic characteristics, particularly those that influence knowledge acquisition and business experience, may affect outside directors' ability to understand and articulate the effective decision controls necessary to promote and safeguard shareholder interests (Forbes & Milliken, 1999).…”

“…Building on extant literature that the demographic characteristics of top decision-makers impact the types of strategic change that the firm will pursue (Clark & Soulsby, 2007), we argue that returnee outside directors represent a unique and important demographic group in large, emerging-market based corporations. We consider the possibility that, as international boundary spanners, their experience provides them with both the knowledge and legitimacy necessary to drive corporate level strategic changes that conform to the institutional logics of Anglo-American business practices-which were perceived as a global standard in Korea following the Asian financial crisis in 1997.…”

The Role of External Environment in Upper Echelons Theory

“…x In transition economies, political motive and processes take precedence over the social and cognitive processes in explaining stability and change in TMT and managerial regime (Clark & Soulsby, 2007) Policy changes…”