In a recent podcast, Insead business school Professor of Strategy Guoli Chen delved into the question as to how much CEOs matter. Chen’s research reveals that CEOs are responsible for only 15% to 20% of business results, depending on the sample size and empirical model used
Guoli Chen, a professor of strategy at Insead graduate business school in France, explains what his research shows about the influence of the CEO on a company’s organizational outcomes on a recent “Insead Knowledge” podcast segment dubbed “Do CEOs Matter?”
The seed for “Do CEOs matter” was planted when, as a 20-year-old professional at a Chinese state-owned firm, Chen came to view his senior management as fascinating and not in a good way.
If reading newspapers, drinking tea and dishing with colleagues could be considered work, his boss's boss excelled at it. He began to contemplate whether the company’s performance would be affected if the boss were replaced by anybody else.
Rather than waiting to find out, Chen moved to an investment bank and was riveted to see that the venture capital wing of the firm selected which companies to fund based mostly on the strength of the founding team, particularly the CEO.
This early-career experience sparked a brilliant academic career devoted to the study of C-suite executives and the complexities that can make or break a business.
Read full article - https://blog.escalon.services/researcher-probes-how-much-ceos-really-matter