前、後任CEO人力資本之關係研討─組織寬裕資源之調和效果

Abstract

企業執行長(CEO)，身為經營團隊中最高階的領導者，負責組織各項重大決策並掌管組織各項日常業務，對公司經營成敗具有關鍵性的影響。而當組織面臨領導人更迭時，如何確保繼任者能夠善用組織資源與能力，並配合內、外部環境以制定合適的策略，使企業達成卓越的績效，不論在理論或實務上都是一個非常值得關注的議題。因此，與CEO傳承有關的研究在策略管理及組織行為等領域中自1960年代開始即如雨後春筍般地出現。經過逾50年的發展，關於CEO傳承的研究已經發展成為兩個主流。其中一個流派側重於CEO繼任者的選擇，包括傳承類型(如：內部拔擢或外部空降)和繼任者的特徵(如：人力資本)。而另一個流派則主要探討CEO傳承後的結果，包括策略變革和公司績效。然而，在這些研究文獻中，主要探討的是環境層級與組織層級相關變數與CEO傳承之間的關係，較少研究考慮到個人層級的變數(如前任CEO的人格特質)對繼任者選擇的影響。有鑑於此，本研究目標為檢視前、後任CEO的人力資本(產業經驗與專業職能)之間的關係，以及組織寬裕資源的調和作用。本研究以美國製造業公司為研究對象，自2010年至2014年間所發生的253個CEO傳承事件作為研究樣本。實證研究結果顯示，前任CEO的人力資本與繼任CEO的人力資本之間存在著正向的線性關係，而組織寬裕資源在此關係中則有負向的調和效果。本研究透過建構個人層級的理論架構補足了過去的研究缺口；同時，也對組織在選擇CEO繼任者時所面臨到的策略考量提出具有管理意涵的建議。

CEO succession, which refers to the process by which boards of directors ensure that their organization has the ability to sustain excellence in CEO leadership over time, is one of the most crucial events in the life of any organization. Over the past five decades, research on CEO succession has evolved into two main streams. One stream focuses on the selections of CEO successors, including succession types and successors’ characteristics. The other stream has devoted to the outcomes of CEO succession, including the strategic change and post-succession performance. Among the classes of research, however, very little empirical work has considered the individual level. In view of the scarce work on the individual level, this study examines the relationship between predecessor CEO’s characteristics and successor CEO’s characteristics in terms of industrial experience and functional expertise, as well as the moderating effect of organizational slack. Drawing observations from 253 CEO successions in 242 publicly traded, U.S. manufacturing firms between 2010 and 2014, this study suggests that There is a positive relationship between predecessor CEO’s human capital and successor CEO’s human capital. In addition, organizational slack plays a negatively moderating role in this relationship. This study complements the research gap by developing a framework describing the individual level of succession event. Besides, more strategic insights may be generated from this study for the selection of CEO successor.