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Strong leadership teams are not only important—they are the key to the success of a CEO and the overall organization. Nonetheless, many leadership teams are highly dysfunctional. Some resemble shark tanks where sharks eat sharks, others are closer to a petting zoo where the pursuit of niceties and harmony drives out healthy disputes, and some are simply mediocracies.
In their new Harvard Business Review article Marianna Zangrillo and Prof Keil explore the root causes of these dysfunctions and what CEOs can do about them.
https://hbr.org/2024/09/why-leadership-teams-fail?ab=HP-topics-image-2
We are delighted to welcome Jan Jenisch, Chairman of the Board (and until April 30 CEO) of Holcim, to our course «Introduction to M&A.» Mr Jenisch will discuss the role that acquisitions and divestments played in Holcim's transformation into a world leader in sustainability.
For the 83rd Academy of Management Conference in Boston, Gian-Luca Asquini received the outstanding reviewer award for the strategic management division. According to the Academy, this award is given to the top 5 or less percent of reviewers as recognized by authors.
Despite all the media hype around star CEOs like Bob Iger at Disney, Jamie Dimon at JPMorgen, or Elon Musk at Tesla, Dr Marianna Zangrillo and Prof Keil argue in this new article in Fast Company that Smart CEOs and other leaders need to surround themselves with equally strong leadership teams.
The article «(In)Consistent Performance Feedback and the Locus Of Search» co-authored with Evangelos Syrigos, Kostas Kostopoulos, Pino Audia and Felix Meisser develops and tests new theory on multiple goals by developing and testing novel theory on the relationship between performance feedback on multiple goals and the locus of search. The paper draws on ana extends behavioral and self-enhancement theories of how organizations and their decision-makers respond to inconsistent feedback on multiple goals.
CEOs and organizational leaders are only as strong as the teams they build. And yet it is surprising how little practical advice there is for senior leaders on how to create, build, and optimize their teams. The new book “The Next Leadership Team” by Prof Keil and Dr Marianna Zangrillo provides actionable guidance for senior leaders on this topic. For more information: https://www.thenextadvisors.ch/leadership-team/
CEO appointments are always controversial and easily trigger negative sentiment among different stakeholders. The new article by Prof Keil (with Dovev Lavie, Stevo Pavicevic, and Marianna Zangrillo) in the May issue of Harvard Business manager discusses how boards and new CEOs can avoid that negative sentiment around the CEO appointment negatively influences the performance of the company.
Prof Dr. Xavier Martin, Full Professor at Tilburg University, is visiting the Chair in International Management throughout the Spring 2023 semester. As part of his visiting semester, Prof Xavier Martin will offer a PhD seminar titled as "Corporate Strategy: Advances in the Study of Corporate Development Activities". The three-day seminar will cover corporate strategy topics, including modes of corporate expansion and cooperation.
The paper provides a review of the research on the impact of organizational experience on subsequent task performance.
The article “When do boards of directors contribute to shareholder value in firms targeted for acquisition? A group information-processing perspective,” co-authored with Stevo Pavicevic (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) and John Haleblian (University of California, Riverside), has been accepted for publication in Organization Science. The paper draws on group information-processing theory to investigate how target boards of directors may contribute to target value capture during the private negotiations stage in acquisitions.
A paper by Sangyun Kim and Prof. Hart E. Posen (University of Wisconsin-Madison) has been chosen Best Paper for the Behavioral Strategy Interest Group at this year’s SMS Conference.
This study ("vicarious experimentation through imitation: evidence from video game sequel releases") examines an underappreciated question in research on imitation: how can innovators learn from being imitated?
The behavioral theory of the firm is among the most used theories in behavioral strategy. A central idea in the behavioral theory of the firm is that when an organization’s performance falls below aspirations, search is triggered. While this aspiration-based model has dominated the empirical literature, it is only one of two Carnegie School accounts of how firms use performance feedback to regulate behavior. A second model rooted, in later work of March, focuses on the characteristics of the choice alternatives faced by firms and the challenges inherent in evaluating them.
The article «The Two Blades of the Scissors: Performance Feedback and Intrinsic Attributes in Organizational Risk-Taking» jointly authored with Xavi Sobrepere, (Barcelona School of Management at Pompeu Fabra University, Spain) and Pasi Kuusela (University of Groningen, Netherlands) has been accepted for publication in Administrative Science Quarterly.
The article “Temporal Dynamics in Acquisition Behavior: The effect of Activity Load on Strategic Momentum, co-authored by Professor Keil with Yuval Deutsch (Schulich School of business at York University, Canada), Tomi Laamanen (University of St. Gallen, Switzerland), and Markku Maula, (Aalto University, Finland) has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Management Studies, a European based FT50 journal.
Prof Keil’s book "The next CEO" co-authored with Dr Marianna Zangrillo has been shortlisted for the 2022 Business Book Awards (https://www.businessbookawards.co.uk/) in the international books category. The Business Book Awards highlight leadership, change and sustainability in business. In 2022 the competition received over 300 submissions.
Sangyun Kim will join the Chair of International Management as of October 1 as postdoc. He recently defended his dissertation with the title “New Perspectives on Organizational Learning in Competitive Contexts” at the University of Madison, Wisconsin in the USA. Sangyun will further strengthen the Chair’s research on behavioral strategy and participate in the Chair’s teaching and administration.
We welcome Sangyun to the team.
After three years as postdoc at the Chair of International Management, Dr Xavi Sobrepere joins the Barcelona School of Management at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain as assistant professor.
We wish him all the best in his new role and look forward to continue collaborating with him in his new role.
Negative reactions by stakeholders to the appointment of a new CEO can create a long term performance problem for the organization. This article in Financial Times reports on recent research by prof Keil (with Dovev Lavie, Bocconi University and Stevo Pavicevic, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) in Academy of Management Journal.
The recent book “The Next CEO” (www.thenextceo.ch) written with Dr Marianna Zangrillo has been nominated as a top ten reading for CEOs this summer by Management Today and CEO Today magazine.
The appointment of outside CEOs has become increasingly common, with about a third of new CEOs originating from outside the firm. Yet many studies on CEO appointments report that outside CEOs underperform compared to inside CEOs and exhibit higher performance variance.
The article The Role of Procedural Rationality in Debiasing Acquisition Decisions of Overconfident CEOs co-authored by Professor Keil with Assistant Professor Stevo Pavicevic (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management) has been accepted for publication in Strategic Management Journal.
Every year, companies spend billions of dollars in board time and headhunter fees on CEO searches. In fact, by many accounts, the selection of the next CEO is the single most important task of the board of directors. Yet, despite the huge amount of time, money, and attention given to the task, many CEO changes fail, with often disastrous consequences for all concerned.
The Chair in International Management is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Dogan Dalay as a postdoctoral research associate (Oberassistent) as of October 1, 2019.
The Chair in International Management is pleased to announce that Dr Evangelos Syrigos has started a new position as Assistant Professor in Corporate strategy (Tenure Track) at the LUISS, Rome, Italy as of October 1, 2019.
The article «The Pre-Deal Phase Of Mergers And Acquisitions: A Review And Research Agenda» co-authored by Professor Keil together with Professor Tomi Laamanen (University of St Gallen), Assistant Professor Stevo Pavicevic (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), and Assistant Professor Xena Welch-Guerra (Erasmus University) has been accepted for publication in Jounral of Management, one of the top journals in Management.
Prof. Keil will represent the field of business administration within the Department Humanities and Social Sciences.
At the 79th Academy of Management Conference in Boston Prof. Keil received an AMJ Best Reviewer Award for his service at the Editorial Board oft he Academy of Management Journal (AMJ).
The article “The Target-Side Acquisition Process: Active Boards and Value-Enhancing Negotiation Decisions” co-authored by Assistant Professor Stevo Pavicevic (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), Professor John Haleblian (UC Riverside) and Professor Keil has been selected for publication in Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2019.
The article “Performance feedback and information processing: How do organizations regulate risk-taking?” co-authored by Dr Sobrepere and Professor Keil has been selected for publication in Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2019.
The article «Focus in Searching Core-Periphery-Structures» co-authored by Professor Keil together with Assistant Professor Dirk Martignoni (USI Lugano) and Dr Markus Lang (UZH) has been accepted for publication in Organization Science, one of the top journals in Management. The article focuses on how attention in organizational search enables organizations to adapt in complex environments.
The Chair in International Management is pleased to announce that Dr Pasi Kuusela has been appointed as Assistant Professor in Organization Studies (Tenure Track) at the University of Groningen as of April 1, 2018.
During June 11-13, 2019 Professor Pino Audia, Tuck School of Business, will visit the Chair of International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on "Self-enhancement and learning from performance feedback". Professor Audia is a leading authority on performance feedback.
The practitioner article “Strategic Initiative Portfolios: How to Manage Strategic Challenges Better than One at a Time” co-authored by Professor Keil with Associate Professor Sven Kunisch (University of Aarhus), Professor Christoph Lechner (University of St Gallen), and Dr Michael Boppel (Six AG) has been accepted for publication in Business Horizon.
During May 2-4, 2019 Professor Albert Cannella Jr., Texas A&M, will visit the Chair of International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on " Upper Echelons and Governance Research". Professor Cannella is a leading authority on corporate governance.
During September 26-28, 2018 Professor John Joseph, University of California Irvine, will visit the Chair in International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on " On the Cognitive Design of Organizations".
A recent study by professor Herman Aguinis and colleagues examined the influence that the research of academic scholars has in strategy practice by looking at how often their work appears in contemporary Strategy and General Management textbooks. We are pleased to announce that Professor Keil was ranked among the top 1.6% of strategy authors out of a total of 6,326 authors as cited in textbooks.
The article “Exploration and Negative Feedback –Behavioral Learning, Escalation of Commitment and Organizational Context” co-authored by Professor Keil and Dr. Kuusela together with Professor Nils Stieglitz (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management) has been accepted for publication in Advances in Strategic Management.
The Chair in International Management is pleased to announce that doctoral candidate Stevo Pavicevic has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Strategy (Tenure Track) at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management as of August 1, 2018.
The article "Renewing Research on Problemistic Search - A Review and Research Agenda" has been accepted for publication in the Academy of Management Annals. The paper is authored jointly by Prof Keil and Felix Meissner with Prof Hart Posen and Sangyun Kim from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Problemistic search is a key concept within the Behavioral Theory of the Firm and describes how organizations learn from performance feedback. The paper synthesizes the extensive literature on the concepts and outlines an agenda for future research. To revitalize research, the authors propose a research agenda premised on a more central role for cognition in the theory and the need for greater emphasis on a process perspective of problemistic search. The full paper can be found on research gate (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287195123_Renewing_Research_on_Problemistic_Search_-_A_Review_and_Research_Agenda).
Professor Anoop Menon from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania visited the Chair in International Management on October 16th, 2017 and presented a paper titled "Bringing Cognition into Value-Based Strategy: Cognitive Capabilities as Sources of Competitive Advantage ".
We are happy to announce that the leadership teams of the Strategic Management Society’s Behavioral Strategy and Global Strategy interest groups recognized Prof. Keil and our doctoral student Mr. Pavicevic with a “Reviewer Award” at the 2017 SMS conference in Houston TX, USA. Every year, the leadership team of the Strategic Management Society gives this award as a token of the interest group’s appreciation for the time and effort individuals put into writing excellent reviews for papers submitted to the annual conference.
Professor Mike Wright from Imperial College Business School in London visited the Chair in International Management on October 12th, 2017 and presented a paper titled " Sustaining the Buyout Governance Model: Inside Secondary Management Buyout Boards”.
During June 20-23, 2017 Professor Jerayr 'John' Haleblian, University of California-Riverside, will visit the Chair in International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on "Current Topics in Mergers and Acquisitions Research".
The article “Supply-Side Network Effects and the Development of IT Standards” co-authored by Professor Keil together with Ass. Professor Juha Uotila (Warwick Business School) and Professor Markku Maula (Aalto University) has been accepted for publication in MIS Quarterly (MISQ). This paper develops a model of the development of IT standards as a coevolutionary technological search process by technology suppliers under supply-side network effects and examines how characteristics of the standards development process influence the outcomes of this search process.
During June 20-22, 2016 Professor Dovev Lavie, Technion, will visit the Chair in International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizations".
The article “Migration and the Choice between Acquisitions and Alliances: an Information Economics Perspective” co-authored by Mr Pavicevic and Professor Keil together with Professor Markku Maula (Aalto University) has been selected for publication in Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2016. In this paper, we investigate global migration as a means of reducing information asymmetry in the context of international entry and expansion. In particular, we argue and empirically show that global migration – which reduces information asymmetries by facilitating information flows between the firm’s home and host countries – increases the likelihood of a focal firm choosing an acquisition over an alliance. Our findings contribute to the literature on information economics and extend our understanding of migration’s role in international management.
Chair in International Management is organizing a research seminar under the title "Cognition and Strategic Factor Markets" by Professor Michael J. Leiblein, The Ohio State University. The seminar will be held on May 17th, 2016, 14:00-16:00 at the University of Zurich, room KOL-G-222.
The article “Driven by aspirations, but in what direction? Performance shortfalls, slack resources and resource-consuming vs. resource-freeing organizational change” co-authored by Dr. Kuusela and Professor Keil together with Professor Markku Maula (Aalto University) has been accepted for publication in Strategic Management Journal (SMJ).
We are happy to announce that our doctoral candidate Stevo Pavicevic received a prestigious Dissertation Research Award by the Strategy Research Foundation of the Strategic Management Society for 2015. Every year SRF awards research grants to young strategy scholars selected in a competitive application and review process. The purpose of the Dissertation Research Program is to aid the development of scholars who generate new knowledge in the field of strategic management.
We are happy to announce that Dr Syrigos and Prof Keil publish an article in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice journal titled "CEO Entrepreneurial Orientation, Entrenchment, and Firm Value Creation".
We are happy to announce that our doctoral candidate Stevo Pavicevic presented in the Strategic Management Society 35th Annual International Conference 2015 in Denver (USA) his work titled "Global Migration and the Choice Between Acquisitions and Alliances" coauthored by Professor Thomas Keil (Chair in International Management) and Professor Markku Maula (Aalto University).
At the 75th Academy of Management Conference in Vancouver Prof. Keil received an Editorial Board Outstanding Reviewer award for his service at the Academy of Management Journal (AMJ).
As of September 1, 2015, Prof Keil has been named Senior Editor at Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice (ET&P). ET&P is one of only two entrepreneurship journals on the Financial Times 45 list of top management journals.
Professor Todd R. Zenger from Olin Business School visited the Chair in International Management in June 18-19, 2015 teaching a PhD workshop titled "Recent Topics in Strategy and Organizational Design".
The Chair in International Management has received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) for the research project titled "How do resources and demand-side factors affect the resource value in new product development projects?".
The article "Customer-specific synergies and market convergence" that Prof. Keil co-authored with Asst. Prof. Jens Schmidt (Aalto University) and Prof. Richard Makadok (Emory University) has been accepted at Strategic Management Journal (SMJ). The paper contributes to theories of competitive advantage and firm scope.
Prof. Keil's focus on top journals gets recognized in the latest Handelsblatt's Lifetime ranking of Professors in Business Administration.
As of January 2015, Professor Thomas Keil will join the Editorial Review Board of Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (SEJ) for an initial term of 3 years.
We are happy to announce that our team member Dr. Evangelos Syrigos presented in the Strategic Management Society 34th Annual International Conference 2014 in Madrid his work titled " Resource-Based and Demand-Side Drivers of Resource Value in Innovation Projects" coauthored by Professor Thomas Keil (Chair in International Management) and Konstantinos Kostopoulos (University of Piraeus).
We are happy to announce that our team member Dr. Evangelos Syrigos presented in the Annual Meeting of Academy of Management 2014 in Philadelphia his work titled " Controlled Risk Taking as a Driver of Value Creation" coauthored by Professor Thomas Keil (Chair in International Management) and Professor Markku Maula (Aalto University).
Chair in International Management is organizing a research seminar under the title "Searching in Team: An Experimental Study of Aggregation and Incentives" by Professor Nils Stieglitz, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. The seminar will be held on November 11th, 2014, 09:00-10:45 at the University of Zurich, room KOL-G-210.
During September 1-3, 2014 Professor Phanish Puranam, INSEAD, will visit the Chair in International Management to conduct a doctoral seminar on "The Micro-Structural Approach to Organization Design".
The article "Growth and Survival: The Moderating Effects of Local Agglomeration and Local Market Structure", that Prof. Keil co-authored with Aviad Pe'er (Rutgers University) and Ilan Vertinsky (University of British Columbia) has been accepted for publication in the Strategic Management Journal (SMJ).
During August 13-15, 2014 Professor Sendil Ethiraj, London Business School, will visit the Chair in International Management to teach a doctoral seminar on "Contemporary Puzzles in Strategy Research".
We congratulate Dr. Evangelos Syrigos for his publication in Human Resource Management titled "Ambidexterity and Unit Performance: Intellectual Capital Antecedents and Cross-level Moderating Effects of Human Resource Practices" and coauthored with Konstantinos Kostopoulos (University of East Anglia) and Nikos Bozionelos (Audencia Nantes Ecole de Management).
On June 10th 2014, Denis A. Grégoire from HEC Montreal visited and presented his recent research on internationalization decisions in a research seminar attended by doctoral students, postdocs and faculty.
We are happy to announce that our team member . Evangelos Syrigospresented in MTEI research series at EPFL his work titled "Managerial Evaluation of Resource Value – Standalone Value, Complementary Resources, and Market Structure" coauthored by Professor Thomas Keil (Chair in International Management) and Konstantinos Kostopoulos (University of East Anglia).
