The CEO Identity Construction Process in the Transition of Newly Appointed Chief Executive

268 Pages·2016·10.85 MB·English

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

Joana Amora Probert

Becoming the CEO: The CEO Identity Construction Process in
the Transition of Newly Appointed Chief Executives

School of Management

PhD
Academic Year: 2015 - 2016

Supervisor: Prof Donna Ladkin
Prof David Denyer

November 2015

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

School of Management

PhD Thesis

Academic Year 2015 - 2016

JOANA AMORA PROBERT

Becoming the CEO: The CEO Identity Construction Process in
the Transition of Newly Appointed Chief Executives

Supervisor: Prof Donna Ladkin
Prof David Denyer

November 2015

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
PhD

© Cranfield University 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner.

ABSTRACT
This study investigates the personal experience of newly appointed chief executives in
transitioning into the CEO role. Adopting an exploratory qualitative design, data was
obtained from two semi-structured interviews with 19 newly appointed chief executives,
for a total of 38 interviews.
The main contribution of this thesis to the extant literature is to show the ways in which
CEOs go through an identity construction process when transitioning into the role, which
is characterized in two ways. First, there exists a bi-directionality of influence between the
personal identity of the CEO and the organizational identity. Second, this process
comprises strong identity demands (lack of specificity of the role and weak situation) and
identity tensions (personal identity intrusion and identity transparency) that dispose new
CEOs towards an unbalance that promotes individuality.
This disequilibrium might hinder the integration of new chief executives into the
organization, since the data suggests that new CEOs are responsible for fostering their
own integration by connecting aspects of their personal identity with the identity and
culture of the organization. The thesis offers a theoretical model of the CEO identity
construction process and concludes with a series of propositions that address the
ramifications of these findings to our understanding of CEO succession.

Keywords:
CEO succession; leader succession; role transition; CEO role; strategic leadership;
identity work; organizational identity; organizational culture.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank the 19 new chief executives who opened their diaries,
minds and hearts to me in the interviews and made this study possible. I was humbled by
your candidness and trust and also honored by the recognition of many of you that
participation in the study was helpful to your CEO transition.
I would like to express my gratitude to my lead supervisor, Donna Ladkin. Donna, you
have been more than a supervisor. Thank you for your mentorship, your guidance, and
your friendship. You encouraged me in the darkest hours, pushed me when I thought I had
given all I had to give, and supported me through the many, many life events that took
place while I was pursuing this research.
I am indebted to David Denyer, my supervisor in the first and last acts of this journey.
David, thank you for your insights, advice and for encouraging me in the beginning of the
PhD to decipher exactly what I wanted to focus on my research. It took me a while, but I
finally found my true passion! I also would like to thank Mark Jenkins and Andrew
Kakabadase who have served on my PhD panel. Thank you so much for your invaluable
questions, suggestions and ideas.
I would like to thank my friends and colleagues at Cranfield School of Management who
made the journey of the PhD a little less solitary. A special thanks to Professor Kim
Turnbull-James. Kim, thank you for the invitation to work together both in writing and in
the Leadership and Top Management Skills program. Engaging with the program’s team
and students was not only an invaluable experience, but also a breath of fresh air and
motivation to keep going. Thank you also to my colleagues, in particular from the
Leadership Research Hub, who throughout the years shared their experiences and
provided valuable feedback. I am also grateful to the help I received from the support
staff, in particular Alison Cain, Irena Pidlyskyi, Alison Wilkerson and Tim Mather.
I am grateful for the encouragement from my family and friends, who were cheering me
from far away. Obrigada, mae, for your unmovable faith in me and unconditional support.
I know I can always count on you for anything! Obrigada, pai, for trusting me to find my
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path even when I wasn’t certain of what that was and for giving me the ability to discover
my way. I am proud to have pursued a PhD just like my dad! To Elisa, my dear friend,
without our chats, this journey would not have started. Thank you for inspiring me to a
new career path when I had lost direction.
Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Mark Probert. Baby, meeting you on the PhD
in the first week of the program was the best surprise of my journey! Who knew we
would go through so much: getting married, building a house, the birth of our adorable
Sophie. Thank you for making my PhD years fun, challenging and exciting! I look forward
to the next chapter of our lives. This thesis is for us!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................... v
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... viii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1
1.1 Chapter Overview .............................................................................. 1
1.2 Research Rationale .............................................................................. 1
1.3 Study Objective & Research Question ....................................................... 5
1.4 Methodological Overview ..................................................................... 6
1.5 Overview of Contribution ..................................................................... 6
1.6 Definition of Key Concepts .................................................................... 8
1.6.1 Defining CEO Transition ................................................................ 8
1.6.2 Defining Cognitive Differences ......................................................... 9
1.7 Structure of the Thesis ....................................................................... 12
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 15
2.1 Chapter Overview ............................................................................ 15
2.2 The CEO Role ................................................................................. 16
2.2.1 Differences in the CEO Post .......................................................... 17
2.2.2 Similarities in the CEO Post ........................................................... 20
2.3 CEOs and the Top Management Team .................................................... 32
2.3.1 Researching Top Executives ........................................................... 33
2.3.2 Influence of the CEO on the Top Team ............................................. 36
2.4 CEO Succession ............................................................................... 40
2.4.1 Leader-Focused Perspective ........................................................... 41
2.4.2 Organization-Focused Perspective ................................................... 44
2.5 Research Gap: Processes & Mechanisms of CEO Role Transition .................... 50
2.5.1 Research Question ...................................................................... 52
2.6 Chapter Summary ............................................................................. 53
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 55
3.1 Chapter Overview ............................................................................ 55
3.2 Philosophical Perspective .................................................................... 55
3.2.1 Ontological Stance ...................................................................... 56
3.2.2 Epistemological Stance ................................................................. 57
3.3 Research Design ............................................................................... 59
3.3.1 The Case for Qualitative Research in CEO Succession ........................... 60
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3.3.2 Researching Inside the “Black Box” ................................................... 62
3.4 Data Collection ................................................................................ 63
3.4.1 Study Participants ....................................................................... 63
3.4.2 Semi-Structured Interviews ............................................................ 72
3.5 Data Analysis ................................................................................... 78
3.5.1 Data Immersion .......................................................................... 78
3.5.2 Data Dissection .......................................................................... 78
3.5.3 Data Synthesis ............................................................................ 80
3.6 Chapter Summary ............................................................................. 84
CHAPTER 4: THE CEO IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION PROCESS ...................... 85
4.1 Chapter Overview ............................................................................ 85
4.2 Findings Overview ............................................................................ 85
4.3 Persona of the CEO ........................................................................... 88
4.3.1 The CEO as the Embodiment of the Organization ................................ 89
4.3.2 Challenges of the CEO Role ........................................................... 94
4.3.3 Lack of Specificity of the CEO Role .................................................. 98
4.3.4 Summary of the Persona of the CEO ............................................... 100
4.4 Personal Identity ............................................................................. 101
4.4.1 Individualized Internalization ......................................................... 104
4.4.2 Representing ............................................................................ 109
4.4.3 Validation by the Board ................................................................ 115
4.4.4 Summary of Personal Identity ........................................................ 117
4.5 Organizational Identity ...................................................................... 120
4.5.1 Organizational Culture ................................................................ 123
4.5.2 The Mandate ............................................................................ 125
4.5.3 Organizational Purpose ................................................................ 126
4.5.4 Summary of Organizational Identity ................................................ 128
4.6 Chapter Summary ............................................................................ 129
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ............................................................................. 133
5.1 Chapter Overview ........................................................................... 133
5.2 A Brief Review of the Identity Construction Literature ............................... 134
5.2.1 Role Transition ......................................................................... 134
5.2.2 Socialization ............................................................................. 138
5.2.3 Identity Work ........................................................................... 144
5.2.4 Summary of The Review of The Identity Construction Literature ............ 146
5.3 Role Transition & The CEO Identity Construction Process .......................... 147
5.3.1 Challenges of the CEO Role .......................................................... 149
5.3.2 CEO as Embodiment of the Organization .......................................... 158
5.3.3 Organizational Culture ................................................................ 161
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