Leader Flows and Organizational Process

Abstract

With the aim of exploring magnitudes of relationship, causality, and curvilinearity, rates of succession from 1945 to 1965 in the corporate presidencies of 54 petrochemical companies are considered along with indicators of corporate performance and growth. In this study, technological diffusion and organizational size, as moderator variables, are also accounted for. Findings show that high turnover in the presidency tends to induce variations in merger activity. Other implications suggest that companies which are relatively more spatially dispersed, as well as those with relatively higher net stockholders' equity, tend to exhibit a greater desire to replace their chief corporate officer. Further study shows that the greater the change in the rate of succession, the higher the debt to equity ratio.