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CEOs'Career Backgrounds and Corporate Long‐Term Strategic Planning *
Author(s) -
Zajac Barbara,
Stearns Linda Brewster
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1997.tb00440.x
Subject(s) - term (time) , position (finance) , business , process (computing) , theme (computing) , affect (linguistics) , capital (architecture) , marketing , public relations , strategic planning , management , accounting , industrial organization , economics , sociology , political science , finance , physics , communication , archaeology , quantum mechanics , computer science , history , operating system
CEOs affect corporate outcomes along various dimensions, including the emphasis placed on long‐term strategic planning. This study assesses the impact of CEOs’functional and industry specializations on R&D and capital spending in four manufacturing industries. We found only limited support for our position that CEOs with more professional‐type careers are less willing than other CEOs to have their firms make long‐term investments. “A critical theme of… the modem industrial enterprise is that creating and maintaining such capabilities is a continuing, long‐term process–a process that requires sound, long‐term perspectives from the decision makers responsible for the health and growth of their enterprise.” (Chandler 1991, p. 627)