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Caveman Executive Leadership: Evolved Leadership Preferences and Biological Sex

In: Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences

Author

Listed:
  • Gregg R. Murray

    (Texas Tech University)

  • Susan M. Murray

    (Texas Tech University)

Abstract

There is increasing recognition that human behavior in general, and business behavior in particular, is subject to social and biological effects. This research investigates the well-known but unsatisfactorily explained advantage that males have over females in obtaining executive leadership. We argue that environmental-cultural explanations are incomplete and propose an explanation that adds to the emerging evidence that behavior is subject to evolutionary effects. More specifically, we take the perspective of evolutionary psychology in this research. The explanation presented here is grounded in the evolutionary theory of natural selection such that a psychological adaptation adaptation for a preference for male leaders evolved to promote individual survivability in the violent ancestral history of humans. We present convergent interdisciplinary findings as well as supporting evidence from three studies with distinct research designs, domains, and perspectives of analysis to strengthen the validity of our argument. In all, this research offers a more complete theoretical explanation for male predominance in executive leadership and provides an additional theoretical approach to the investigation of modern biases that have been costly to the business community.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregg R. Murray & Susan M. Murray, 2011. "Caveman Executive Leadership: Evolved Leadership Preferences and Biological Sex," Springer Books, in: Gad Saad (ed.), Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences, pages 135-163, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-540-92784-6_6
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-92784-6_6
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