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The Demand for Executive Skills

Author

Listed:
  • Hansen, Stephen
  • Ramdas, Tejas
  • Sadun, Raffaella
  • Fuller, Joseph

Abstract

We use a unique corpus of job descriptions for C-suite positions to document skills requirements in top managerial occupations across a large sample of firms. A novel algorithm maps the text of each executive search into six separate skill clusters reflecting cognitive, interpersonal, and operational dimensions. The data show an increasing relevance of social skills in top managerial occupations, and a greater emphasis on social skills in larger and more information intensive organizations. The results suggest the need for training, search and governance mechanisms able to facilitate the match between firms and top executives along multiple and imperfectly observable skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Hansen, Stephen & Ramdas, Tejas & Sadun, Raffaella & Fuller, Joseph, 2021. "The Demand for Executive Skills," CEPR Discussion Papers 16280, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:16280
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    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Francesco Capozza, 2024. "Beliefs about the Gender Gap in Salary Negotiations," CESifo Working Paper Series 11228, CESifo.
    3. Cnossen, Femke & Piracha, Matloob & Tchuente, Guy, 2021. "Learning the Right Skill: The Returns to Social, Technical and Basic Skills for Middle-Educated Graduates," GLO Discussion Paper Series 979, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Ananiades, Eduardo & Antunes, Daví, 2025. "Transformation in the U.S. Labour Market Artificial Intelligence and Occupational Polarization in the 21st Century," MPRA Paper 125898, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2025.
    5. Hayato KANAYAMA & Yuji KAWATA & Ritsu KITAGAWA, 2025. "Supervisor Accuracy in Subjective Evaluations and Employee Careers," Discussion papers 25098, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    6. Greta Morando & Lucinda Platt, 2022. "The Impact of Centre‐based Childcare on Non‐cognitive Skills of Young Children," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(356), pages 908-946, October.
    7. Simon Wiederhold & Christina Langer, 2023. "The Value of Early-Career Skills," Growth Lab Working Papers 204, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    8. Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein, 2023. "Why managers still matter as applied organization (design) theory," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 12(1), pages 7-18, June.
    9. Sugat Chaturvedi & Kanika Mahajan & Zahra Siddique, 2024. "Using Domain-Specific Word Embeddings to Examine the Demand for Skills," Research in Labor Economics, in: Big Data Applications in Labor Economics, Part B, volume 52, pages 171-223, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Daelen, Anna L. M., 2025. "Did You Serve? New Evidence on the Causal Effect of Conscription on Wage in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2025 (Cologne): Revival of Industrial Policy 325449, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. A. Baltrunaite & S. Formai & A. Linarello & S. Mocetti, 2024. "Ownership, Governance, Management and Firm Performance: Evidence from Italian Firms," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 10(3), pages 993-1027, November.
    12. Kubo, Katsuyuki & Kiriu, Takuya & Uchigasaki, Shigeru & Seko, Susumu & Yamauchi, Hiroaki, 2025. "CEO skill and firm performance," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Mazumder, Sharif & Pugachev, Leonid, 2025. "Managing man and machine: Automation potential and labor investment efficiency," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    14. Ines Black & Sharique Hasan & Rembrand Koning, 2024. "Hunting for talent: Firm‐driven labor market search in the United States," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 429-462, March.
    15. Seegmiller, Bryan & Papanikolaou, Dimitris & Schmidt, Lawrence D.W., 2023. "Measuring document similarity with weighted averages of word embeddings," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    16. Andrew Caplin & David J. Deming & Søren Leth-Petersen & Ben Weidmann, 2023. "Economic Decision-Making Skill Predicts Income in Two Countries," NBER Working Papers 31674, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation

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