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Centers of Gravity: The Effect of Stable Shared Leadership in Top Management Teams on Firm Growth and Industry Evolution

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  • Rajshree Agarwal
  • Serguey Braguinsky
  • Atsushi Ohyama

Abstract

We study the processes of firm growth in the evolution of the Japanese cotton spinning industry during 1883-1914 by integrating strategy and historical approaches and utilizing rich quantitative firm-level data and detailed business histories. The resultant conceptual model highlights growth outcomes of path dependencies as firms evolve across periods of single vs. shared leadership, establish stability in shared leadership, or experience repeated discord-induced TMT leader departures. While most firms do not experience smooth transitions to stable shared TMT leadership, a focus on value creation, in conjunction with talent recruitment and promotion, enabled some firms to achieve stable shared leadership in spite of discord-induced departures, engage in long term expansion, and emerge as “centers of gravity” for output and talent in the industry.

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  • Rajshree Agarwal & Serguey Braguinsky & Atsushi Ohyama, 2018. "Centers of Gravity: The Effect of Stable Shared Leadership in Top Management Teams on Firm Growth and Industry Evolution," NBER Working Papers 24742, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24742
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    Cited by:

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    2. Joonkyu Choi & Nathan Goldschlag & John C. Haltiwanger & J. Daniel Kim, 2021. "Early Joiners and Startup Performance," NBER Working Papers 28417, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Maloney,William F. & Zambrano,Andrés, 2021. "Learning to Learn : Experimentation, Entrepreneurial Capital, and Development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9890, The World Bank.
    4. Hai Huang & Shengbin Hao & Yu Chen, 2023. "The more the better? Service transition for shaping sustainable development in manufacturing firms and the role of top management team attributes," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3255-3270, November.
    5. Joonkyu Choi & Nathan Goldschlag & John Haltiwanger & J. Daniel Kim, 2019. "Founding Teams and Startup Performance," Working Papers 19-32, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Lin Jiang & Biyun Chen, 2023. "A Two-Stage Bilateral Matching Study of Teams-Technology Talents in New R&D Institutions Based on Prospect Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-27, February.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • N85 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Asia including Middle East

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