Chief Executive Background Characteristics and Environmental Scanning Emphasis: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

This study empirically examined the relationship among Chief Executive
Officer's (CEO) industry tenure, intrapersonal functional diversity and the
level of environmental scanning emphasis among 90 manufacturing firms in the
computer and food processing industries. Drawing from the managerial cognition
and upper echelons theories, we hypothesized that CEOs who have diverse
intrapersonal functional background (generalists) and longer single industry tenure
are more likely to emphasize scanning both the task and general industry
environments. Our findings generally support a positive relationship between
the length of industry tenure, intrapersonal functional diversity and environment
scanning emphasis. Implications for further strategic decision-making research
are discussed.