Implications of Overwhelmed Leadership: How Executive Job Demands Hinder Corporate Sustainability Performance. Issue 5 (May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Popli, Manish; Raithatha, Mehul
• Is Part Of: Business and society. Volume 62:Issue 5(2023)
• Page Start: 1031
• Page End: 1068
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Subjects: corporate sustainability -- executive job demands -- TMT functional diversity -- TMT tenure -- top management team -- upper echelon theory; Industries -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Industrial sociology -- Periodicals; Business ethics -- Periodicals; 306.3
• DOI: 10.1177/00076503221120570
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-6503

Abstract

As implied by executive job demands theory, intensified job demands of a firm's top executives limit their cognitive capacity and centralize the locus of decision-making, which may undermine corporate sustainability performance. The current study tests this effect, along with the impact of two contextual factors, to reveal that the negative influence of executive job demands is weaker if firms feature greater functional diversity and average tenure in their top management teams. In an extension of upper echelon theory, this study also outlines the influence of task challenges that confront strategic leaders on corporate sustainability performance.