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

Abstract

This study empirically examined the relationship among Chief ExecutiveOfficer's (CEO) industry tenure, intrapersonal functional diversity and thelevel of environmental scanning emphasis among 90 manufacturing firms in thecomputer and food processing industries. Drawing from the managerial cognitionand upper echelons theories, we hypothesized that CEOs who have diverseintrapersonal functional background (generalists) and longer single industry tenureare more likely to emphasize scanning both the task and general industryenvironments. Our findings generally support a positive relationship betweenthe length of industry tenure, intrapersonal functional diversity and environmentscanning emphasis. Implications for further strategic decision-making researchare discussed.